lievito madre
masculine
Sourdough in Italian is translated as lievito madre. Wiktionary also lists pasta madre and lievito naturale.
Meaning: dough (noun)
Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| lievito madre | masculine | |
| pasta madre | /ˈpas.ta ˈma.dre/ (word by word) | feminine |
| lievito naturale | masculine |
When you want to specify that something is made with sourdough, such as sourdough bread, Italians typically use the phrase pane con lievito madre (bread with mother yeast).
What does it mean word for word?
The term lievito madre literally translates to mother yeast, while pasta madre literally translates to mother dough.
Which one should you use?
lievito madre is most commonly used to refer to the active starter or culture itself. Lievito naturale is another way to express the concept of natural yeast.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Sicily, and specifically in Palermo, the term criscito is used to describe sourdough.
How does it change in a sentence?
The term lievito madre is a masculine noun, whereas pasta madre is feminine.
Did you know?
- Because lievito madre is viewed as a living organism, some Italian bakers traditionally give their sourdough starter a proper human name.
- The Italian word lievito comes from the Latin word levātus, which means 'lifted'. This describes the physical action of the dough rising rather than the biological agent causing it.
- The term pasta madre uses the word 'pasta', which in English usually refers to 'noodles' or 'spaghetti', but in Italian it refers to any soft dough.
Examples in context
- Il lievito madre è essenziale per creare un autentico pane saporito e fragrante.Sourdough is essential for creating an authentic, flavorful, and fragrant bread.
- La pasta madre richiede cura e attenzione per ottenere risultati di panificazione eccezionali.Sourdough requires care and attention to achieve exceptional baking results.
- Devo nutrire il lievito madre ogni giorno.I have to feed the sourdough every day.
- Il lievito madre rende il pane più buono.The sourdough makes the bread better.
- Usi il lievito madre per questa ricetta?Are you using sourdough for this recipe?
Example conversation
Chiara and Francesco are in the kitchen preparing bread.
- ChiaraFrancesco, hai preso il lievito madre?Francesco, did you get the sourdough?
- FrancescoSì, è proprio qui sul tavolo.Yes, it is right here on the table.
- ChiaraOttimo, iniziamo a impastare ora.Great, let's start kneading now.
- FrancescoPerfetto, il profumo è fantastico.Perfect, the smell is fantastic.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sourdough” translations and entries lievito madre, pasta madre, lievito naturale, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (pasta, madre) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lievito, madre, naturale, pasta, CC BY-SA 4.0.
