Abstract

Industrial wheat bread production started at the middle of the 20th century, after the introduction of bakers’ yeast as a fast and ready-to-use leavening agent and therefore ideal substitute for traditional sourdough or brewing yeast. Over decades, many different bread-making processes have been developed, which have the common aim of converting wheat flour and other ingredients into a light aerated and palatable food. The most important quality characteristics for wheat breads are high volume, soft and elastic crumb structure, good shelf life, and microbiological safety of the product (Cauvain 2003). Unfortunately, wheat bread has a relatively short shelf life because of microbial spoilage and physical and chemical changes in the starch-protein matrix of the bread crumb, which start immediately after baking and lead to the staling process (Selomulyo and others 2007).