Biga question for bakers

[blue room]

I'm making Peter Reinhardt's recipe for Potato Rosemary Bread.
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/10...
It calls for a biga made with 2 1/2 cups flour, so I now have at least 4 cups biga. Lotsa biga.
It seems strange that the recipe now wants me to use only 1 1/4 cups of the biga to make 2 loaves.
I know the extra can be frozen to use later, but why make so much to begin with?
Thanks very much.

[chowser]

I don't think there's a reason other than Peter Reinhart has a section for his starters; all are enough for the bread that uses the largest amount.. His biga recipe is enough for his ciabatta. How is the potate rosemary bread? It's on my list of "to make" but I always seem to go back to tried and true recipes from the book.

[kengk]

That makes more sense than my answer.

[blue room]

Yes, kengk, but thanks for your reply-- I *will* halve it next time!

[blue room]

Ah, that makes sense -- It could be his master biga recipe, and may be standard for all loaves in the book. Next time I'll know -- of course it is probably explained in the beautiful book. The more I bake the more I'll read, I'm sure.
My dough is now in the bowl doing a 2 hour ferment (he calls it a ferment, not a rise) then I will shape it and give it a 2 hour proof (he calls it a proof, not a rise).
But -- I hate rosemary (though Rosemary is my real name!) The smell, the bushes outside are glorious -- the taste in food I find way too...resinous. So my bread will be just plain potato bread. I want the tenderness potato bread has. I'm sure many many flavor additions would work! I'll report back here when it's done today.

[kengk]

If you half it you will still end up with a little more than the seven ounces called for. In this case only a couple more and I absolutely would not discard it. An extra two ounces of the biga won't hurt it a bit.

FWIW, 2.8 ounces of water and 4.2 ounces of flour will give you the 7 ounces called for.

[blue room]

Reporting back as promised. Oh this is exactly what I wanted, this recipe wll be *very* hard to beat.

[kengk]

That is a real good looking bread.

[smtucker]

Beautiful. This is my favorite bread book by far.

[smtucker]

Beautiful. This is my favorite bread, by far.

[chowser]

That looks great. I can't wait to try it now. And, I'll start with half the biga--thanks for the heads up.

[blue room]

It has a really nice texture -- I used mashed potato with a little milk and butter in -- like you'd serve it for a meal. Remember, the actual recipe calls for rosemary, black pepper, and roasted garlic. You'll end up with something special -- all I used for this first try was the salt!

[kengk]

The only reason I can think of is that his mixer won't accommodate 7 ounces of dough.

If you understand baker's math you can easily figure how to make the 7 ounces you need.