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Research Article | Applied and Environmental Science

Influences of Ingredients and Bakers on the Bacteria and Fungi in Sourdough Starters and Bread

Aspen T. Reese, Anne A. Madden, Marie Joossens, Guylaine Lacaze, Robert R. Dunn
Garret Suen, Editor
Aspen T. Reese
aSociety of Fellows, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Anne A. Madden
bDepartment of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Marie Joossens
cLaboratory of Molecular Bacteriology, Rega Institute, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
dVIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Leuven, Belgium
eLaboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Guylaine Lacaze
fPuratos Center for Bread Flavour, Puratos Corporation, Vith, Belgium
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Robert R. Dunn
bDepartment of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
gCenter for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
hGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany
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Garret Suen
University of Wisconsin—Madison
Roles: Editor
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DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00950-19
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ABSTRACT

Sourdough starters are naturally occurring microbial communities in which the environment, ingredients, and bakers are potential sources of microorganisms. The relative importance of these pools remains unknown. Here, bakers from two continents used a standardized recipe and ingredients to make starters that were then baked into breads. We characterized the fungi and bacteria associated with the starters, bakers’ hands, and ingredients using 16S and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and then measured dough acidity and bread flavor. Starter communities were much less uniform than expected, and this variation manifested in the flavor of the bread. Starter communities were most similar to those found in flour but shared some species with the bakers’ skin. While humans likely contribute microorganisms to the starters, the reverse also appears to be true. This bidirectional exchange of microorganisms between starters and bakers highlights the importance of microbial diversity on bodies and in our environments as it relates to foods.

IMPORTANCE Sourdough starters are complex communities of yeast and bacteria which confer characteristic flavor and texture to sourdough bread. The microbes present in starters can be sourced from ingredients or the baking environment and are typically consistent over time. Herein, we show that even when the recipe and ingredients for starter and bread are identical, different bakers around the globe produce highly diverse starters which then alter bread acidity and flavor. Much of the starter microbial community comes from bread flour, but the diversity is also associated with differences in the microbial community on the hands of bakers. These results indicate that bakers may be a source for yeast and bacteria in their breads and/or that bakers’ jobs are reflected in their skin microbiome.

  • Copyright © 2020 Reese et al.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

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Influences of Ingredients and Bakers on the Bacteria and Fungi in Sourdough Starters and Bread
Aspen T. Reese, Anne A. Madden, Marie Joossens, Guylaine Lacaze, Robert R. Dunn
mSphere Jan 2020, 5 (1) e00950-19; DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00950-19

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Influences of Ingredients and Bakers on the Bacteria and Fungi in Sourdough Starters and Bread
Aspen T. Reese, Anne A. Madden, Marie Joossens, Guylaine Lacaze, Robert R. Dunn
mSphere Jan 2020, 5 (1) e00950-19; DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00950-19
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KEYWORDS

Lactobacillus
Saccharomyces
skin microbiome
sourdough

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