Metabolite Analysis Allows Insight into the Differences in Functionality of 25 Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains in Bread Dough Fermentation

During dough fermentation, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) changes the physical properties of the dough matrix. In this study, we investigate if different yeast strains have an impact on dough rheology and on the gas holding capacity of fermenting dough. Furthermore, we analyze whether observed differences are linked to the metabolite profiles of the yeast strains. More specifically, the impact of 25 yeast strains on dough spread, dough fermentation properties, and dough metabolite profile was analyzed. Our results demonstrate large differences in the fermentation ability and metabolite profile of the 25 strains. Analysis of metabolites in fermented dough confirmed that acetic acid and succinic acid are likely responsible for the lowering of dough pH during fermentation and that the onset of CO₂ release from dough is related to dough pH rather than to the volume of CO₂ within the dough. Our results further suggest that the spread test is an inadequate tool to quantify rheological differences observed for strains with different fermentation profiles.