KEY INTERVIEW: How to Innovate in Sourdough Production

26 Sep 2014 --- There continues to be innovation in bread but alongside this a global interest in natural and traditional varieties is increasing. FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to Ana Sanchez-Jimena, product manager of Lallemand’s Florapan range, about innovation in sourdough in particular.

Sourdough is a buzzword of the moment, particularly among foodies, but it’s not the easiest bread style to produce.

The production of this kind of bread involves a long fermentation of dough using naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeasts (compared to breads which are made quickly using cultivated yeasts).

The famous ‘sour’ taste of the bread comes from the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli, but over this longer fermentation process it can be difficult to produce a consistent flavor.

Because of this and in response to sourdough’s growing popularity, (particularly in North America), yeast and bacteria specialist Lallemand developed its Florapan range.

“Florapan baking cultures have been developed to produce cultured flours (levains or sourdoughs) in a controlled way by optimizing organic acid production and flavor in a single easy step,” explains product manager, Ana Sanchez-Jimena. “They allow producers to have a more predictable sourdough fermentation process, in terms of flavor development and timing.”

These starter cultures were designed specifically to eliminate the tedious and often lengthy part of the baking process required for producing a sourdough bread.

“With the starter cultures we can now go directly to the final levain, avoiding the complex ‘back-slopping process,” she says.

The cultures are composed of lactic acid bacteria and they are specially selected because of their ability to produce organic acids and aroma compounds, which then give the finished bread a unique flavour and extended shelf-life.

“Their high concentration in living cells allows the baker to prepare in single step a liquid or stiff pre-ferment within 18 to 24 hours at 20-35°C,” she notes.

Lallemand currently has three different products within this Florapan range of starter cultures: L62, L73 and LA4.

All three products allow for the production of different acidification and aroma profiles, ranging from ones which are more acetic or complex and others which offer more lactic and mild profiles.

Ingredient Innovation
At the moment the company has a new product – Florapan L77K – which is currently undergoing a patent application procedure, although it is already available under a license agreement.

“We recently completed our Florapan range of products with the new Florapan L77K, which has been developed for quick pre-fermentation processes, for products where a mild acidification is needed or just a decrease in pH dough is targeted,” explains Sanchez.

“This product is intended for all baking applications which require a short pre-fermentation step with a mild lactic profile. It’s very well suited for sponge and dough breads.”

The product was originally designed for the North American market, where short pre-fermentations are popular, but Sanchez notes that the company has also seen sales pick up in Finland and also South Africa.

L77K can offer a number of benefits for the baking industry.

“When used in a sponge and dough process - and compared to the use of baker’s yeast in the sponge fermentation - Florapan L77K can produce a different flavor, closer to the taste of traditional artisanal breads,” Sanchez-Jimena explains.

The product can also reduce the overall processing time, but, she notes, this can depend on what is being produced. It can, for example, acidify the dough in less than three hours and the acidity level is stabilized after eight hours.

“If used for the goal of decreasing the dough pH, then yes, it can reduce the process time. This is because it allows bakers to achieve a lower pH after four hours fermentation, compared to the use of baker’s yeast or other classical starter cultures which can decrease the pH to lower levels but they need fermentation processes of at least 12-14 hours.”

Looking forwards, Lallemand has plans to continue with its studies around the subject of starter cultures for the sourdough and bread-making process.

“We want to see if we can reduce the amount of preservatives (calcium propionate) used in some pan bread recipes, for example,” she says. “Indeed, thanks to the lower pH reached in the dough when using L77K in the pre-fermentation stage, the preservative can be more efficient and therefore it can be reduced and the shelf-life for the final product won’t be affected.”

by Sonya Hook