Effects of flour from different barley varieties on barley sour dough bread

Twenty flours from 16 different barley varieties cultivated in 1990 and 1992, and a Swedish reference flour, were fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum A1 to sour doughs. Barley breads (40% barley/60% wheat flour) from each flour type were baked with and without an admixture of barley sour dough in order to investigate how the sour dough admixture would affect the baking properties. A trained panel carried out sensory evaluation by conventional profiling on breads made from three of the barley varieties and the Swedish reference flour, made with and without sour dough admixture.

The barley varieties influenced both the sour dough properties and the properties of the barley bread. The pH of bread with sour dough ranged from 4.6 to 4.8 as compared to 5.4 to 5.6 in bread without sour dough. The acidity of the breads with sour dough ranged from 4.1 to 5.0 ml NaOH/ 10 g bread crumb as compared to 2.4 to 3.6 in breads without sour dough. In 14 of the twenty bread types an addition of sour dough lowered the bread volume. Breads with a sour dough admixture scored higher for total taste and acidulous taste than breads without sour dough. The β-glucan content of the flours had no significant influence on the sour dough or the sensory characteristics of the bread, except for the breadcrumb colour.