A review of sourdough starters: ecology, practices, and sensory quality with applications for baking and recommendations for future research

Martha D Calvert; Anne A Madden; Lauren M Nichols; Nick M Haddad; Jacob Lahne; Robert R Dunn; Erin A McKenney

doi:10.7717/peerj.11389

A review of sourdough starters: ecology, practices, and sensory quality with applications for baking and recommendations for future research

PeerJ. 2021 May 10:9:e11389. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11389. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Martha D Calvert^{1

2}, Anne A Madden², Lauren M Nichols², Nick M Haddad³, Jacob Lahne¹, Robert R Dunn^{2

4}, Erin A McKenney²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blackburg, VA, United States of America.
² Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States of America.
³ Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, United States of America.
⁴ Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Abstract

The practice of sourdough bread-making is an ancient science that involves the development, maintenance, and use of a diverse and complex starter culture. The sourdough starter culture comes in many different forms and is used in bread-making at both artisanal and commercial scales, in countries all over the world. While there is ample scientific research related to sourdough, there is no standardized approach to using sourdough starters in science or the bread industry; and there are few recommendations on future directions for sourdough research. Our review highlights what is currently known about the microbial ecosystem of sourdough (including microbial succession within the starter culture), methods of maintaining sourdough (analogous to land management) on the path to bread production, and factors that influence the sensory qualities of the final baked product. We present new hypotheses for the successful management of sourdough starters and propose future directions for sourdough research and application to better support and engage the sourdough baking community.

Keywords: Artisanal; Bacteria; Baking; Bread; Ecology; Fermentation; Sensory; Sourdough; Yeast.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (Students Discover grant 1319293). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.