The aim of this work was to study the effects of a novel sourdough system prepared by wheat flour supplemented by combination of pulverized date seed, Lactobacillus plantarum, and/or Lactobacillus brevis as well as Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the sourdough characteristics, quality, sensory, texture, shelf life and image properties of Barbari flat bread. The highest sourdough acidity and bread specific volume was obtained with co-culture of Lb. plantarum + Lb. brevis + S. cerevisiae. The results suggest that fermentation is a potential bioprocessing technology for improving sensory aspects of bread supplemented with pulverized date seed, as a dietary fiber resource. Texture analysis of bread samples during 7 days of storage indicated that the presence of pulverized date seed in sourdough was able to diminish bread staling. The interaction of baker's yeast and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has led to increase the particle average size of bread crumb and decrease the area fraction than the LAB samples. It was observed that all treatments of sourdough Barbari breads had higher cell wall thickness than the control Barbari bread. Avrami non-linear regression equation was chosen as useful mathematical model to properly study bread hardening kinetics. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) allowed discriminating among sourdough and bread specialties. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were applied to determine the relationships between sensory and instrumental data.Keywords Barbari bread . Date seed . Sourdough . Staling .
Multivariate analysis
Practical applicationDate seeds considered a waste product of many date processing plants producing pitted dates, date syrup and date confectionery. The presence of large quantities of fiber and substantial amount of tannins, resistant starch, anabolic agents as well as selenium in date seeds are being recently approved by several investigators, suggest that may have health benefit and it is possible to be evaluated as an excellent source of functional foods components. Fermentation with well-characterized starter cultures-baker's yeast and/or lactic acid bacteria-is a potential means to improve the palatability and processability of fibers and wholemeal flours. Furthermore, fiber fermentation could assist in microflora management and improve the microbiological safety of fiber. The results suggest that fermentation is a potential bioprocessing technology for improving sensory aspects of bread supplemented with pulverized date seed, as a dietary fiber resource.Research Highlights • A novel sourdough system for dough and Barbari flat bread production was developed.• The date seed was used as a dietary fiber source in flat bread.• Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the sourdough and bread specialties.• Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were applied to determine the relationships between sensory and instrumental data.