Determination of the sensory attributes of wheat sourdough bread

A lexicon for describing the flavor of wheat sourdough bread (WSB) was deve loped. A highly trained, descriptive sensory panel identified, defined, and referenced 32 flavor attributes for WSB. To determine the flavor character istics of WSB, 37 samples were selected or prepared to represent a wide ran ge of both commercial and laboratory variations. Crust and crumb of sourdou gh bread had different flavor properties; thus, they were evaluated separat ely. Twenty six attributes described the characteristics of sourdough bread crumb, and 28 attributes described the characteristics of crust. Some attr ibutes 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 c omponents analysis for crumb and crust indicated that the number of attribu tes could not be reduced into a smaller set of components that completely d escribed the wide range of breads used in this study. However, reducing the number of attributes measured might be possible when only a few WSB sample s are evaluated.