Liquid sourdough fermentation: industrial application perspectives.

Sourdough fermentation is considered to play a key role to get improved flavour, texture, nutritional and shelf-life properties of bakery products. Since few years Barilla R&D has been focusing on liquid sourdough fermentation which may deserve several advantages with respect to traditional processes. The results showed that the micro-biota of sourdough markedly influences flavour and texture of bakery products. Particular attention has been paid to lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Selected lactic acid bacteria and yeasts were tested in sourdough liquid fermentation as single strain or in association. The parameters of fermentations were optimized and standardized to set up a laboratory plant liquid fermentation. Only a few strains of lactic acid bacteria were found to be suitable for liquid fermentation alone or in association with yeasts. Fermentations were carried out at pilot plant and an industrial technology was developed. This work describes the results found for the organoleptic profile of an industrial bread started with liquid sourdough with respect to bakers' yeast bread without sourdough addition.

Environmental factors influencing growth of and exopolysaccharide formation by Pediococcus parvulus 2.6.

Natural exopolysaccharides (EPSs) from food-grade lactic acid bacteria have potential for development and exploitation as food additives and functional food ingredients with both health and economic benefits. In this study, we have examined the physiological capacity of EPS production in Pediococcus parvulus 2.6. EPS formation by P. parvulus 2.6 was found to be linked to biomass yields, provided that glucose was not limiting. Higher biomass yields and EPS productions were obtained when cultures were pH-controlled at pH 5.2. Various compounds have been tested for their influence on growth rate and EPS formation. Of those, only glucose (up to 75 g l(-1)), ethanol (up to 4.9%, w/v) and glycerol (up to 6.6%, w/v) had positive effects on EPS production. EPS production was not directly linked to growth, because its production continued in the stationary phase provided that glucose was present. According to an empirical model, the growth of P. parvulus 2.6 was completely inhibited by 58.9+/-18.1 g l(-1) lactate. Lactate, the sole fermentation product, was suggested to affect growth by chelation of manganese. The organism grew in an apparent linear fashion due to this imposed manganese limitation. This could be overcome by increasing the manganese concentration to at least 2 mg l(-1) in the medium. The excretion of Mn(2+) upon depletion of glucose indicated that maintenance of the high Mn(2+) gradient over the cell membrane is an energy requiring process. EPS production was increased from 0.12 g l(-1) to 4.10 g l(-1) in an improved medium that is based on the results from this study.