Are you about to bake sourdough bread for the first time, or are you still in the process of finding out about the recipe? You may be wondering about the quantity ratio between sourdough and flour, as well as the other ingredients. Indeed, making sourdough bread means having to work with a variable you may not yet have mastered: the quantity of sourdough, which will have a direct impact on the bread. So how much sourdough starter for 500g flour do you need? BRO takes a closer look in this article.

The impact of sourdough quantity on dough

Perhaps you don’t know it, but sourdough has multiple impacts on the final quality and flavor of your bread. Indeed, far from being insignificant, the presence of sourdough in a bread dough recipe has a major influence on the quality of the dough, and can lead to significant variations in the final result, both visually and in the mouth.

From this point of view, the amount of sourdough in the dough has several consequences on the final bread. Firstly, on the taste of the recipe: the more sourdough present, the more the bread will taste acidic, with characteristic sourdough notes.

Another characteristic affected by the quantity of sourdough is the texture of the bread. Too much sourdough can weaken the gluten network, resulting in a denser crumb. On the other hand, too little sourdough can lead to under-fermentation.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the amount of sourdough can affect the bread’s final shelf life: the more sourdough, the better the recipe keeps.

How much sourdough starter for 500g flour do you need?

But now that you know the impact of the quantity of sourdough in a recipe on the final product, you’re probably wondering how much to aim for. And with this in mind, a question that often comes up is the quantity of sourdough for 500 grams of flour. So, what is it?

In reality, as you’ll have gathered, there’s no fixed value… And there’s no ideal value either! It’s all a question of balance between the desired end result and your knowledge of the subject.

As a general rule, however, you should aim for a ratio of 20-50% sourdough in your dough to achieve an ideal crumb structure.

Are you a professional who would like to master in greater detail the methods of making sourdough-based specialties such as bread or panettone? If so, you can take advantage of BRO’s in-house training courses, wherever you are in the world!