Influence of fermentation time on characteristics of sourdough bread

Abstract

Sourdough is used in the manufacture of numerous baked products. The microorganisms used in this preparation of sourdoughs included two strains from the Lactobacillus paracasei (1 and 2) and two strains from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae group (1 and 2). Samples of raw dough were analyzed for pH, titratable acidity and plate counts and samples of resulting bread were analyzed for pH, titratable acidity and specific volume. The samples were analyzed every 2 h, between 4 and 10 h of fermentation. After 10 hours of fermentation, the lowest values of pH were for dough with LC2 and bread with SC1. Titratable acidity values increased over time, with the highest levels of acidity were found in the dough and bread with yeasts. Lactic acid bacteria showed the highest microbial counts over time. With the exception of SC2, the greatest microbial increases occurred at 10 hours of fermentation. LC1 showed the lowest volume across all time points (p < 0.05). The largest volumes were found in breads after 6 hours of fermentation. SC1 showed the best specific volume values across all times tested.