25 Jun 2020
Bread has been a vital part of our diet for centuries and is trusted by millions of people to supply essential calories and nutrients on a daily basis. Consumption habits are however changing and some individuals are looking to avoid the carbs and gluten to be found in bread, either by choice or medical necessity.
This led us to ask the question: how can we make breads that are more digestible and healthier while being appealing to everyone?
Professor Marco Gobbetti: about sourdough & health
To explore ways of optimizing bread’s digestibility we returned to the very essence of bread, namely, the way it’s fermented. With bakers typically choosing between commercial baker’s yeast and sourdough, new research done by Professor Marco Gobbetti has shown that this choice not only impacts breads’ volume, taste and texture, but also has a significant impact on its digestibility.
Working at the Free University of Bolzano in Italy, Professor Gobbetti and his team develop products with special functional properties and health-giving human gut microbiota. Puratos sponsors the university’s Bakery Inspirience Center where they are dedicated to innovating and testing new bread ingredients. Karl De Smedt, Puratos’ dedicated Sourdough Librarian, visited Professor Gobbetti to hear news of his latest research and his views on sourdough digestibility. As you’ll discover, the interview provides a unique insight into sourdoughs’ increasingly important role as an enabler of more digestible and healthier breads
