Starter Power: What Happens When You Use More or Less in Sourdough?
The amount of sourdough starter you use can dramatically impact the fermentation process, flavor, texture, and overall success of your bread. But how much is too much—or too little?
In this guide, we’ll explore how different starter percentages affect dough rise, fermentation time, and the final crumb structure. Whether you’re aiming for a mild, slow-fermented loaf or a tangy, fast-rising bread, understanding the role of starter quantity will help you perfect your sourdough game.
Bread recipe
350 ml water (at room temperature)
50 g active starter
500 g flour (all purpose or bread flour, be careful not to use flour with added leavening agents or yeast!)
10 g salt
Join me as I break down the science behind starter power and show you how to adjust it for the best results! Whether you’re looking for a slow-fermented loaf with deep flavor or a quicker rise with a lighter crumb, understanding your starter’s strength is key. Let’s dive in and perfect your sourdough together! 🍞✨
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The amount of sourdough starter you use can dramatically impact the fermentation process, flavor, texture, and overall success of your bread. But how much is too much—or too little?
In this guide, we’ll explore how different starter percentages affect dough rise, fermentation time, and the final crumb structure. Whether you're aiming for a mild, slow-fermented loaf or a tangy, fast-rising bread, understanding the role of starter quantity will help you perfect your sourdough game.
Bread recipe
350 ml water (at room temperature)
50 g active starter
500 g flour (all purpose or bread flour, be careful not to use flour with added leavening agents or yeast!)
10 g salt
Join me as I break down the science behind starter power and show you how to adjust it for the best results! Whether you're looking for a slow-fermented loaf with deep flavor or a quicker rise with a lighter crumb, understanding your starter’s strength is key. Let’s dive in and perfect your sourdough together! 🍞✨
Very helpful!
At the moment, i am trying to make a good salt rising bread starter with potato.
I love your recipes!
Thank you!❤
nice folding techniques=!
This gummy crumb resists me from making sourdough. How would you reduce the tanginess with comparatively newer starter?
thank you for doing this video! ❤ i agree with what you said ! i also have done this in the past hoping to be able to bake my dough much quicker. however, i still prefer the one i made with less starter in it 😂
I was recently having issues due to a much warmer kitchen, I seen someone use 140 g starter , 100g wheat 400 grams flour , 300 g water mix and wait 1 hour later adding 12g salt dissolved in mixed with 40grams of water and am having much more luck ❤ ! My kitchen range is from 77-83F ( I’m getting a better crumb and better crust. I am in a high humidity area in Florida.)
Kolay gelsin. Elimize sağlık. Ben 500 gr un için 100 gr maya kullanıyorum. Kanalımda yaptığım ekmekleri görebilirsiniz.
Вы сказали, что хорошая закваска должна плавать на поверхности воды. Вот втором случае закваска камнем легла на дно. Ваша закваска не готова к работе. Не стоило продолжать эксперимент.
Вторая буханка поставлена в более разогретую печь, жто может влиять на плотность корки. Так же, при увеличении количества стартера уменьшается время брожения и расстойки.
Your starter looks quite loose. When you added 3 x as much starter, you increased the hydration of the dough. That can dramatically changed the results in the finished loaf.
Excelente video , y está buenísimo porque permite la traducción automática en los subtítulos y en la transcripción 🎉🎉🎉
Hi! Do you use less starter, even in winter, in a cold kitchen? Thank you.
This shows a fundamental problem lots of bakers have. You did not let the lower starter dough BF long enough. Never go by time, go by what the dough is doing. If you would have given the first dough more BF time it would most likely turned out the same as the second. It's the same as using a lower or higher feed ratio for your starter. It will take different amounts of time to peak.
Try again and let them both rise the same percentage not for the same amount of time and see what happens.
Hallo! Ich kann deine Videos ewig anschauen. Du machst es so gut!
Du machst immer nur helles Brot.
Kannst du auch mal Roggenbrot machen. Danke schön!
I would also be interested in insights with respect to gluten-free flours.
Thank you for sharing the results of your experiments. ❤
vielen dank, sehr hilfreich und interessant !
I always failed. I think i will throw my starter away and don't try any more 😫
Thank you! Very interesting.
Спасибо огромное за познавательное видео. Многие рекомендуют прогревать кастрюлю при 250-300 гр цельсия не менее часа, обрызгивать хлеб в кастрюле перед выпечкой для каких то там блистеров, затем уменьшать на 210 гр цельсия 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ заморачиваться надоело! а у вас так просто — 20 мин при 200 гр и печь 1 час при той же температуре. Скажите пожалуйста вы используете как-то пар при выпечке хлеба? Спасибо❤
Pozdrav Catarina, imam pitanje jeli starter se može koristit odma i hladilnika ali da se da prije upotrebe na sobnu tempereturu.Hvalala vam puno! 🍀🍀❤
Can you do a recipe for a whole Wheat bread please ? ❤
Thank you, love the video, I've been baking sourdough for a while, I'm getting better, but still need inproving. You have inspired me to try again.
Looks yummy. Just wondering, why don't you turn your cast iron pot over. Have the lib on the bottom and set the on top of the lid?
I’m in Florida and just when I mastered my recipe the season changed and instead of a 74f room I’m now with a 84f room ! I’m trying the more starter recipe tonight to see what happens! I’m trying to test my fermentation time ! Very interesting! But with my much higher temperature, my results will be interesting!
🥰🥰😋
Thank you so much. I just don’t like the background noise or music 🎶 it’s so distracting to some with my brain 🧠. Ha. Really it is. But love ❤️ this video & the voice over❤❤❤😊😁
Siempre espero sus videos con mucha impaciencia , pero hoy he quedado con una duda, porque está usando 50 gr de masa madre y despues 150 gr??
Lo normal seria comparar 50 gr con 100 gr lo que este usando normalmente, xq 150??
Un grand merci pour toutes ces explications et votre art. C'est magnifique! J'ai commencé un nouveau levain hier, demain Jour 3 et en parallèle j'ai fait le pain avec le 1 gramme de levure de boulanger. Hâte de le cuir demain. Merci encore pour tout 💗🙏
Катенька, а Вы только пшеничный хлеб печёте? А ржаной нет? Или пшенично-ржаной?
Good evening pretty baker, from what country do you make your breads, they look so delicious. thank you for your recipes.
Vincent
❤🙏
Hola! Gracias por compartir todas tus recetas y experimentos, te pregunto que tipo o, número de harina usas para hacer el pan de masa madre