DETERMINATION OF THE SENSORY ATTRIBUTES OF WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD ¹

Abstract

ABSTRACT A lexicon for describing the flavor of wheat sourdough bread (WSB) was developed. A highly trained, descriptive sensory panel identified, defined, and referenced 32 flavor attributes for WSB. To determine the flavor characteristics of WSB, 37 samples were selected or prepared to represent a wide range of both commercial and laboratory variations. Crust and crumb of sourdough bread had different flavor properties; thus, they were evaluated separately. Twenty six attributes described the characteristics of sourdough bread crumb, and 28 attributes described the characteristics of crust. Some attributes were found in most or all samples, but many attributes were found in only one or a few samples. All 37 samples had distinctly different flavor attributes and intensities in both crumb and crust samples. The principal components analysis for crumb and crust indicated that the number of attributes could not be reduced into a smaller set of components that completely described the wide range of breads used in this study. However, reducing the number of attributes measured might be possible when only a few WSB samples are evaluated.