FERMENTATION OF MULTIGRAIN DOUGH – AN APPROACH TO REDUCE GLYCEMIC INDEX FOR HEALTHY BREAD

Abstract

The use of sourdough as the starter culture for bread making is one of the oldest processes in food fermentation and is very much prevalent in being used for the manufacture of various multigrain breads. The fermentation process of breads from mixed flours is one way, reported to reduce the glycemic index as compared to white bread. In this paper, we have discussed the use of (autochthonous) native culture vs pure culture use, in fermentation to prepare a starter culture sourdough by propagative fermentation. Since such a dough is incorporated in the sourdough bread making process (1:3), by the initial process of intermittent back-slopping (at intervals of 3.5 and 7 days) to propagate sourdough with a starter culture, as a part of the process, we observed the reduction in glycaemic index of the sourdough itself to as low as GI=40, at 3rd day of fermentation when the pure consortium and at 5th day of fermentation GI=43, when the native consortium was used. The sourdough process is thus an essential tool, aimed to make healthy breads, as it is incorporated as an ingredient in the process, to make sourdough bread.