Influences of lactic acid bacteria on technological, nutritional and sensory properties of barley sour dough bread

Barley bread was baked with and without admixture of barley sour doughs, individually fermented with seven starter cultures containing lactic acid bacteria (including two with beta-glucanase activity). The aim of the study was to investigate how starter cultures influenced the baking-technological, nutritional and sensory properties of barley bread. Could degradation of beta-glucans caused by sour dough admixture result in bread that was more easy to chew? The starter culture influenced the volume yield, the total titratable acidity (S degrees) and the sensory properties. The amounts of lactate and acetate ranged from 0.20 to 0.26 and 0.03 to 0.08 g/100 g sour dough bread, respectively. The total titratable acidity in the sour dough breads varied between 4.1 and 5.4 mi 0.1 N NaOH/10 g bread. There were negative correlations between barley taste and total titratable acidity (S degrees). The acidulous taste of the sour dough breads seemed to mask the barley taste. The phytate of the barley sour dough breads was reduced below 0.5 mu mol/g, which does not inhibit mineral absorption, irrespective of starter culture. There was no significant difference in the total content of beta-glucans between bread made with and without admixture of sour dough, irrespective of starter culture, rejecting the hypothesis that barley bread made with sour dough would be more easy to chew. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd