A kinetic investigation of the effect of sodium chloride on cell growth of Lactobacillus amylovorus DCE 471 and amylovorin L471 production was carried out through in vitro experiments using a temperature and pH prevailing during sourdough fermentations. Sodium chloride interfered both with cell growth and bacteriocin production. Biomass formation and amylovorin L471 production decreased in the presence of increasing salt concentrations. Maximum bacteriocin activities were observed after the addition of 10 g l(-1) of NaCl, while the maximum specific growth rate reached an optimum at 5 g l(-1) of NaCl. High salt concentrations (20-40 g l(-1)) resulted in biphasic fermentation profiles. Based on these results, incorporation of 5-10 g l(-1) of sodium chloride in the water phase of type II sourdough preparations might be beneficial to enhance bacterial growth and amylovorin L471 production, and so contribute to the competitiveness of the strain in a sourdough environment.