efficient Z. mobilis dough leavening, ii) dough acidity should not limit
Z. mobilis fermentative metabolism, even if dough acidity is a positive
factor to limit microbial growth of spoiling microbiota, thus increasing
product shelf life (Corsetti and Settanni, 2007).
On the basis of the obtained results, we can conclude that it is possible to associate L. sanfranciscensis with Z. mobilis to obtain an efficient
dough leavening, by-passing Z. mobilis incapacity to metabolize maltose.
The effect of the strain is another parameter to be investigated, as the intraspecific diversity may affect the relationships that are established in
mutualistic microbial associations (Picozzi et al., 2010). Further research
trials are necessary to better understand which kind of metabolic interactions these two bacteria are able to establish and in which combination they should be used in the commonly applied dough
formulations, to develop yeast-free baked products. Focus has also to
be paid on the stability of this new bacterial association, in particular
when dealing with traditional sourdough back-sloping