Evaluation of lactic acid bacteria for sourdough fermentation of amaranth

Spontaneous fermented sourdoughs prepared from five amaranth flours were investigated for the presence of lactic acid bacteria predominating the autochthonous microbiota and thus may be suitable as starter cultures. The doughs were fermented with daily back-slopping on a laboratory scale at 30 °C for 10 days. Each day, pH-values and total titratable acidity degrees were determined and samples were analyzed for lactic acid bacteria and yeasts by cultural methods. The identity of the strains was tracked with randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR during fermentation. Taxonomic identity of the strains was revealed by sequence analysis of 16S rDNA. Sugar and organic acid profiles of fermented doughs were determined with HPLC. The strains Lactobacillus plantarum RTa12, L. sakei RTa14, and Pediococcus pentosaceus RTa11 were selected and applied as starters in laboratory scale fermentations. All strains were predominant in repeated experiments, both as single strains and in combination, regardless of the amaranth flour used. The competitiveness of the strains L. plantarum RTa12 and P. pentosaceus RTa11 was characterized in further growth experiments. Both strains facilitated fast declines of pH-values, overgrew the autochthonous microbiota, and allowed stable fermentation characteristics at different temperatures. Thus, the characterized strains may be considered as candidates for amaranth sourdough starter cultures.