Journal of Food Engineering 292 (2021) 110355

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Journal of Food Engineering

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Spray-dried and freeze-dried sourdough powders: Properties and evaluation

of their use in breadmaking
Nagihan Caglar a, b, Ertan Ermis c, Muhammed Zeki Durak a, *
a
Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Chemistry and Metallurgical Engineering, Department of Food Engineering, 34220, Istanbul, Turkey
b
Istanbul Aydin University, School of Applied Sciences, Department of Food Technology, 34295, Istanbul, Turkey
c
Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Department of Food Engineering, 34303, İstanbul, Turkey

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this study, spray-dried and freeze-dried sourdough powders were produced and characterized. In addition, the
Sourdough powder powder samples were used to produce sourdough breads. Differences observed in powder properties of sour­
Dough rheology dough powders (particle surface morphology, bulk density and flowability) depending on the method used. The
Sourdough bread
powder samples were used at four blending ratios (3, 6, 9 and 15%) to assess the effect of their use on physico-
Spray drying
Freeze drying
chemical properties of sourdough breads produced. Converting sourdough into powder preserved the viability of
both lactic acid bacteria and yeasts at certain numbers (final counts for both LAB and yeast were around 5 cfu/g
and 8 cfu/g for freeze-dried powder and spray-dried powder, respectively). Satisfactory results were obtained
with both spray dried and freeze dried sourdough powders even though there were significant changes in some
dough properties and reduction of volume of bread products when powder starters used in comparison with
control samples (p < 0.05). Therefore, the results obtained in this study suggest that freeze-dried and spray-dried
sourdough powders could be used as alternatives to fresh sourdoughs in dough formulations.

1. Introduction
There has been a considerable increase in consumer interest to
sourdough breads in recent years due to their nutritional, health and
technological benefits (Arici et al., 2017). Spontaneous sourdough
fermentation have been applied traditionally for the production of
traditional homemade sourdough breads having typical taste and flavor
in various locations in the world (Chavan and Chavan, 2011). Sour­
dough is classified into three types, based on the technology applied
(Reale et al., 2019). Type I, Type II and Type III are fresh sourdough,
industrial type of adapted sourdough strains and dried sourdough,
respectively. Type III sourdough is produced as either spray-dried or
freeze-dried for proper stabilization of type I sourdough (Chavan and
Chavan, 2011; Reale et al., 2019).Traditional sourdough bread pro­
duction by using type I sourdough is costly, unstable and
time-consuming (De Vuyst et al., 2014). Stabilization of type I sour­
dough by drying would lead to lower the operational cost as well as help
to standardize traditional sourdough bread products (Komlenić et al.,
2010).
The drying techniques such as spray drying and freeze drying could
be used to provide longer shelf-life of sourdough and turn it into a stock
product until further use (Komlenić et al., 2008). Despite freeze-drying
is an efficient method to preserve the viability of lactic acid bacteria
(Hammes and Gänzle, 1998), it has high energy consumption and hence
high manufacturing costs when compared to spray drying. Due to lower
costs and ease of operation, spray drying technique has been used widely
to preserve liquid foods (Ermiş and Karasu, 2020) as well as starter
cultures without loss of cell activity (Reale et al., 2019). Therefore,
freeze drying and spray drying methods could be employed to produce
stabilized sourdough powders (Tafti et al., 2013a). However, there is a
lack of information in the literature related to freeze dried and spray
dried sourdough, powder characterization and evaluation of their use in
breadmaking.
The aim of this work was to produce sourdough powders using
different drying methods, their characterization and potential use in
sourdough bread formulations. For this purpose, two different methods
(freeze drying and spray drying) were employed for obtaining dried
sourdough powders. Sourdough breads were produced using sourdough
powder samples and physico-chemical properties of the breads were
evaluated.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mzdurak@yildiz.edu.tr (M.Z. Durak).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2020.110355
Received 21 June 2020; Received in revised form 18 August 2020; Accepted 17 September 2020
Available online 19 September 2020
0260-8774/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N. Caglar et al.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Material
Wheat sourdough was collected from a local bakery. Wet yeast, corn
starch, sugar, table salt and Baker’s wheat flour (protein content of
12,95%, ash content of 0.64% and moisture content of 13,89%) was
obtained from a local market.
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Sourdough powder preparation
The back-slopping method reported by Sterr et al. (2009) was used
for dough propagation with a minor modification. Firstly, 100 g sour­
dough, 100 mL water and 100 g wheat flour was mixed, then incubated
at 30 ◦ C, %80 relative humidity (RE), for 24 h in the climate cabinet
(Nuve, TK 252, Turkey). After that whole mixture (300 g), 600 mL water
and 300 g wheat flour were mixed, then incubated at the same condi­
tions for 12 h. The whole mixture (1200 g), 1200 g wheat flour and 2400
mL water were mixed, then incubated at the same conditions. Finally,
the whole mixture (4800 g), 2400 g wheat flour and 2400 mL water were
mixed, then incubated at same conditions for 8 h. Wheat flour and water
(1:1) was added to sourdough twice a week and stored at +4 ◦ C.
Prior to drying process, 50 g table sugar, 70 g corn starch, 50 g
baker’s wheat flour and 200 mL water were added into 3000 g fresh
sourdough for activating of bacteria and yeasts, then incubated at 30 ◦ C
and 60% relative humidity for 2 h in the climate chamber.
For freeze-drying, activated fresh sourdoughs (type II) were frozen at
− 80 ◦ C for 1 day by using ultra low temperature freezer (Esco, Lexicon
ULT, Singapore). The freeze-drying process was conducted using a
freeze-dryer (Christ, Epsilon 2-10D, Germany). The process of drying
lasted for approximately 56 h under vacuum at 15 Pa. Dried sourdoughs
were grinded using a bench size grinder (Arnica, AA 1708, Turkey). Air-
tight-capped plastic containers were used to store freeze-dried sour­
dough powder (FD-SP) samples at room temperature for later use.
Spray-drying process was conducted using a pilot scale spray dryer
(SF Machinery Co. Ltd., LPG 5, China) equipped with a centrifugal
atomizer according to the method described by Tafti et al. (2013a) with
minor modifications. Before drying, sourdough was diluted with
distilled water at 1:1 ratio. Heated atmospheric air was used as the
drying gas at a flow rate of 300 m3/h. The flow rate of the sourdough
solution was set to 2 L/h (34 mL/min). The speed of the atomizer was set
to 7000 rpm. The inlet and outlet air temperatures were set to 160 ± 5 ◦ C
and 90 ± 4 ◦ C, respectively, to reach a moisture content of final product
below 5%. Spray-dried dourdough powder (SD-SP) samples were stored
in air-tight-capped plastic containers at room temperature for further
analysis.
2.2.2. Chemical and physicochemical assessment
10 g of sample was homogenized with 90 mL of distilled water for 1
min prior to conducting the total titratable acidity (TTA) and pH ana­
lyses (Reale et al., 2019). The pH was measured using a pH meter
(Hanna HI2211, Germany). The volume (mL) of 0.1 N NaOH required to
reach pH 8.5 was recorded as TTA (Brandt, 2007). Moisture content of
the samples was determined based on AOAC official method 923.03
(AOAC, 2000).
2.2.3. LAB and yeast viability
For counting viable LAB and yeast cells, 10 g of powder sample was
mixed with 90 mL of physiological solution (9 g/L NaCI in distilled
water) in a stomacher bag using a stomacher (VWR Star Blender-LB400)
for 1 min. Then the mixture was serially diluted and plated in triplicate.
LAB and yeasts were enumerated on MRS agar containing 0.01%
cycloheximide (Sigma Aldrich, Germany) and on sabouraud dextrose
agar (SDA), respectively. LAB were incubated in anaerobic conditions
and yeasts were incubated in aerobic conditions at 30 ◦ C for 72 h. Spread
2
Journal of Food Engineering 292 (2021) 110355
plate technique was used and plates with 30–300 colonies were selected
to count the number of colony forming units per g of sample (cfu/g).
2.2.4. Powder flow and particle surface properties
Powder flow properties of powder samples were investigated using a
Brookfield Powder Flow Tester (PFT) (Brookfield Engineering, UK)
which measures the yield locus representing the stress (σc) necessary for
the powder mass to shear or to deform under varying consolidation
stresses applied (σ1) (Ermis et al., 2018). High value of the ratio of σ1/σc
(>10) means easy flow and low value (<1) means difficult to flow or
sticky material (Slettengren et al., 2016). Five point flow test program,
which measures the deformation over the range of five major principal
consolidation stresses (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 3.0, and 5.5 kPa), was selected using
Powder Flow Pro V1.2 (Ermis et al., 2018).
The morphology and surface characteristics of particles were eval­
uated using a scanning electron microscope (Philips ESEM XL30 FEG).
The samples were coated with an ultrathin layer of gold prior to analysis.
The acceleration voltage was set to 10 kV. The magnification was ranged
from 100× to 20000x.
2.2.5. Rheological properties of doughs
Nine different doughs were produced using FD-SP and SD-SP samples
in addition to control dough with no SP added (control). SPs were added
to dough formulations at different concentrations (3, 6, 9 and 15%, w/w
on flour basis). Dough rheological properties including water absorp­
tion, dough stability, dough development time and degree of softening
were determined using a Farinograph (Brabender, Farinograph-E, Ger­
many) according to AACC method 54–21 (AACC, 2009). As the dough
was mixed, the farinogram consistence (BU) versus time (min.) was
recorded for 20 min.
2.2.6. Bread production
Bread doughs were prepared based on the formulations given in
Table 1. All ingredients were mixed in a mixer (Oztiryakiler, Turkey) for
3 min at speed 2 (95 rpm) and then for 9 min at speed 5 (160 rpm).
Dough was left to rest for 40 min at around 24 ◦ C. The doughs were
divided into four pieces (150 g each), rolled and left to rest for 5 min
under cover. Doughs were then transferred into baking pans and left to
rest for 15 min under cover. Then, followed leavening at 30 ◦ C and 65%
RH for 1 h. Baking was carried out at around 200 ◦ C for 30 min in an
industrial oven (Fimak, Turkey). Then the loaves were rested to cool
down for 2 h at room temperature for further evaluations.
2.2.7. Evaluation of physical properties of breads
A texture profile analyzer (TA.XT2 Plus) (Stable Micro Systems,
England) was employed to determine textural properties of bread sam­
ples (Arici et al., 2017). 5 kg load cell and 36 mm diameter cylindrical
compression probe were used for analysis. The Instrument was cali­
brated before each test. The tests were conducted using the samples
having the dimensions of 30 × 30 × 25 mm. The speed of the probe,
trigger force, degree of compression and time lapse between compres­
sion cycles were set to 1.7 mm/s, 5 g, 30% and 5 s, respectively.
The textural properties of breads were conducted in 1st and 3rd days
after baking to analyse the degree of staling (Różyło et al., 2014). Eq. (1)
was used to determine the degree of staling:
H3d − H1d
BSd = .100 (1)
H1d
where BSd is the degree of staling of bread, H3d is bread slice hardness
after 3 days of storage and H1d is bread slice hardness after 1 days of
storage.
L, a, b color attributes were determined using a chroma meter
(Konica Minolta, CM-600 d, Japan). The instrument was calibrated
against a white background before each measurement.
N. Caglar et al. Journal of Food Engineering 292 (2021) 110355

Table 1
Ingredients used to produce sourdough breads.
Flour (g) Sourdough powder (g) Sourdough powder (%) Dry instant baker’s yeast (g) NaCl (g) Water (mL) Water (%)

C (control) 400 0 0 8 6 226 55

SD-SP3 388 12 3 8 6 222 55
SD-SP6 376 24 6 8 6 220 55
SD-SP9 364 36 9 8 6 218 55
SD-SP15 340 60 15 8 6 216 55
FD-SP3 388 12 3 8 6 222 55
FD-SP6 376 24 6 8 6 221 55
FD-SP9 364 36 9 8 6 220 55
FD-SP15 340 60 15 8 6 221 55

SD-SP: spray dried sourdough powder, FD-SP: freeze dried sourdough powder.

2.3. Statistical analysis pH values than doughs with SD-SP at the same levels of SPs added.
Similar results were obtained from bread samples. The pH of the control
Statistical analysis were performed by using JMP v6 software (SAS bread sample was significantly higher comparing to SPs added bread
Institute, Inc. 2005). The results were expressed as mean ± standard samples. Tafti et al. (2013a) and Komlenić et al.(2010) reported similar
deviation. The differences between mean values were analysed using results.
ANOVA one-way analysis followed by Tukey’s test.
3.2. Powder properties
3. Results and discussion
The flowability and bulk density of SPs were characterized by
3.1. Moisture content, pH and total titratable acidity assessment measuring unconfined yield stress values under varied consolidation
stresses which were applied to compact/consolidate powder bed placed
The moisture contents of FD-SP and SD-SP were found as around in PFT cell. Unconfined yield stress can be defined as the stress needed to
2.8% and 5.2%, respectively. The moisture level below 5% was reported break the unconfined powder bed to start flowing (Yu et al., 2011). The
as safe in terms of storage stability for microbial activity (Chávez and results from PFT tests are provided in Fig. 1. The flow functions (ffs) and
Ledeboer, 2007). bulk density values of SD-SP and FD-SP can be seen in Fig. 1A and B,
The pH value of fresh sourdoughs and sourdough powder samples respectively. As can be seen in Fig. 1A, the flowability of both FD-SP and
varied between 3.50 and 3.79 (Table 2). SD-SP had the highest pH value SD-SP were determined as in cohesive region. However, from Fig. 1A,
among all. These results are in agreement with the findings reported by one can state that FD-SP was slightly closer to easy flowing region when
Wieschebrock et al. (2011). compared to SD-SP when increasing the magnitude of consolidating
During the sourdough fermentation, the TTA value stands for the stresses applied. The bulk density values of FD-SP and SD-SP varied from
total amount of organic acids produced (Decock and Cappelle, 2005). It 450 to 700 kg/m3 and from 525 to 775 kg/m3, respectively under varied
is expressed as mL of 0.1 N NaOH required per 10 g of sample until pH consolidation stresses. The difference between the bulk density values
reach 8.5 (Brandt, 2007). In this study, TTA value of sourdough and SP might be attributed to the shape and surface morphology of the parti­
varied from 15.6 to 29.8 mL (Table 2). According to Brandt (2007) and cles. Similarly, powder flowability can be affected by particle size and
Pagani et al. (2006), the TTA of dried sourdoughs may vary between geometry and therefore, the differences between flowability behavior of
40-220 mL and 15–60 mL, respectively. The variation in TTA value FD-SP and SD-SP obtained in this study might be a result of variations in
might be attributed to initial chemical composition, drying technique particle properties.
used and production process of sourdough. Representative SEM images were selected to evaluate particle sur­
The pH values of doughs are presented in Table 3. Significant dif­ face properties of SP samples as shown in Fig. 2. Sharp edged, spherical,
ferences in pH values of dough sampels were obtained (p < 0.05). As irregular, elongated and ridged shapes can be observed for both FD-SP
expected, as the concentration of the SP increased, the pH of doughs (Fig. 2A) and SD-SP while the SD-SP particles seemed more spherical
decreased. In addition, the type of SP added also exhibited significant and majority of particles had round edges and undulating surfaces when
effect on the pH value (p < 0.05). Doughs with FD-SP had slightly lower compared to FD-SP (Fig. 2B). In addition, the particles of both FD-SP and
SD-SP samples exhibited rough surfaces with small holes/gaps possibly
between starch particles and microorganism cells. The SEM images
Table 2
suggest that SD-SP exhibited more spherical particles with some surface
Physicochemical properties and microbial counts of sourdough powders.
asperities when compared to FD-SP. These findings suggest that better
Moisture pH TTA LAB count Yeast count flowability of FD-SP (Fig. 1A) might be linked to lighter bulk density
(%) (ml) (log CFU/g) (log CFU/g)
(Fig. 1B) and irregular particles (Fig. 2A) having more air trapped in
Fresh – – – 8.7 ± 0.0b 8.6 ± 0.0b between particles which may lead to sliding and rolling action of par­
sourdough- ticles on particles relatively easier when compared to SD-SP.
I*
Fresh 64.0 ± 3.50 ± 15.6 ± 9.7 ± 0.0a 9.7 ± 0.1a
sourdough- 3.0a 0.0c 0.2b 3.3. LAB and yeast viability
II**
FD-SP 2.8 ± 0.1c 3.54 ± 29.8 ± 8.0 ± 0.6b 8.0 ± 0.0c
0.0b 0.5a
As it can be seen in Table 2, the drying process decreased the number
SD-SP 5.2 ± 0.1 b 3.79 ± 19.1 ± 5.0 ± 0.0c 4.9 ± 0.1d of alive LAB and yeast cells in dried sourdoughs. The counts of the
0.0a 1.8 b microflora of FD-SP were greater than that of SD-SP and found to be
TTA:Total titratable acidity (mL 0.1 N NaOH per 10 g sample), LAB: lactic acid close to the counts obtained from fresh sourdough (Type I). This means
bacteria, * before activation, **after activation. that spray drying process caused a significant reduction in counts of LAB
For a given column, the values with different letters (a,b,c..) are significantly and yeast live cells (Table 2). Tafti et al. (2013a) reported that
different (p < 0.05). spray-drying the sourdough caused a decrease in CFU of LAB from
SD-SP: spray dried sourdough powder, FD-SP: freeze dried sourdough powder. approximately 109 to 105. Similar data obtained from this study and the

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N. Caglar et al. Journal of Food Engineering 292 (2021) 110355

Table 3
Physico-chemical properties of breads.
pH of dough Hardness (after 2 h) Degree of staling (%) Specific Volume (mL/g) Volume (mL) Weight (g) TTA (mL) pH of bread

Control 5.4 ± 0.0 1.9 ± 0.1 126.0 ± 0.4 3.7 ± 0.0 464.1 ± 6.2 122.5 ± 0.1 3.0 ± 0.1 5.6 ± 0.0

SD-SP3 5.3 ± 0.0b 2.7 ± 0.0c 157.5 ± 2.9a 3.7 ± 0.0a 471.6 ± 2.8a 125.2 ± 0.6b 3.3 ± 0.1bc 5.5 ± 0.0b
SD-SP6 5.1 ± 0.0c 3.0 ± 0.0c 121.7 ± 4.3b 3.5 ± 0.0b 448.3 ± 10b 125.5 ± 0.4b 3.4 ± 0.1b 5.3 ± 0.0c
SD-SP9 5.0 ± 0.0d 5.0 ± 0.1a 88.5 ± 9.4c 3.2 ± 0.0 c 411.6 ± 5.7c 127.7 ± 0.3a 3.4 ± 0.0b 5.2 ± 0.0d
SD-SP15 4.7 ± 0.0e 4.1 ± 0.1b 46.9 ± 5.0d 3.0 ± 0.0d 385.0 ± 5.0d 127.8 ± 0.3a 3.8 ± 0.1a 5.0 ± 0.0e

FD-SP3 5.1 ± 0.0w 3.5 ± 0.0vw 200.0 ± 5.9v 3.2 ± 0.1w 408.3 ± 14w 125.3 ± 0.6v 3.2 ± 0.1xy 5.4 ± 0.0w
FD-SP6 5.0 ± 0.0x 3.3 ± 0.1w 72.7 ± 8.7x 3.3 ± 0.0w 408.3 ± 2.8w 123.7 ± 0.2w 3.5 ± 0.3wx 5.2 ± 0.0x
FD-SP9 4.8 ± 0.0y 4.1 ± 0.3v 67.6 ± 3.2x 2.9 ± 0.0x 371.6 ± 2.8x 125.2 ± 0.3v 3.8 ± 0.0w 5.0 ± 0.0y
FD-SP15 4.5 ± 0.0z 4.1 ± 0.0v 78.7 ± 0.5x 2.5 ± 0.0y 318.3 ± 7.6y 125.6 ± 0.5v 4.7 ± 0.2v 4.7 ± 0.0z

SD-SP: spray dried sourdough powder, FD-SP: freeze dried sourdough powder, TTA:Total titratable acidity (mL 0.1 N NaOH per 10 g sample).
For a given column, the values with different letters are significantly different (p < 0.05).

reduction might be attributed to adverse effect of heat on LAB cells (Koc
et al., 2010). Therefore, drying conditions have a major effect on counts
of the microflora of dried SPs. In this study, after the drying processes,
the counts of microflora did not decline below generally accepted values
(ranged from 5 to 7 log CFU/g) which are required for the reproduction
of starters (Table 2).
3.4. Rheology of doughs
The results of farinograph tests of dough samples are presented in
Table 4. The results showed that water absorption (WA) of doughs was
not affected significantly by the addition of SPs. Similarly, the type of SP
also had no significant influence on WA (p > 0.05). Contrary, Tafti et al.
(2013b) reported that there was an increase in WA of SP added doughs
compared to control. They also determined that the blending ratio had
no significant influence on WA. Dough development time (DDT), was
defined as the time from the first addition of water to that of maximum
consistency immediately before the first indication of weakening (Abera
et al., 2016). In this study, the DDT was not influenced by the blending
ratio and the type of SP. These results are in agreement with the findings
of Tafti et al. (2013b). However, according to Clarke et al. (2002), the
addition of sourdough resulted in longer DDT.
In the present study, significant reductions in the stability of doughs
were observed with the increasing level of SPs added. In addition,
increasing the amount of SP added to dough formulations caused an
increase in the degree of softening (DOS) of doughs. These results are in
agreement with the findings of Clarke et al. (2002) and Komlenić et al.
(2010). The reductions in the stability and softening might be attributed
to the acidic nature of the SPs, causing weakening of the structure of the
gluten (Nogueira et al., 2015), and hence, softening of the dough
(Arendt et al., 2007). According to the results obtained, dough stability
and DOS were not influenced by the type of SP added.
3.5. Physical attributes of bread samples
The specific volume of the bread is an important parameter to
evaluate the visual quality. As can be seen in Table 3 and Fig. 3,
increasing level of SPs led to significant reductions in volume of breads
(p < 0.05). In agreement with the results obtained in this study, Gezginc
and Kara (2019) and Novotni et al. (2017) reported that there was no
positive effect of adding sourdough on bread volumes while some re­
searchers reported an increase in loaf specific volume of bread after
adding sourdough to dough formulation (Clarke et al., 2002).
During fermentation, lower pH conditions caused by sourdough
addition, induces dramatic inhibition of the CO2 production by the
baker’s yeast during proofing, resulting in lower volume and harder
crumb of the bread (Różyło et al., 2016). In the present study, breads
containing FD-SP had lower volume and specific volume compared to
breads containing the same level of SD-SP. This might be attributed to
lower pH of doughs containing FD-SP comparing to doughs with SD-SP.
Results of texture profile analysis and degree of staling of breads
were presented in Table 3. Significant differences in the hardness values
of the breads containing SPs were observed when compared to control
sample (p < 0.05). All bread samples had a higher value of hardness than
control after 2 h of storage time. An increased level of SP addition caused
an increase in the hardness of breads. The hardness value of bread
containing 3%FD-SP was higher than bread containing the same con­
centration of SD-SP. However, there were no significant differences
between types of SP for the other concentrations (6%, 9%, and 15%). It
can be depicted from Table 3 that the hardness increased with
decreasing the volume. This result is in agreement with the findings of
previous works (Clarke et al., 2002; Komlenić et al., 2010).
Clarke et al. (2002) reported that doughs obtained by adding acidi­
fier agents and sourdough have different hardness values. The activity of
the proteolytic and amylolytic enzymes present might be affected to a
greater degree by pH profile of the biological acidification fermentation
period in comparison with the instantaneous nature of the chemically
acidified regime. Moore et al. (2007) reported that greater softness was
observed in biologically acidified bread compared with chemically
acidified bread. In this study, SP acted as a chemical acidifier. Although
there were LAB and yeast cells in SP, drying processes might have
delayed their metabolic activities (Reale et al., 2019). Meuser et al.
(1995) reported that, there was a delay in revitalization of LAB in freeze
dried SP during the first 3 h of dough fermentation. Therefore, sour­
doughs dried using different methods (i.e. freeze drying, spray drying)
cannot be used directly in dough formulations due to injured, stressed
and reduced number of cells (Reale et al., 2019). For this reason, pre­
treatments such as rehydration of SPs and refreshment of LAB and yeast
cells might be beneficial to activate starter sourdough to let them
adequately demonstrate their activity during dough fermentation.
It has been reported that, sourdough had a protective effect on bread
staling (Corsetti et al., 2008; Torrieri et al., 2014). In this study, use of SP
significantly affected the degree of staling (p < 0.05). The addition of a
high concentration of SP resulted in a lower degree of staling. However,
breads containing 3% SP had a higher degree of staling than all the other
samples. Acidic conditions and proteolytic activities performed by LAB
play a role in reducing the degree of staling of bread (Arendt et al.,
2007). Sourdough associated LAB can cause a change in the retrogra­
dation features of the starch molecules by producing enzymes that slows
the rate of staling (Arendt et al., 2007). Similar results reported by
Torrieri et al.(2014) who demonstrated that sourdough had a protective
effect on bread staling.
The Hunter L, a, b parameters for the crust and crumb color of all
breads are shown in Table 5. According to the data obtained, adding SPs
resulted in an increase in L values of both crust and crumb except some
variations. The degree of increase was greater for FD-SP when compared
to SD-SP. Similarly, some significant differences in b values were ob­
tained from breads containing different type and amount of SPs. While b
values of bread samples containing FD-SP were not affected, there was a
decrease in b values for breads containing SD-SP when compared to

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N. Caglar et al. Journal of Food Engineering 292 (2021) 110355

Fig. 1. Powder flow and bulk density plots of SD-SP and FD-SP. A:flow functions, B: bulk density curves.

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N. Caglar et al. Journal of Food Engineering 292 (2021) 110355

Fig. 2. SEM images. A:FD-SP, B:SD-SP.

Table 4 Table 5
Farinograph mixing characteristics of dough samples. Hunter Lab color parameters of crumbs and crusts.
Degree of softening Stability (ss ± ss) DDT WA (%) Crumb Crust

Control 34.5 ± 2.1 813 ± 31.1 337 ± 47 57.6 ± 0.9 L a b L a b

SD-SP3 52.0 ± 7.0cd 553 ± 43.8b 349 ± 42a 57.5 ± 0.3a Control 66.7 ± − 0.87 ± 15.0 ± 54.6 ± 9.7 ± 23.6 ±
SD-SP6 74.0 ± 9.8bc 410 ± 4.2c 289 ± 36a 57.0 ± 0.2a 1.6ab/w 0.0 c/x 0.4 a/v 1.4ab/w 0.6 a/v 0.4 a/w
SD-SP9 93.0 ± 4.2b 351 ± 0.7c 260 ± 28a 56.6 ± 0.0a
SD-SP3 65.7 ± − 0.54 ± 13.2 ± 52.6 ± 8.9 ± 20.4 ±
SD-SP15 139.5 ± 13.4a 243 ± 4.2d 224±4a 56.2 ± 0.5a
1.7b 0.0b 0.5b 1.0b 1.2ab 0.7a
FD-SP3 50.0 ± 1.4y 551 ± 33.2w 331 ± 12v 57.6 ± 0.0v SD-SP6 69.3 ± − 0.52 ± 13.6 ± 59.6 ± 5.5 ± 21.8 ±
FD-SP6 67.5 ± 0.7x 422 ± 33.9x 275 ± 35v 57.2 ± 0.2v 1.1a 0.0b 0.1ab 3.9a 1.7c 2.7a
FD-SP9 98.0 ± 7.0w 341 ± 16.2xy 241 ± 28v 57.1 ± 0.1v SD-SP9 67.9 ± − 0.36 ± 13.4 ± 59.9 ± 6.1 ± 22.4 ±
FD-SP15 133.0 ± 1.4v 282 ± 24.7y 226 ± 13v 57.2 ± 1.4v 0.8ab 0.1b 1.1ab 1.6a 1.4bc 0.8a
SD- 69.2 ± − 0.14 ± 13.6 ± 59.5 ± 6.0 ± 22.8 ±
SD-SP: spray dried sourdough powder, FD-SP: freeze dried sourdough powder. SP15 0.6ab 0.0a 0.2ab 2.7a 0.9bc 1.4a
For a given column, the values with different letters are significantly different (p
< 0.05). FD-SP3 70.2 ± − 0.88 ± 15.8 ± 64.4 ± 6.7 ± 29.5 ±
3.3vw 0.1x 2.2v 4.2v 1.9vw 0.8v
FD-SP6 71.7 ± − 0.54 ± 16.4 ± 66.1 ± 6.6 ± 31.1 ±
1.4vw 0.1w 0.5v 2.4v 0.8vw 0.3v
FD-SP9 72.6 ± − 0.45 ± 15.8 ± 62.3 ± 7.1 ± 29.6 ±
0.3v 0.1w 0.5v 4.4vw 1.5vw 3.8v
FD- 73.5 ± 0.13 ± 15.3 ± 67.7 ± 5.5 ± 31.2 ±
SP15 2.0v 0.1v 0.2v 1.4v 1.3w 1.9v

SD-SP: spray dried sourdough powder, FD-SP: freeze dried sourdough powder.
For a given column, the values with different letters are significantly different (p
< 0.05).

over fresh sourdough including longer shelf-life, constant product

quality, ease of formulation and mixing and lower transportation costs.
SPs acted as a chemical acidifier and hence major changes in the dough
structure could be attributed to low pH. Also, breads produced using SPs
showed lower specific volume and greater hardness values. Neverthe­
less, it can be stated that these effects could be modified by optimizing
the revitalization process applied to the powdered sourdough starters
and/or increasing the fermentation time. In addition, adding SPs at
higher levels showed positive effects on bread staling. The shelf life of
bread samples was improved upon incorporating sourdough powder
into the dough formulation. Therefore, sourdough powders might be
used as ingredients in bread dough formulations. Further studies should
Fig. 3. View of bread samples produced using SD-SP and FD-SP.
be focused on the investigation of the effects of sourdough powders on
sourdough fermentation, and its microbiology. In addition, increase in
control sample. These results suggest that the drying technique to obtain
TTA and microbial diversity during fermentation should be investigated.
sourdough powder affected bread color.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
4. Conclusion
Nagihan Caglar: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original
The development of sourdough powder holds several advantages

6
N. Caglar et al. Journal of Food Engineering 292 (2021) 110355

draft. Ertan Ermis: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - review & Hammes, W.P., Gänzle, M.G., 1998. Sourdough breads and related products.
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editing. Muhammed Zeki Durak: Conceptualization, Methodology,
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Declaration of competing interest Komlenić, D.K., Slačanac, V., Jukić, M., 2008. Influence of acidification on dough
rheological properties. Rheology 265–292. https://doi.org/10.5772/35829.
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Komlenić, D.K., Ugarčić-Hardi, Ž., Jukić, M., Planinić, M., Bucić-Kojić, A., Strelec, I.,
2010. Wheat dough rheology and bread quality effected by Lactobacillus brevis
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