Convert A Sourdough Starter to a Pasta Madre or Stiff Starter (2024)

Pasta Madre is a traditional Italian sourdough starter which is much thicker and stiffer than a liquid sourdough starter.

If you have an active, bubbly liquid sourdough starter you can use this to make your own Pasta Madre or stiff sourdough starter in just a few short days.

This stiff starter has a softer, more rounded flavor profile. It can be used in many different ways, but the most popular use is to make Italian Panettone.

You may hear it referred to as pasta madre, lievito madre or stiff starter. It is essentially wild yeast maintained at a lower hydration.

How Is Pasta Madre Different From A Sourdough Starter?

Pasta Madre or "Mother Dough" is a classed as a "stiff starter" and is somewhat different to a traditional liquid sourdough starter.

It has a much lower hydration and also uses honey to sweeten the starter.

Because of its lower hydration (generally under 50%) and the technique used to ferment, Pasta Madre is said to have a more mild flavor profile.

It's best if kept at a constant, warm temperature - this is said to encourage the right type of bacteria to flourish, giving the Pasta Madre its rounded flavor.

The differences between a Pasta Madre and Liquid Sourdough Starter are:

• Thicker consistency - Pasta Madre is much lower hydration so will be more dough like than regular sourdough starter.
  
• No Hooch - a lievito will not produce hooch because it is made at a lower hydration.
  
• Smell - stiffer starter will smell more mellow and less acidic than liquid sourdough starter.

What Is A Pasta Madre Used For?

The most common use for Pasta Madre is Panettone (Italian Christmas Cake).

It is traditionally used to make Panettone because of the acidity levels and flavor profile that it delivers.

The active natural yeasts in a Pasta Madre provide no sour flavor, making it perfect for a sweet bake.

Convert Your Sourdough Starter to Pasta Madre or Stiff Starter

Using your existing sourdough starter to make the Pasta Madre will make the process much faster than starting from scratch (although you can do this too).

This is because you already have the bacteria and wild yeast necessary to establish your Pasta Madre (also called Lievito).

In order to make the Pasta Madre from your sourdough starter, your sourdough starter should be active and ready to bake with.

Ideally, a mature sourdough starter will work best, but as long as it's doubling consistently and bakes bread it will be ok.

I decided to try making my own Pasta Madre because one of my favorite Christmas traditions is eating Panettone - a love which I discovered after living in Milan, Northern Italy as a teenager.

Nothing takes me back to Italy more than the taste of this traditional Italian Christmas Cake.

Panettone is made using a Pasta Madre and is something I've wanted to try for so long!

How To Make Pasta Madre

I've included a full step by step guide to making Pasta Madre in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Here is a summary of how to make this stiff Italian Sourdough Starter:

Day 1

Take 20g of your active sourdough starter, 100g of flour, 50g of water and 3g of honey and mix together in a small bowl until they form a dough. Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead together until it forms a smooth ball. Score a cross in the top of the ball and drop into a clean, wide mouth jar. Place a sheet of paper towel over the top and secure with an elastic band. Leave the starter in a warm place for 24 hours.

Day 2

After 24 hours your stiff ball of dough will have fermented into a marshmallowy sponge with lots of bubbles on the sides of the jar. The top might have formed a dry skin. Remove the Pasta Madre from the jar, discard all but 50g of the starter and mix with 100g of flour, 40g of water and 3g of honey.Bring it together into a shaggy dough. Tip the dough out on to the counter and knead into a smooth ball. Now, roll the dough out into a strip and then roll into a log. Score the log with a cross and place into a clean jar.

Day 3

Leave your Pasta Madre alone today. You'll notice that it is fermenting, it may have peaked or perhaps not yet - depending on the temperature you're keeping it at. Just leave it be - do not stir it.

Day 4

Today you will refresh your Pasta Madre by discarding all but 50g and feeding it with 100g of flour, 40g of water and 3g of honey.Bring it together into a shaggy dough. Tip the dough out on to the counter and knead into a smooth ball.Now, roll the dough out into a strip and then roll into a log. Score the log with a cross and place into a clean jar.

Day 5

Your Pasta Madre should peak within around 24 hours and you can use it from today.You can leave it on your counter for a good few days unfed and then refresh it when you want to use it.

How To Refresh Pasta Madre

Pasta Madre is very easy to refresh. It will tolerate not being fed for a little longer than a liquid sourdough starter because of its lower hydration.

However, it is best to feed everyday to maintain its mellow flavor profile.

If you are not using it often, it can be stored in the fridge.

To refresh a Pasta Madre, you simply need to discard part of the starter and then add fresh flour and water.

1. Discard at least half of the Pasta Madre (it's better if you do this by weight - so I recommend discarding down to 50g of starter).
   
2. Add 100g of flour and 40 to 50g of water (it's better to add less and then add a little more if it's too stiff to knead).
   
3. Leave the Pasta Madre alone to ferment at room temperature.

A Few Interesting Things To Note About Pasta Madre (Lievito)

• Many Italian bakers store their Pasta Madre in a water bath and/or wash their Pasta Madre with a sweet water mixture to inhibit the acidity of the starter.

  You can store your Pasta Madre in water if you'd prefer. I find it easier to store it "dry" or "secco". This doesn't mean dehydrated, but rather just in a jar, rather than in water.

• It is said that you can "train" your Pasta Madre and that you should try to feed it or refresh it at exactly the same time every single day. Set those alarms!

• Many Pasta Madre starters are begun with fermented apples. It is said that this encourages the right type of strong yeast colonies needed to rise Pannetone.

  Whilst this might be true - I've done the hard yards with my sourdough starter and fed it for longer than I can remember. The yeast and bacteria have adapted to my Pasta Madre with no issues.

• Keeping your Pasta Madre at an exact and constant temperature will help to ensure that the correct yeast and bacteria thrive. Ideally you should keep it at an ambient temperature between 24C and 30C.

  This can be problematic though if you live somewhere that is much colder. A great way to keep it at a constant temperature is using a bread proofer or yoghurt maker (this is what I do).

Why Do You Cut a Cross Into A Pasta Madre?

It is said that making a cross in the top of the Pasta Madre was done to bless the bread. This drove out any "demons" or evil that may have stopped the dough from rising.

It actually has no direct effect on the stiff starter itself and you don't have to do it - but it is part of the Italian superstition to carry out this small ritual.

Using Your Pasta Madre Starter

You can use your Pasta Madre just like you would a regular sourdough starter - it will give your breads, cakes and rolls a much milder, more rounded flavor profile.

It's particularly good to use in these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and this Sourdough Sandwich Bread or even these sourdough hot cross buns.

It also gives a lovely taste and texture to this Coffee and Maple Date Infused Sourdough Bread.

You'll find that your stiff starter or Pasta Madre needs feeding less often and will tolerate being unfed on your kitchen counter for a few days.

Of course you need to feed it regularly if you are going to be using it, but you don't need to store it in the fridge when you're not using it as it is much more hardy than a liquid sourdough starter.

The discard from your Pasta Madre will work very well in this Easy Sourdough Discard Sandwich Loaf.

Equipment Needed for Pasta Madre

To make a successful Pasta Madre, you'll need the following:

• active and bubbly sourdough starter (100% hydration)
  
• a squat, wide mouth jar (like this one)
  
• flour and water
  
• raw, unprocessed honey (optional)
  
• paper towel and elastic band

Frequently Asked Questions About Pasta Madre / Lievito Madre

Further Reading

If you enjoyed this article about converting your liquid sourdough starter to a stiff sourdough starter, you might enjoy these ideas:

• Learn how to make sourdough hot cross buns (they're not just for Easter!)

• Here's how to store and save your sourdough starter.

• Wondering how to increase the amount of sourdough starter you have?