ABSTRACTAfter isolation from different doughs and sourdoughs, 177 strains of lactic acid bacteria were screened at the phenotypic level for exopolysaccharide production on media containing different carbohydrate sources. Two exopolysaccharide-producing lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus curvatus69B2 andLeuconostoc lactis95A) were selected through quantitative analysis on solid media containing sucrose and yeast extract. The PCR detection of homopolysaccharide (gtfandlev) and heteropolysaccharide (epsA,epsB,epsDandepsE, andepsEFG) genes showed different distributions within species and strains of the lactic acid bacteria studied. Moreover, in some strains both homopolysaccharide and heteropolysaccharide genes were detected. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra suggest thatLactobacillus curvatus69B2 andLeuconostoc lactis95A produced the same exopolysaccharide, which was constituted by a single repeating glucopyranosyl unit linked by an α-(1→6) glycosidic bond in a dextran-type carbohydrate. Microbial growth, acidification, and viscoelastic properties of sourdoughs obtained by exopolysaccharide-producing and nonproducing lactic acid bacterial strains were evaluated. Sourdough obtained after 15 h at 30°C with exopolysaccharide-producing lactic acid bacteria reached higher total titratable acidity as well as elastic and dissipative modulus curves with respect to the starter not producing exopolysaccharide, but they showed similar levels of pH and microbial growth. On increasing the fermentation time, no difference in the viscoelastic properties of exopolysaccharide-producing and nonproducing samples was observed. This study suggests that dextran-producingLeuconostoc lactis95A andLactobacillus curvatus69B2 can be employed to prepare sourdough, and this would be particularly useful to improve the quality of baked goods while avoiding the use of commercially available hydrocolloids as texturizing additives.