Traditional sourdough bread refers to spontaneous fermentation of cereals by lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, leading to natural selections of microorganisms. The metabolic activity of these microorganisms promotes the formation of organic acids, flavor development and leavening in food matrices, which most know as sourdough bread. This bread is still widely manufactured at farm level across Europe and worldwide, being highly appreciated by consumers for its distinct flavor, texture, healthy attributes and natural origin. Sourdough bread is expected to grow 6.9% annually through 2023. Once stagnant, the bread market has experienced a revival specifically through sourdough bread consumption. Consumers have been avoiding bread in the recent years due to the presence of extra ingredients such as chemical dough conditioners, preservatives and added sugar. However, the increasing popularity of fermented foods and their multiple health benefits are prompting the growth of sourdough market. This fast-growing market has been demanding a dynamic response from industries producing starter cultures to accelerate sourdough fermented bread production in increasing quantities while keeping its “made-for-you” characteristics. By bringing together top sourdough experts in Europe and beyond, this book compiles the latest knowledge in all areas of sourdough starter culture and advantages in using sourdough fermentation. Sourdough Microbiota and Starter Cultures for Industry supplies a biosciences’ audience with a hands on view of the latest advances from sourdough microbiota characterization to starter culture potentials targeting industrial application, including specific techno-functional and safety improvements obtained by clean-labeling strategies. Insights on health and improved quality shed light on new shifting consumer preferences and why choosing sourdough fermentation is a great expansion opportunity in one’s portfolio as the science behind sourdough starter cultures meets improved nutrition-impact opportunities. This text teaches methods to exploit sourdough technology through the entire value chain from sourdough natural microflora through the development of novel starter cultures for producing fermented food, introducing the advantages that sourdough fermentation offers for improving the sensorial, technological and nutritional properties of breads.

Bread and leavened bakery products have been essential to human nourishment for millennia. Traditionally, bread production has relied on the use of sourdough as a leavening agent and to impart a characteristic quality to baked goods. In recent years, improved understanding of the biodiversity and microbial ecology of sourdough microbiota, the discovery of new species, the improved management and monitoring of its meta-community and the commercialization of innovative products have vastly expanded the potential of sourdough fermentation for making baked goods. For example, raw materials such as cereals, pseudo-cereals, ancient grains, and gluten-free substrates, as well as a large number of baked good varieties (e.g., typical and industrial breads, sweet baked goods, gluten-free products) may benefit from advances in sourdough fermentation. In addition, biotechnological tools and culture properties have been discovered to improve both the shelf life and the sensory and textural qualities of baked goods, as well as their nutritional and health-promoting properties. Now in its second edition, the Handbook on Sourdough Biotechnology remains the only book dedicated completely to sourdough biotechnology with the contribution of the most experienced researchers from the field. It reviews the history of sourdough and the potential of sourdough fermentation in the production of bread and baked goods. A thorough discussion of the various processing steps includes the chemical properties of the raw matter, the taxonomy, diversity, and metabolic properties of starter yeasts and lactic acid bacteria, and the effects of sourdough fermentation on the shelf life and the sensory, textural, nutritional, and health-promoting properties of baked goods.

Starter cultures have great significance in the food industry due to their vital role in the manufacture, flavour, and texture development of fermented foods. Once mainly used in the dairy industry, nowadays starter cultures are applied across a variety of food products, including meat, sourdough, vegetables, wine and fish. New data on the potential health benefits of these organisms has led to additional interest in starter bacteria. Starter Cultures in Food Production details the most recent insights into starter cultures. Opening with a brief description of the current selection protocols and industrial production of starter cultures, the book then focuses on the innovative research aspects of starter cultures in food production. Case studies for the selection of new starter cultures for different food products (sourdough and cereal based foods, table olives and vegetables, dairy and meat products, fish and wine) are presented before chapters devoted to the role of lactic acid bacteria in alkaline fermentations and ethnic fermented foods. This book will provide food producers, researchers and students with a tentative answer to the emerging issues of how to use starter cultures and how microorganisms could play a significant role in the complex process of food innovation.

Handbook of Sourdough Microbiota and Fermentation: Food Safety, Health Benefits, and Product Development links the cereal and sourdough-based microorganisms, fermentations and microbial metabolites with food hygiene and safety, functional and health promoting properties, and their potential interest to be employed in the agro-food sector and beyond. Structured in a way that provides the latest findings and most recent approaches and trends on sourdough this book also emphasizes the biotechnological aspects, such as fermentation, food processing and the use of beneficial microorganisms and their metabolites in different ways and in different industries. Written by experts from a multidisciplinary perspective, this book is a remarkable reference to a wide range of audiences with different backgrounds, from academics and researchers in food science to industrial food engineers and technicians, food plant managers, and new product and processing developers/managers in food packaging and preservation. - Covers how cereal-based and sourdough microorganisms and microbial metabolites can be used to extend the shelf-life of bread and other agro-food products - Presents microbial safety, fermentations, ropiness of baking-based products, bacterial and mold food spoilage, and the health promotion of sourdough and cereal-based products - Describes how cereal and sourdough-based products can contribute to convenient, nutritious, stable, natural, low-processed and healthy food

Written by the world's leading scientists and spanning over 400 articles in three volumes, the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, Second Edition is a complete, highly structured guide to current knowledge in the field. Fully revised and updated, this encyclopedia reflects the key advances in the field since the first edition was published in 1999 The articles in this key work, heavily illustrated and fully revised since the first edition in 1999, highlight advances in areas such as genomics and food safety to bring users up-to-date on microorganisms in foods. Topics such as DNA sequencing and E. coli are particularly well covered. With lists of further reading to help users explore topics in depth, this resource will enrich scientists at every level in academia and industry, providing fundamental information as well as explaining state-of-the-art scientific discoveries. This book is designed to allow disparate approaches (from farmers to processors to food handlers and consumers) and interests to access accurate and objective information about the microbiology of foods Microbiology impacts the safe presentation of food. From harvest and storage to determination of shelf-life, to presentation and consumption. This work highlights the risks of microbial contamination and is an invaluable go-to guide for anyone working in Food Health and Safety Has a two-fold industry appeal (1) those developing new functional food products and (2) to all corporations concerned about the potential hazards of microbes in their food products

Sourdough fermentation was probably one of the first microbial processes employed by mankind for the production and preservation of food. This practice is still widely used worldwide due to the distinct sensorial and health properties attributed to these products. Traditional sourdough bread is achieved by spontaneous fermentations, leading to natural selections of microorganisms (mainly yeast and lactic acid bacteria) with health benefits for the consumers’ microbiota. However, multiple opportunities are currently underexploited through the entire sourdough value chain. Sourdough Innovations: Novel Uses of Metabolites, Enzymes, and Microbiota from Sourdough Processing summarizes the latest scientific knowledge and current opportunities of sourdough technology at biomass, microbiota and enzymatic levels described in three distinctive sections. Section I covers the fermentation process of cereals and non-cereals to produce sourdough-containing compounds with health-enhancement benefits. Section II includes novel advances in sourdough enzymology, and last, Section III explores various applications of sourdough microbiota as antimicrobial and probiotic microorganisms and opportunities to be included in both food and non-food applications. Key Features: Includes extensive information on the use of innovative or emerging technologies aiming to promote circular exploitation systems. Promotes the full use of the cereal and non-cereal sourdough metabolites. Covers the functionality of sourdough microorganisms and functional compounds, and future exploitation of some of them in the field of nutraceuticals or functional foods. Sourdough Innovations is unique in its examination of health beneficial compounds through the downstream processing of sourdough from cereals, microbiota, and enzymes. It is a great source for academic staff and scientists within the broad area of food science who are researching, lecturing, or developing their professional careers in food microbiology, food chemistry, food processing, and food technology, including bio-process engineers interested in the development of novel technological improvements in sourdough processing.