From wheat sourdough to gluten‐free sourdough: a non‐conventional process for producing gluten‐free bread

Summary Gluten‐free (GF) sourdough was prepared from wheat sourdough and analysed both in fresh (GFS) and dried forms (DGFS). The gluten content in each GF sourdough sample was <20 mg kg−1. The dough leavening capacity and the properties of the bread samples were investigated and compared to those of bread prepared using bakery yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Two commercial rice‐based mixtures (different for the presence/absence of buckwheat flour) were used to prepare bread samples. In GFS, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts were found in amounts corresponding to 108 and 107 CFU g−1, respectively, whereas both LAB and yeasts were detected in lower amounts (about 106 CFU g−1) in DGFS. When used in bread‐making, both GFS types produced significant dough acidification and exhibited good dough development during proofing, resulting in loaves with specific volume values between 3.00 and 4.12 mL g−1, values similar to those obtained for reference bread (3.05÷4.15 mL g−1). The use of GFS was effective in lowering the bread staling rate during storage for up to 7 days.