One extra stir and her sourdough starter went wild—bakers can’t believe it

Hold onto your Weck jars because sourdough starter just got a whole lot taller—thanks to one small trick that’s taking Facebook by storm. 

Sharon Biedebach dropped a game-changing tip in the Sourdough Geeks group, and let’s just say, the community is collectively losing its mind.

Here’s what happened: Sharon, who’s been baking sourdough for a year, posted a photo of her starter practically trying to escape from its jar, and explained why:

“WOW. I’ve been doing sourdough for a year and just heard something for the first time that is making a huge difference.

Someone said if you stir your starter about 30-45 minutes after you initially mix it, it strengthens the gluten and doubles even further. I tried it last night and it’s a good 2 inches taller than it normally is… and it’s also cold in my house! It’s about to bust out of my Weck jar.

Mixed 30 g starter, 125 g warm water and 140 g flour. Stirred well and then stirred again after 45 minutes. Just thought I would share since it’s something that was new to me.”

With over 11,000 reactions and likes, Sharon’s post turned into a full-blown starter science discussion, with everyone from beginners to the “starter whisperers” chiming in.

What’s wild? Even though there’s no group consensus on why it works, everyone who tried it agreed—it does work.

Sara Marie Martens commented, “I do this several times after feeding it! It makes it much more active and rises a bunch more than when I don’t.” 

Debbie Barton Kutch agreed, adding, “When I stir my starter a few times, it has not only doubled, sometimes it grows 5x the original size… I love it when my starter feels this happy!!”

Alana Slavoski pointed out a bonus use: “I stir if it peaks and I’m not ready to bake. Then it rises again.”

I actually tested this with a time-lapse last year and can confirm—it definitely works.

So what’s the deal? Is it the oxygen? The redistribution of food? Strengthening the gluten network?

Danielle Elizabeth weighed in: “Yes! Starters love oxygen! It’s amazing.”

But some folks had a different take. Kimberly Funk offered, “It happens because you redistributed the food and so peak continued… It doesn’t make your starter stronger to my knowledge.”

I posted about this phenomenon – stirring a peaked starter and watching it peak a second time – in February 2025. There were quite a few commenters, including Eriksmåla Åfors Hembageri, who explained it’s not actually oxygen leading to the second peak:

“Lactic acid bacteria do not rely on oxygen for their metabolising processes and most of them are nonmotile meaning they don’t move. By stirring you introduce them to the sugars and starches they haven’t been able to reach yet.”

Elizabeth Prescott responded to the original post, explaining that her years of working with microbial and fungal cultures in a lab make her believe that if there is more food available following distribution, they will keep doubling.

My own research confirmed what Hembageri and Prescott shared: stirring your starter doesn’t actually introduce oxygen in a way that impacts fermentation.

Instead, a review on sourdough starters explains that microbial activity is driven by the availability of fermentable substrates in the flour. Stirring redistributes those leftover sugars and starches, giving the microbes access to more food, which can lead to a second rise.

Okay, but the real question everybody wanted answered: Does this actually make better bread?

Lorrie Bohl got straight to the point, asking Sharon, “Will you let us know how it affects the bread in the end?” Sharon replied, “I’ve been really happy with my bread in general, but I do feel like this loaf turned out taller and more airy.”

Even skeptics like Tom DeWitt, who asked, “Why would you care about gluten in the starter? If you are just feeding and developing yeast strains what is the purpose of gluten development in a starter?” heard back from Sharon with her experience:

“It made my starter more active and bubbly. Bread turned out great. My loafs held their shape better than usual while keeping the rest of the process the same.”

So there you have it—one simple stir could be another tool to achieve a happier starter and a loftier loaf.

Will you be trying it? 

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