Tasty and healthy bake-off sourdough bread, baked with innovative technologies

Important results from the project

The aim was to 1) produce prototypes of bake-off sourdough bread with new and optimized yeast / bacterial cultures to increase the range of healthy products that meet consumer needs, leading to a healthier lifestyle with a reduced risk of lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes - we have developed recipes for this. 2) Being able to bake better bread from frozen dough and use baking technologies with lower energy consumption for baking and better flexibility (smaller amounts discarded) during baking - microwave technology can reduce energy consumption by up to 70%.

Expected long term effects

The project makes it possible to bake healthy sourdough bread with less energy. Lower energy consumption is better economy and environment. Consumption of healthier breads could provide healthier population and reduce healthcare costs. The project provides various opportunities to increase sales, production and consumption of healthy and tasty bread with lower energy consumption. This could affect raw material producers, oven manufacturers, bakery industry, trade and consumers. Knowledge on texture & flavor formation leads to that industry is now launching new breads.

Approach and implementation

Two basic recipes for wheat and rye sourdough breads, with keyhole requirements, have been established. New yeast strains for enhanced freezing tolerance have been identified and developed. Completed studies: 1) wheat sourdough bread study, with varied preproofing, sourdough content and kneading, 2) rye breads with varying amounts of rye and sourdough content, 3) sourdough bread with oat bran, with varying particle size, content and leavening. Different baking techniques, microwave and infrared baking, compared to conventional has been evaluated with good results.