Lactic bacteria fermentation for reducing the need for additives
More organic, tasty bread with VTT’s method
VTT has developed a method whereby the use of additives in bread can be reduced significantly. At the same time, the taste and lightness of wheat bread made using sourdough, and keeping it soft without chemical additives, can be greatly improved.
The method is based on lactic bacteria, which produce hydrocolloids during the sourdough fermentation and which are useful in terms of baking technology. VTT identified the useful lactic bacteria in a survey in which over 100 cereal and food-based microbes were screened. Corresponding safe microbes, i.e. starters, are used in making yoghurt and sour whole milk, for instance.
Baking tests demonstrated that the hydrocolloids produced in sourdough facilitated the mechanical processability of the dough, improved the shelf life of wheat bread and increased its volume. The quality of the bread was even better than that of ordinary leavened bread: the taste was mild and there was no strong pungeant taste typical of bread made from sourdough.
Other news from the department research and development
