Strategies to reduce acrylamide formation in bread focusing on exogenous strain ferment sourdough

Acrylamide (AM) is produced as a by-product of the Maillard reaction during the thermal processing of baked goods. Research has indicated that the addition of fermented sourdough significantly reduced the AM content in baked products. This study investigated the main metabolites of sourdough fermented by single strains of Pediococcus pentosaceus (PP), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ST), and their combinations. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of sourdough on AM in both bread and asparagine/glucose (Asn/Glc) chemical simulation system was examined, and the potential inhibitory mechanism was systematically elucidated. The key findings revealed that at an ST-to-PP ratio of 1:1, the 2 strains exhibited synergistic growth. The sourdough samples fermented with this mixed combination (MF-s) for 12 h exhibited the highest content of organic acids, resulting in a lower pH value than those of samples fermented with only PP sourdough (PP-s) or ST sourdough (ST-s). The MF-s samples exhibited higher contents of maltose, Glc, fructose, sucrose, and total free amino acid than ST-s and PP-s. After 12 h of fermentation, the inhibition rate of AM in wheat bread and the Asn/Glc system reached the highest level. Particularly, MF-s exhibited the highest inhibition rate of AM (49.66%), followed by PP-s (42.23%) and ST-s (38.22%). These rates were significantly higher than those in the naturally fermented group (P < 0.05). The kinetic model analysis results indicated that the logistic exponential kinetic model was considered highly suitable for describing the kinetic process of AM.