Overcoming bread quality decay concerns: main issues for bread shelf life as a function of biological leavening agents and different extra-ingredients used in formulation. A review

As widely accepted, the quality decay of freshly baked bread that affects product shelf life is the results of a complex multifactorial process that involves physical staling, together with microbiological, chemical, and sensorial spoilage. In this context, this paper provides a critical review of the recent literature about the main factors affecting shelf life of bread during post-baking. An overview of the recent findings about the mechanism of bread staling was firstly provided. Afterwards, the effect on staling induced by baker's yeasts and sourdough as well as by the extra-ingredients commonly utilized for bread fortification was also addressed and discussed. As inclusion/exclusion criteria, only papers dealing with wheat bread and not with long-life bread nor gluten free bakery products were taken into consideration. Despite recent developments in international scientific literature, the whole mechanism that induce the bread staling is far from being completely understood and the best analytical methods to be adopted to measure and/or describe in depth this process appears still debated. In this topic, the effect induced on bread shelf life by the use of biological leavening agents (baker's yeasts and sourdough) as well as by some extra-ingredients included in the bread recipe have been individuated as two key issues to be addressed and discussed in terms of their influence on the kinetics of bread staling. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.