What does "poolish" mean?

A mixture of flour and water with a little yeast; used to make some forms of dough.

What is a synonym for "poolish"?

Common synonyms include: bread starter, bread starter, pre ferment, pre-ferment, sponge, sponge.

Poolish

//puːlɪʃ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A mixture of flour and water with a little yeast; used to make some forms of dough. countable, uncountable
"In order to ensure a lower acidity, the ideal time to add the poolish to the dough is when it has matured. At this point it will have domed slightly and will be just beginning to deflate. A long poolish produces more interesting aromas and requires […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms

bread starter bread starter pre ferment pre-ferment sponge sponge

Example

More examples

"In order to ensure a lower acidity, the ideal time to add the poolish to the dough is when it has matured. At this point it will have domed slightly and will be just beginning to deflate. A long poolish produces more interesting aromas and requires […]"

Etymology

Compare Polish and French pouliche.

More for "poolish"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.