Starter type
Stiff Starter / Lievito Madre (50% Hydration)
Jar shows consistency at 50% hydration (stiff domed surface), bubble density from slow activity, and hue from the bread flour base. Peak rise marked on jar side.
- Hydration
- 50%
- Flour base
- bread flour
- Activity
- slow
- Flavor
- mild-sweet
About Stiff Starter / Lievito Madre (50% Hydration)
Traditional Italian lievito madre / pasta madre. Dense bread-dough-like consistency. Slower activity (12-16h peak at 76°F) and produces cleanest, most mellow flavor of any starter type. Essential for panettone, colomba, pandoro, and other highly enriched Italian breads where aggressive tang would clash with butter and sugar. Advanced home bakers maintain stiff starters for these specific applications; most recipes can use liquid starter instead.
Feeding ratio: 1:1:0.5
Store at room temperature wrapped tightly or under water; daily or twice-daily feedings during active use. Refrigerate for week-long storage with weekly feeds.
Feed calculator
Use the selector below to set the feed ratio (default 1:5:5 for weekly refrigerator maintenance). Adjust current and target weights.
- Keep (mature starter)
- 27.3 g
- Add flour
- 136.4 g
- Add water
- 136.4 g
- Discard
- 22.7 g
- Total after feed
- 300 g