Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis |
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Lactobacillaceae
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Fructilactobacillus
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F. sanfranciscensis
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| Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis (Weiss and Schillinger 1984) Zheng et al. 2020
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Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis is a tiny type of lactic acid bacteria. These bacteria are super important for making sourdough bread taste special! They do this by creating lactic and acetic acids, which give sourdough its unique tangy flavor.
This bacteria got its name from San Francisco, a city in the USA. That's because it was first found to be a key ingredient in the sourdough made there. Even though it's named after San Francisco, this bacteria is actually found all over the world in many sourdough starters. People have been using F. sanfranciscensis in sourdough for thousands of years. Today, it helps make about 3 million tons of sourdough products every year!
Contents
How Sourdough Starters Work
A sourdough starter is a living mix that helps bread rise. It's usually made of two main things: yeast and lactic acid bacteria like F. sanfranciscensis. There are about 100 bacteria for every one yeast cell in a starter.
The most common yeast found in sourdough is called Kasachstania humilis. This yeast can't use a sugar called maltose, which is found in bread dough. But guess what? Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis absolutely needs maltose to grow!
This is great news because it means the yeast and the bacteria don't fight over their food. The bacteria use the maltose, and the yeast uses other sugars in the dough. The bacteria even produce some glucose, which the yeast can then use. They work together like a perfect team!
What Affects F. sanfranciscensis Growth?
Just like us, bacteria have favorite conditions for growing. For F. sanfranciscensis, things like how acidic its environment is and the temperature really matter.
Ideal Temperature for Growth
This bacteria grows best at a temperature of about 33 °C (91 °F). If it gets too hot, above 41 °C (105 °F), the bacteria can't grow at all.
Other tiny living things in sourdough have different favorite temperatures. For example, the yeast K. humilis prefers a cooler temperature of 27 °C (81 °F) and stops growing above 36 °C (97 °F). This shows how important it is to control the temperature when making sourdough!
Using F. sanfranciscensis in Bakeries
For big bakeries that make lots of sourdough, specific types of F. sanfranciscensis are grown in special labs. These bacteria are then freeze-dried, which means all the water is removed. This makes them easy to store and ship. After being freeze-dried, they are sent to bakeries all over the world, ready to be added to sourdough starters and help make delicious bread!
