Abstract

Bread is an important food in the diet of most countries and there is increasing interest in the use of this as a carrier for actives compounds, however, incorporating probiotics requires solving the effect of heat treatment on its viability. Microencapsulation represents a suitable technique to improve probiotic thermal resistance but it depends of microencapsulant material. Maltodextrin is an interesting wall material that could offer thermoresistance without affect the sensorial properties of the bakery products. The aim of this work was to evaluate the physicochemical and sensorial properties of white bread with the incorporation of microencapsulated Lactobacillus casei 01 into the dough. Probiotic was microencapsulated by spray drying using maltodextrin as wall material. The spray drying process was performed with a mini Spray Dryer (B-290, Büchi) at constant air inlet temperature of 150±2 °C and outlet temperature of 55±3 °C. During the bread manufacture viable cell counts, specific volume and moisture content were determined for 5, 10, and 15 min at 180 °C. Bread sensory evaluation was performed by consumer acceptance test based on the appearance, texture, flavor and overall acceptability. The use of maltodextrin as entrapping material protected Lactobacillus casei and the counts decreased 4 logarithmic units after 15 min. Specific volumes, water activity and moisture content were not affected. Moreover, no significant differences were observed for the sensorial attributes. The use of maltodextrin as wall material enhanced the thermotolerance of Lactobacillus casei and its use in white bread did not affect their physicochemical and sensorial properties.