Organic Cultivation of Triticum turgidum subsp. durum Is Reflected in the Flour-Sourdough Fermentation-Bread Axis

Abstract

also had the highest number of high-molecular-mass glutenins. Type I sourdoughs were prepared at the laboratory level through a back-slopping procedure, and the bacterial ecology during sourdough preparation was described by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Before fermentation, the dough made with C ONV flour showed the highest bacterial diversity. Flours were variously contaminated by genera belonging to the Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Mature sourdoughs were completely and stably dominated by lactic acid bacteria. The diversity of Firmicutes was the highest for mature sourdoughs made with organic and, especially, NO INPUT flours. Beta diversity analysis based on the weighted UniFrac distance showed differences between doughs and sourdoughs. Those made with C ONV flour were separated from the other with organic flours. Lactic acid bacterium microbiota structure was qualitatively confirmed through the culturing method. As shown by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis, yeasts belonging to the genera Saccharomyces, Candida, Kazachstania, and Rhodotorula occurred in all sourdoughs. Levels of bound phenolic acids and phytase and antioxidant activities differed depending on the farming system. Mature sourdoughs were used for bread making. Technological characteristics were superior in the breads made with organic sourdoughs. The farming system is another determinant affecting the sourdough microbiota. The organic cultivation of durum wheat was reflected along the flour-sourdough fermentation-bread axis. O rganic farming is gaining broad recognition as a system that complies well with sustainability, an overarching principle that should drive agriculture now and in the coming year (1). Under organic farming practices, crops grow without using chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers and the cultivation relies mainly on crop rotation, compost, and green manure (e.g., N 2 -fixing plants), organic fertilizers, and plant-based pesticides. Raw materials or foods, which are sold as organics in the European Union (EU), have to be produced strictly respecting European legislation (2). Based on these characteristics and constraints, consumers perceived organic foods as healthier and more eco-sustainable than conventional ones (3). In the period 2006 through 2010, certified organic production in Europe has increased by more than 40% (4). According to the Italian Institute for Food and Agricultural Market, organic farming in Italy contributes to over 25% of the organically cultivated products in Europe (5).Cereals represent the most important organic food category, with 18% of all EU organic land and ca. 80% of the total organic arable crop area (4). Among cereals, organic and conventional durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) is cultivated on over 3.7 million ha in the EU, and more than one-half of this acreage lies in the Mediterranean area, wherein Italy and Spain are the first and second top producers (6). In Italy, ca. 67% of the production of durum wheat comes from the ...

Development of a method for the direct fermentation of semolina by selected sourdough lactic acid bacteria

“…The values of pH and TTA registered after fermentation were comparable to those commonly found in mature durum wheat sourdoughs (Minervini et al, 2012a;Pepe et al, 2013;Rizzello et al, 2015;Ventimiglia et al, 2015). Thus, regarding the acidification of the doughs, the liquid starter culture behaved like a mature sourdough inoculum.…”

Lactic Acid Bacteria in Durum Wheat Flour Are Endophytic Components of the Plant during Its Entire Life Cycle

“…Bacillus, Exiguobacterium, Paenibacillus, Staphylococcus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Lactococcus were the core genera of wheat plant and processed samples. All the above-mentioned Firmicutes were previously identified in wheat flour (16,18,49), strengthening the hypothesis that the wheat plant microbiota affected the microbial composition of the flour. Based on the results of this study, the spike or grain microbiota strongly contaminated the related flour.…”

Metagenomics insights into food fermentations

“…In other studies, the microbiota was related to raw material origin (Bokulich et al ., 2014a; Rizzello et al ., 2015) or quality (Dolci et al ., 2014; O'Sullivan et al ., 2015; Alessandria et al ., 2016), as well as to development of flavour‐impact compounds (De Pasquale et al ., 2014a, 2016; De Filippis et al ., 2016a). Moreover, food‐related environments were found to harbour a resident microbiota, beneficially involved in dairy (Bokulich and Mills, 2013a; Stellato et al ., 2015; Calasso et al ., 2016), alcoholic (Bokulich et al ., 2012a, 2014b) and sourdough (Minervini et al ., 2015) fermentations, although the presence of potential spoilers was also emphasized in some cases (Bokulich et al ., 2015a; Stellato et al ., 2015).…”

“…In several occasions RNA was preferred as target instead of DNA, that may arise from dead or inactive cells (Ercolini et al ., 2013; Rizzello et al ., 2015; De Filippis et al ., 2016a). Since RNA is more easily degraded, it allows obtaining a structure of the microbiota that is potentially ascribable to the viable populations.…”