Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? (2024)

Have you ever wondered if you can add yeast to your sourdough starter? It's a question I've been asked many times over the past few years and I decided to write about it so that I can share my answer with anyone else that might be interested.

The short answer is - yes you can add yeast to your sourdough starter. There's absolutely nothing stopping you (and certainly no sourdough shaming). However, if you do add some commercial yeast to your starter, it will then have that strain of yeast as part of it's established colony which would mean that it won't be a "true sourdough starter". This may not be a problem for you, if you aren't a sourdough purist (and again, there's no sourdough shaming here).

This post will discuss what happens when you add yeast to your own sourdough starter and what it means for the colony of wild yeast growing inside your sourdough starter jar.

Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? (1)

You can find instructions for making a sourdough starter here.

What is Sourdough Starter ... and How is it Different From Yeast?

A sourdough starter is a mixture of equal amounts of flour and water that has been left to ferment at room temperature. As the mixture ferments over a couple of weeks, it becomes home to a colony of natural yeast and lactic acid bacteria, which live in a symbiotic relationship. The yeasts break down the carbohydrates in the flour into simple sugars, producing carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide creates bubbles in the dough, causing it to rise. You can read more about how a sourdough starter works here.

An active sourdough starter is different from yeast (whether it be active dry yeast, fresh yeast or even instant yeast) because commercial yeast contain only one, refined strain of yeast - saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is strong and reliable and will raise bread dough in a fast and efficient manner.

Sourdough starter on the other hand generally contains more than one strain of yeast. These wild yeasts are less reliable and can take much longer to rise a loaf of bread.

You will find an in depth guide around the differences of sourdough starter vs yeast here (including all the different types of yeast).

Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? (2)

What Happens When You Add Yeast to a Sourdough Starter?

If you add yeast to a sourdough starter, you will be introducing this honed and reliable strain of yeast to the colony of wild yeast. You'll speed up the fermentation process, and here lies the issue. The yeast will feed on the sugars in the dough and produce carbon dioxide, causing the dough to rise faster. But it is the slow fermentation process which produces the unique flavor and texture of sourdough bread.

Adding commercial yeast to your sourdough starter will result in a change of flavor and texture in your sourdough bread.

Sourdough bread made with commercial yeast will have a milder flavor and less of the characteristic tanginess that comes from a naturally fermented sourdough starter. And in fact, you could argue that it is then not real sourdough bread.

You can of course manipulate some of these flavors by choosing to use whole grain flours like rye flour or spelt flour or whole wheat flour as well as manipulating the temperature, however it can be very hard to get a true San Francisco sourdough flavor when using a larger amount of commercial yeast.

Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? (3)

Is a Sourdough Starter Made from Yeast a Real Sourdough Starter?

Technically, sourdough cultures made from yeast are not real sourdough starters. A true sourdough starter relies on the natural yeasts and bacteria present in the flour and the environment. Adding commercial yeast to the mix may speed up the fermentation process, but it won't produce the same complex flavors and textures that come from a naturally fermented starter.

Technically a sourdough starter made from commercial yeast is referred to as a Poolish and is really just a commercial yeast culture.

Now like I said, there's certainly no sourdough shaming here. If you do want to add a pinch of yeast to your sourdough starter, I highly recommend just using a tiny pinch. This will be plenty. I also recommend keeping your starter on the stiffer side. The increased activity that comes from the commercial yeast will tend to make your sourdough starter too runny. Reduce the amount of water a little to give you a thicker mixture.

Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? (4)

Can You Use Commercial Yeast To Boost Your Sourdough Starter?

While it might seem like a good idea to add a pinch of yeast to your sourdough culture to give it a boost or to strengthen it, it's not something that I recommend doing. There are much better ways to strengthen your sourdough starter without compromising the wild yeast colonies that live inside your jar. A healthy starter takes time - period. Generally a couple weeks, but in reality it takes several months before you'll have the best results. But believe me, it's well worth the wait!

There's really no such thing as a "quick sourdough starter" - sourdough is a traditional method of leavening bread which takes time and patience. It's rooted in a deep sourdough bread making history that spans the globe. If you're looking for a faster way to make a sourdough starter, you might be better off buying a starter, rather than trying to create one from scratch.

Alternatively, if you're worried about wasting too much flour, then these small sourdough starter instructions might be of interest.

Instead of adding the commercial yeast to your sourdough starter, it's better to add a pinch to your sourdough bread dough, if you want to give it some help.

What If You Add Yeast to Your Sourdough Bread?

The same principle applies if you add commercial yeast to your sourdough bread dough - you would just need a little bit of yeast to "spike" your dough. There's really nothing wrong with adding a pinch of yeast to your sourdough bread recipe. A pinch of yeast will still give you a good sourdough flavor, but is more likely to give you a better oven spring when it hits the oven.

You can see what happens when you add yeast to sourdough by looking at sourdough discard recipes like this easy sourdough sandwich bread recipe and this sourdough discard bread recipe, which use a little yeast to boost the unfed sourdough starter.

One thing you do need to take note of is that if you add some store-bought yeast to your sourdough, it will not have the health benefits that a traditional long fermented sourdough will have. This means that it will not be suitable for people with gluten intolerances. Even when using a traditional starter, adding yeast means that the phytic acid levels won't be as reduced as if you were making a traditional sourdough recipe.

Favorite Hybrid Sourdough Recipes

Sourdough recipes with added yeast are usually referred to as "hybrid" recipes. There are lots of ways you can use your sourdough starter (or sourdough discard) along with a little yeast to create a hybrid sourdough bake. Here are some of my favorite recipes for sourdough hybrids:

  • Sourdough Pane Di Casa
  • Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
  • Whole Wheat Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread
  • Bread Machine Sourdough Discard Bread
Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? (5)
Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? (2024)

FAQs

Can You Add Yeast to Sourdough Starter? ›

There's really nothing wrong with adding a pinch of yeast to your sourdough bread recipe. A pinch of yeast will still give you a good sourdough flavor, but is more likely to give you a better oven spring when it hits the oven.

Can I add more yeast to my sourdough starter? ›

Since yeast makes carbon dioxide, adding a small amount of commercial yeast to a sourdough can provide extra volume in the resulting bread, particularly in the case of breads that are otherwise resistant to springing on their own.

How do you feed sourdough starter with yeast? ›

How To Feed Your Sourdough Starter (at a Glance)
  1. Remove and discard half of your sourdough starter.
  2. Feed what's left in the jar with equal parts flour and water by weight (1:1:1 feeding ratio).
  3. Let rise at room temperature (covered or airtight) ideally 75+ F, until bubbly, active and double in size (2-12 hrs.).
Jan 3, 2021

What role does yeast play in sourdough starter? ›

Yeast cells are the micro organisms that digest the flour and water in your sourdough starter, producing carbon dioxide. It's this carbon dioxide that makes your sourdough starter rise.

Can I add more yeast to dough? ›

You can also try adding more yeast. Open a new packet of yeast and mix 1 teaspoon (3 g) of it with 1 cup (240 mL) of warm water and 1 tablespoon (13 g) of sugar. Let the yeast mixture proof for 10 minutes. Then, add the mixture to your dough along with some more flour so there's a ratio of 60% flour to 40% liquid.

Can I double my sourdough starter? ›

It is basically just like having double the sourdough starter which, once you have an established starter, you can easily do by just adding more flour and water to the bowl of sourdough starter.

How do I increase the amount of sourdough starter? ›

Even if you only had 10g of starter and you wanted 200g of starter, you'd just have to feed it at 1:10:10 which would mean adding 100g of flour and 100g of water to that 10g of sourdough starter.

Can I jumpstart my sourdough starter with yeast? ›

A helpful hack to stretch out store-bought yeast, if you've got it, and kickstart your sourdough journey.

How much yeast is in sourdough starter? ›

Weigh out 100g of active sourdough starter. This will be added INSTEAD of the yeast packet in your recipe (100g of starter is equivalent to 7g of yeast or 1.5 tsp). Reduce the amount of flour in the recipe by 50g and the water by 50g.

Should I stir my sourdough starter between feedings? ›

stir your starter in between feedings - try stirring it twice in between feedings and really give it a chance to get oxygen into the mix. This will help to activate your starter without too much effort.

Do sourdough starters get better with age? ›

While the age of your starter won't make your bread any better — turns out, only good sourdough practices can do that — it's a link in the long legacy of sourdough, one of the oldest forms of baking that exists. Whether your starter is a week or a decade old, you can become part of that lineage as well.

Why discard sourdough starter? ›

To keep your sourdough starter healthy, you need to provide it with fresh flour and water on a schedule. Each time you refresh (feed) your starter, you must discard some of the fully-fermented mixture in the jar. Discarding helps keep the acidity low in your sourdough culture, which keeps it strong and healthy.

What is the oldest sourdough starter? ›

The World's 'Oldest' Sourdough Starter Was Made With 4,500-Year-Old Yeast. There's no bread quite like sourdough. In addition to being tasty as a sandwich bread, delicious as sourdough croutons, and even great just toasted with butter, sourdough's production process is decidedly unlike other breads.

Can I add a little yeast to my sourdough starter? ›

If you've been baking naturally leavened sourdough bread (using just your starter for leavening) and you're not pleased with the bread's rise, ignore the naysayers and try this: add some commercial yeast to the dough.

What happens if too much yeast is added? ›

Too much or too little yeast can negatively affect the final product. For example, if there is too much yeast, the bread may collapse during baking due to the release of too much gas. Not enough yeast will result in a dense loaf of bread. The type of yeast also determines how quickly the bread will rise.

Does adding more yeast make bread fluffier? ›

Because gas is created as a result of yeast growth, the more the yeast grows, the more gas in the dough and the more light and airy your bread loaf will be.

Can I add more starter to my sourdough? ›

Generally, a smaller amount of sourdough starter is all you need. But there are some instances where you might want to increase the amount of starter you use. Some instances could be: If it's particularly cold, you could increase your sourdough starter to make your bread ferment more quickly.

How often can you add to sourdough starter? ›

Discard a portion of the starter and feed it with fresh flour and water every 24 hours. Twice-Daily Feeding: In warmer environments or if you prefer a faster fermentation process, you can feed your starter twice a day, approximately every 12 hours. This helps maintain a more active and vigorous starter.

Can you over ferment sourdough starter? ›

Recommended feeding ratio 1:4:4 or even 1:5:5. Feeding it only once a day, or in a low feeding ratio can lead to an over fermented starter. And it's not only the flavour/odour that will be rather sour, but also the wild yeast activity is compromised.

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