The Effect of Sourdough Fermentation Containing Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri on the Sensory Properties, Physicochemical and Staling of Barley Bread

Barley flour is one of the most nutritious, inexpensive and rich fiber food stuff that has many applications in food industries especially in confectionary products. Nowadays, fibers role is very important in human health and preventing diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancers. Sourdough fermentation with interaction of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts is considered to play a key role in the improvement of flavor, texture and shelf-life properties of bakery products. In this study, bacterial lactic fermentation was performed by Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri as a primer mixture used to improve the characteristics of barley bread.

In order to carry out the work, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri were cultured in a medium containing water and flour and used to produce sour paste for the production of barley bread. The amount of staling and physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics of the product was determined after baking.

The results showed that the use of starters increased moisture content, pH, specific volume; decreased firmness and staling as compared to the control bread. Sourdough bread containing mixed starter gained higher organoleptic score as compared to the control bread.

The application of mixed starters consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri could be considered as a suitable starter culture for the production of sourdough and high quality bread.