Learn how to make a big batch of sourdough bread and try my sourdough bread formula calculator in this post.
Multiplying batches of dough is an important part of sharing sourdough bread with others.
Whether you want to bake some batches of loaves with neighbors or invite people over for sourdough pizzas, you’ll need to effectively plan how to make the correct amount of dough.
In this post, I’ll share how I multiply a batch and give you a sample formula. An important note is that using grams is essential for easy and accurate multiplying.
Why grams?
Measuring ingredients in baking by mass rather than volume has more accuracy and will give you the best results.
The way people scoop a cup of flour can yield vastly different weights so using American standard (volume-based) measurements is not reliable.
Helpful Tools
- budget-friendly food scale
- OXO brand food scale
- 2-quart size cambro food container for larger batches of starter
- 6 qt capacity size cambro food container for double or triple batches of dough
- 12 qt capacity size cambro food container with a lid for 8x batches of dough
If you don’t have one yet, I highly recommend buying a kitchen scale. The least expensive food scales start under $15.
Or, if you want something that will look beautiful and be a little more user-friendly, I recommend this OXO brand food scale that I just switched over to.
For more tools recommended for beginners, see this post: Beginners’ Guide to Sourdough Bread Baking Tools on a Budget
How to increase a batch of Sourdough Bread
To increase the quantity of the dough, multiply each ingredient in grams by the amount you want to increase it by. But first, take note of the yield for each recipe version.
For example, my sourdough bread recipe, Sourdough Rustic Bread Master Recipe, makes 1 large loaf of sourdough bread.
So if I want to share 4 loaves with my neighbors, I would multiply each ingredient by 4:
- 370 grams of water * 4 = 1,480 grams
- 100 grams active starter * 4 = 400 grams
- 100 grams whole wheat flour * 4 = 400 grams
- 400 grams bread flour * 4 = 1,600 grams
- 10 grams salt * 4 = 40 grams
Try my Sourdough Bread Formula Batch Calculator. You can simply input the ingredients and the multiplier and it will give you your results!
Tip: Make sure to write down your notes of how much of each ingredient you added. This is very important to have for later, when you divide the dough.
Increasing the starter for a Big Batch of Sourdough Bread
I’m often asked about increasing your amount of starter for a large batch.
For sourdough recipes that use a 100% hydration starter (most of them do, including the one in our example), look at the amount you will need (400 grams of starter in our example), then divide that number in half to find the amount of white flour and water you will need to mix with a portion of your old batch of sourdough starter.
The amount of your mature starter I recommend using is 20% of the total weight needed if you want it to ferment and become active at a typical rate.
To simplify this calculation, use the calculator above and see the amounts needed for your bigger batch at the end of the calculator once you’ve filled out all the fields.
You will probably need a large container to make your big starter batch. I use a 2-quart size cambro for large batches of sourdough starter.
How to increase a starter by cups
Making a big batch of sourdough starter using grams on a kitchen scale is accurate and straight-forward.
If you measure your sourdough starter by cups or are following a recipe that uses cups, refer to this post: How much does a cup of sourdough starter weigh? (Active vs. Discard)
Want more sourdough starter info?
You can get my free Quick Start Sourdough Guide to begin learning some of the key parts of the cycle of sourdough starter.
Learn the phases, the signs of an active, how to care for a sourdough starter to keep it alive and thriving, as well as how to make your own sourdough starter.
Do I need to increase the time for a big batch of sourdough?
You do not need to increase your time when multiplying a batch of sourdough bread.
Sourdough bread formulas work based on formulas and ratios of ingredients.
These ratios along with environmental factors like ingredient and ambient temperature influence the amount of time needed for fermentation.
For example, a typical 100% hydration liquid sourdough starter will become active (starter doubles, has lots of bubbles, ripe smell) in 6 to 12 hours using the ratio I recommended in the previous section. This timing depends on ingredient temperature and room temperature. The warmer these elements, the faster the rate of fermentation will be.
To make sure that your fermentation rate is the expected amount of time, depending on your local weather and season of the year, use the recommended ratios of ingredients like the ones you can create in these calculators.
Learn more about sourdough starters, their stages, timing, and care in this post: What is a sourdough starter?
My Sourdough Time Planning Workbook and Baking Journal is a great way to simplify all of your sourdough bakes with ready to fill in timelines with 8 options to choose from:
What if I have a smaller sourdough starter?
If you are wanting to make a large batch of sourdough bread or other recipe, but don’t have the right amount of starter to begin the big batch of sourdough starter here’s what you can do!
I recommend for your own sourdough starter added to begin a large batch of sourdough starter to be at least 15-20% the total amount needed. For example, for 100 grams of active sourdough starter, I recommend beginning with 15-20 grams of mature starter, then adding the 50% weight in equal parts of 50 g water and 50 g flour to create the amount needed and some leftover.
That ratio gives consistent timing results, but even a small sourdough starter amount will inoculate a mixture of water and flour with wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. The difference is the timing rate.
For example, in the example I gave in the first section to multiply my typical sourdough bread recipe by 4, I need 400 grams of total sourdough starter. Even if I didn’t have much sourdough starter on hand to have the recommended 60-80 grams to mix with the water and flour.
I would prepare a large fresh batch of sourdough starter (also known as a levain) by mixing 200 grams water, 200 grams flour, and one tablespoon of sourdough starter. It will take longer to become active, but it will not fail.
Tip: If you’re in this position of not having enough of a mature starter to make a big batch, use slightly warm water to increase the rate of fermentation so that your starter will be ready in a shorter amount of time.
Can I use sourdough discard?
Yes, you can use sourdough discard as your 15-20% of the new sourdough starter batch.
But you cannot use sourdough discard in place of an active sourdough starter in a sourdough recipe.
Learn more about sourdough discard in these posts:
- What is Sourdough Discard?
- How to Store Sourdough Discard for Starter Discard Recipes
- Why use Sourdough Discard?
Mixing a big batch of sourdough
I’ve made some epic batches of sourdough bread for pizza parties and sourdough classes, so I have some important considerations for you!
First, you will need a large mixing bowl. I recommend a set like this if you plan to make batches that are triple or quadruple the amount of a standard batch.
Most electric stand mixers for home kitchens are not equipped to handle large quantities of dough. You will need a large capacity stand mixer like this one with a large bowl for big batches of multiple loaves of sourdough bread.
I have a lift bowl, large capacity mixer that I use for making triple batches of bread, pizza dough and more. It’s such a time saver in our busy family!
Don’t overwork your dough
A really important reminder in ALL sourdough mixing is to not overwork your sourdough. If you are making brioche or an enriched bread recipe, that’s a different matter. For sourdough country bread, baguettes, or sandwich bread recipes, over mixing results in too much oxidation and poor texture in your dough and final loaf. So don’t turn on your stand mixer and walk away! Stand by, and stop when all flour has absorbed the water. Scrape down the bowl, mix in any leftover flour then stop.
Bulk dough fermentation containers
Investing in some cambro containers will help you store your large batch of sourdough so that it doesn’t dry out. These containers also help you gauge your dough rise with their shape and measurement lines. They also stack nicely on the counter or in the fridge unlike bowls.
For double to triple batches, I use a 6 qt capacity size.
I also have a 12 qt capacity size with a lid that I use for batches of 8x dough!
If you are doing an extremely large batch of sourdough bread or other sourdough recipe, you will want to simplify your mixing by batch mixing. If your bowl can only fit a triple batch of sourdough but you are making a 9x batch, you will want to make three triple batches then add them all to a cambro like the 12-quart size linked above.
Tip: Add some olive oil to your dough bin and spread it over the bottom and sides before adding your dough so that it releases easier after bulk fermentation and is easier to stretch and fold.
Stretch and Folds for a big batch of sourdough
Mixing a large batch of bread dough at home takes a lot of work and getting the texture just right can be a challenge.
If you delay your salt add or adding your starter until after the autolyse dough rest, it can be difficult to incorporate the added ingredient evenly into the dough. So doing a series of folds really helps ensure that all the ingredients are well dispersed and that the texture of the dough develops evenly for strong gluten strength and elasticity.
If your big batch is in a bin like a cambro or similar, doing a series of folds doing the coil fold method is easiest as opposed to doing the quarter turn in a bowl method.
Take one end of the dough and pull it up, stretching it, then fold it away from you over the rest of the batch. Do this same motion 1 to 3 times in a series of folds, grabbing your dough from the same spot so it will roll on top of itself.
Bulk Fermentation for big batches of sourdough
As I mentioned above, a larger batch of dough will not take more time to ferment than a single batch of dough.
This is because we use the same ratios in a big batch as we do in a single batch. So you’re looking for the same signs in your dough during bulk fermentation as you would in a single recipe: good rise, smooth texture, doubled in volume. See this post about how to tell when bulk fermentation is done for more help.
The term “bulk fermentation” makes more sense when we are making multiple loaves of bread or batches at a time because all the dough is together in bulk during this stage. After the bulk rise it will be time to divide the dough.
How to divide a large batch of dough
To divide a large batch of dough most accurately, use a kitchen food scale.
Before you begin separating your dough, take the notes you took in the first step of creating your big batch formula. Look at the ingredient amounts used. Then add them all together for your estimated total weight.
In my quadruple batch of Sourdough Country Bread example above, my big batch will weight 3,920 grams.
If you didn’t take notes, you can either take an oversized bowl, put it on the scale and tare* it then add all of your dough to see the actual weight. Or turn on the scale so it reads 0 and put your full bin of dough on the scale (some scales have weight limits so you may get an error message), take note of the full weight of dough and the bin combined, then take your dough out onto your work surface and weigh your empty bin to find the weight to subtract from the combined weight to find the weight of the dough only.
*Taring is when a button is pressed to remove the weight and bring the scale to zero.
Once you have your total weight of dough, divide it by the amount of breads, rolls, pizza balls, etc. you plan to make.
For example, for 4 full size loaves, each section of dough in my example of 3,920 divided by 4 would weigh 980 grams each. If I want to use my dough to make 8 half-size loaves, I divide 3,920 by 8, my sections of dough should weigh 490 grams each.
Turn your scale on, and use a bench knife or dough scraper to divide your dough. Place a section of dough on the scale to find the weight, add more dough or take some away until each piece is the same weight.
Can I estimate rather than scaling?
Of course you can!
However, take time in trying to get your pieces of dough approximately equal in size.
Some recipes like rolls or baguettes that are all baked at the same time should be as uniform as possible so that the baking stays consistent. If rolls or baguettes are baking at the same time and are not the same size, it may cause some breads to be overdone and some to be underbaked.
Proofing multiple loaves of bread or other recipes
Equipment and space are needed for this stage.
After you divide the dough, it will need to be preshaped, then have a bench rest before you do the final shaping.
For the final shaping and proofing, make sure to prepare your proofing containers or surface.
For sourdough bread boules or round loaves, you’ll need multiple proofing bowls. You can substitute a mesh strainer lined with a kitchen towel if you have one or two.
Multiple loaf pans are needed for sandwich loaves. Sourdough rolls, can be put on parchment lined baking sheets. A flaxcloth couche is ideal for proofing baguettes. For balls of pizza dough, I use proofing bins like these to store the balls of dough before baking time.
No matter the type of dough, make sure it is well covered with plastic wrap or a lid (if in a container) so that the dough doesn’t dry out.
The timing will be the same as a single recipe for the final proof of multiple breads. To learn more about proofing, see this post: When is sourdough finished proofing? The signs and a test
How do I stagger the bake?
Your home oven only has so much space so it’s unlikely that you could fit all of your dough in the oven at once. Or you might be working with only one Dutch oven.
To avoid the waiting loaves or dough overfermenting while you are baking other batches, you will need room in your fridge to store the waiting dough.
Once your dough is finished with the proof or second rise, you’ll begin preheating your oven. Place the waiting dough into the fridge. And take out the loaves or dough you are going to bake first.
The fridge will keep the waiting dough from overfermenting by creating a cold fermentation that will significantly slow all fermentation activity.
Baking notes for big batches
If you are baking baguettes, multiple sandwich loaves, or other shaped sourdough loaves, make sure you have enough steam created in the oven before you put the dough in. See this post about manual steam to learn how to create steam in your home oven for good oven spring.
Make sure to let your oven come back to temperature and refill with steam if you are staggering your bakes or separating the batches.
A personal note on sharing bread
Sharing your bakes might feel intimidating if you are still getting the hang of sourdough baking, but you are offering the people around you a beautiful gift.
They are receiving something that will not only feed their hunger, it will create a beautiful memory and a sense of honor at receiving what you carefully crafted over the span of a day.
It might not look the way you’d hoped, but it will bring a sense of joy and thanksgiving to the people you share it with.
In my classes, I share how my business name was inspired by Jesus feeding the 5,000. Did you know the bread that he blessed and multiplied were barley loaves?
Barley loaves were the food of the poor. This meager offering was brought by a little boy but in the hands of Jesus, his humble lunch fed thousands!
Don’t underestimate what a simple, humble act can do!
Help your friends feel more confident baking and making multiple sourdough breads for others by sharing this post with them! These calculators alone are such a big help.
If you use this method and share bread with family or friends, I’d love to hear about it! You can comment on this post or tag me on instagram @livingbreadbaker
Just getting started with sourdough?
A competent guide transforms sourdough baking from overwhelming to uncomplicated and fun!
Get My Free Quick Start Sourdough Guide: Learn the key terms and concepts in sourdough baking, including the differences between active sourdough starter and sourdough discard, and how to care for your starter.
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Time Planning Help for Sourdough Baking
The #1 need for sourdough bakers is help with time planning, so I created a resource for you.
Sourdough Time Planning Workbook: Perfect for new or experienced bakers, this workbook includes 8 templates ready to fill in and a baking journal. The templates cover 4 different ways to make classic sourdough country breads, 3 time planning worksheets for enriched sourdough bread depending on serving time target, and a blank template. The baking journal goes over baker’s percentages and how to take notes on your sourdough bakes.
Get a free sample of the workbook: Use this sourdough time planning worksheet sample to simplify your baking.
Living Bread Baker posts mentioned
How to make Sourdough Bread step by step
How to tell when sourdough is done with bulk fermentation
When is sourdough finished proofing? The signs and a test
How to Bake Sourdough without a Dutch oven: Manual Steam Method
How to Store Sourdough Discard for Starter Discard Recipes
Shop this post
least expensive budget kitchen scale
2-quart size cambro recommended for large starter batches
8 quart capacity set of stainless steel bowls
large capacity 7-quart stand mixer
6 qt capacity size cambro dough bin
12 qt capacity size cambro dough bin
Flaxcloth couche for baguettes
free sourdough quick start guide
online Intro. to Sourdough course
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