I. Isolation and Identification of Microflora

Abstract

A survey of the soda cracker manufacturing process revealed that starter cultures were not used and that fermentation for the process relied primarily on chance contamination. Over 200 isolates from sponge and dough samples, obtained from two commercial plants, were screened. Microorganisms responsible for fermentation of commercial soda cracker sponge and dough were isolated and identified. Besides Bakers' yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), which is part of the standard formulation, three species of lactic bacteria were found to have prominent roles in the fermentation process. Lactobacillus plantarum was found to be the dominant species. Two other species found in significant numbers were Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus leichmannii.