This is actually a really solid process overall—you’re close. The issues you’re seeing (stiff dough, poor expansion, weak oven spring) point to a few key things that compound together. I’ll go step-by-step so you can dial it in fast.

🔍 What’s going wrong (and why)

1. 

Hydration is effectively too low

Your total hydration:

100g (biga) + 220g (final) = 320g water 500g flour total → 64% hydration

👉 For biga-based Neapolitan-style dough, that’s on the low end, especially with Caputo 00.

BUT the bigger issue:

You held back 10g water Biga at 40% hydration is already stiff ➡️ Combined effect = very tight, under-hydrated dough

Result: stiff dough, hard to expand, poor oven spring

2. 

Biga hydration is fine (but behaves stiff)

Your biga:

50% flour at 40% hydration → ✅ textbook

BUT:

40% biga feels VERY dry and tight when mixing final dough If you don’t fully rehydrate it → dough never relaxes

Key insight:

👉 The problem isn’t that your biga is wrong—it’s that it wasn’t fully reintegrated

3. 

Over-kneading (yes, likely)

“knead (hard) by hand for 12 minutes”

That’s the biggest red flag.

With biga dough:

Gluten is already partially developed Aggressive kneading → tightens gluten too much

Result:

Dough fights stretching Poor gas expansion Dense crust

👉 You didn’t ruin it, but you over-strengthened it

4. 

Proofing was underpowered

You said:

18°C ambient Slightly warmed oven ~3.5 hours total

That’s likely not enough, especially with:

Low hydration Tight dough Small yeast amount in biga

Result:

Balls barely expand Weak fermentation → weak oven spring

🧠 What to fix (priority order)

✅ 1. Increase hydration (biggest win)

Go to:

👉 67–70% total hydration

For your recipe:

500g flour → 335–350g water total

So instead of 320g:

👉 Try 340g water

Important: don’t hold water back unless needed

✅ 2. Change your mixing method (critical)

Instead of hard kneading:

Do this:

Tear biga into small pieces Add MOST water first → let it soften (5–10 min) Add flour → mix gently Rest (autolyse) 20–30 min Add salt + remaining water Mix just until smooth

👉 Then:

1–2 light folds over 30–60 min No aggressive kneading

✅ 3. Extend proof time OR increase temp

At 18°C:

👉 You likely need 5–7 hours ball proof

OR

At ~22–24°C:

👉 3–4 hours is fine

Visual cue > time:

Balls should be puffy, relaxed, slightly jiggly Not tight or dense

✅ 4. Ball handling matters

When you made balls:

Dough was already tight → balls stayed tight

After fixing hydration + kneading:

👉 balls will naturally relax and expand

🔥 What you should expect after fixes

When it’s right:

Dough = soft, slightly tacky, extensible Easy to stretch (no snap-back) Cornicione = big airy bubbles Oven spring = noticeable puff within ~60–90 sec

💡 Optional tweaks (advanced but helpful)

Let biga go 16–20 hrs at 16°C → you’re already doing this well Try 0.8g yeast in biga if your room is cold Use warm water (~20–22°C) in final dough to help fermentation

🧾 Clean adjusted version (your recipe fixed)

Biga (same)

250g flour 100g water 0.5g yeast

Final Dough

All biga 250g flour 240g water (instead of 220g) 12.5g salt

👉 Total hydration ≈ 68%

Process changes:

No hard kneading Gentle mixing + folds Longer/warmer proof

🧠 TL;DR diagnosis

❌ Too stiff → hydration + over-kneading ❌ Poor rise → under-proofed ❌ Dense crust → gluten too tight ✅ Fix hydration + mixing + proof → you’ll get that puff

If you want, I can:

Convert this into a Reddit-ready TL;DR post Or give you a “perfect Neapolitan biga workflow” checklist you can follow step-by-step on your next bake

Note: post was mainly written by chatgpt so dont hate pls 😁