Introduction
When we say "bread", we tend to think simply of bread. But try to enter a bakery, from north to south of Italy, and you'll discover that there really is a myriad of different types of shapes and doughs. Filone, filoncino, valance, rosetta, the names abound and each region has its own traditions. Not to mention the particular doughs, such as wholemeal, the one with cereals and so on.
And what about Puglia? The same goes for Apulian bread as well. But, why is it unique? Spoiler: It depends on its territory.
The bread
Bread is one of the most popular traditional foods in the world and is subject to constant and growing innovation. Its history appears closely related to the development of modern civilizations. Bread in its simplest form is produced with the use of flour, water, salt and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae or natural yeast), through a process that includes three phases: kneading, leavening and baking. During the first phase, the ingredients are mixed to obtain a well-structured and elastic dough in which the water hydrates the starch granules and activates the enzymatic functions. During leavening, the volume of the dough increases thanks to the production of carbon dioxide by the yeasts which degrade the carbohydrates. The cooking phase takes place at temperatures between 180 and 220°C for a variable time according to the size of the loaf. During the cooling and packaging phases, the most important aspect concerns the maintenance of high hygiene standards, as inadequate humidity and temperature conditions favor the development of molds and spoilage bacteria which can irreparably compromise production. The bread is generally produced using soft wheat flour and the following types of bread are identified based on the type of flour used: type 00 bread, type 0 bread, type 1 bread, type 2 bread and wholemeal bread . In most cases the bread-making is carried out at an artisanal level; however, in recent years the share of industrial bakery has increased, also following the expansion of the markets and the export of typical products, making it necessary to obtain a product with prolonged microbiological shelf life.
The typical breads
Over the years, parallel to the improvement of the milling systems and the genetic selection of the wheat varieties, different types of bread-making have developed in the various geographical areas which have determined the current variability of types and forms. In Italy, a census conducted by the National Institute of Rural Sociology (Picchi, 2000) highlighted the production of about 200 types of bread. The breads with a typical character cover only a part of the annual turnover (approximately 5 billion euros) and are mainly produced in the southern regions; for example, only in Puglia and Campania are produced about 30 types of typical breads. In the regions of northern Italy bread is mainly produced with soft wheat flour, while in some regions of central and especially southern Italy re-milled durum wheat semolina is used. In recent years we have witnessed the enhancement, recovery and in some cases the certification of typical breads. An example is represented by the "pane di Altamura" which has recently obtained the DOP mark. Altamura bread is a traditional bread, closely linked to the production area, which is produced according to a precise protocol and has two highly typical elements: the use of re-milled durum wheat semolina and natural yeast.
Re-milled durum wheat semolina: microbiological aspects
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In the national and regional production context, durum wheat varieties are marketed for bread-making (e.g. Appulo, Arcangelo, Duilio, Simeto) which cannot be used indifferently for the production of typical breads and which in any case place, in relation to other Italian and foreigners, specific problems both in relation to their possible degree of biological contamination and in relation to their possible use in mixture with non-national semolina. The typicality and added value of the bread also comes from the raw material. The transformation of durum wheat (Triticum durum) into re-milled semolina involves three main stages: cleaning of the wheat, conditioning and actual milling. The purpose of cleaning is to remove foreign material of a vegetable or mineral nature. During the conditioning phase, the grain is wetted with a quantity of water sufficient to facilitate the detachment of the outermost parts from the floury almond and to facilitate its breaking. This phase has the purpose of softening the casing to avoid fragmentation and favoring its detachment, and to reduce the hardness of the albumen to facilitate its transformation into flour. Conditioning is influenced by the amount of water added, the temperature of the treatment and the length of time the grain rests. In the next phase of grinding, the kernels are fragmented and the constituents separated. The first operation, called breaking, allows to dissociate the central almond from the external coverings, to divide the dressed semolina and to reduce the almond into flour; the second ensures the separation of bran and coatings on the basis of particle size and their physical properties. The cultivation of durum wheat represents a sector of great importance for agriculture in the Mediterranean area, in particular for the regions of Southern Italy. Although the main form of use of durum wheat is still represented by pasta making, an ever higher share is destined for the production of a vast range of bakery products. The bread-making with durum wheat, born as a home operation, has been transformed into artisan production, acquiring a connotation of typicality and authenticity that has found great favor on the part of the consumer even in areas far from production.
The high content of proteins and antioxidants give the re-milled durum wheat semolina peculiar characteristics of a technological and nutritional nature compared to the flours obtainable from other cereals (Miller et al., 2000). In particular, the quality and quantity of proteins present in the regrind allow a greater absorption of water and a slower release of the same from the finished product, with consequent greater production yield and an extension of the lasting shelf life referred to the staling process. In general, wheat flours contain a heterogeneous microflora composed of a variety of microorganisms that include spoilage agents (moulds, yeasts and spore-forming bacteria) and non-sporoproducing agents (lactic acid bacteria). Most microorganisms accumulate on the surface of the grain and therefore wholemeal flours generally have a higher microbial load.
In particular, the raw materials may contain fungal and/or bacterial spores at the time of their use and cause contamination of the finished products. In fact, although bread and leavened bakery products are not classified as high health risk foods, they can be contaminated by over 40 fungal species and by heat-resistant spores of bacteria of the genus Bacillus. The latter are responsible for 12 an alteration of bread defined as "stringy bread" which is very widespread even if underestimated from an economic point of view. The species generally associated with this type of alteration are B. subtilis and B. licheniformis which originate from the soil and contaminate the wheat already before harvesting. In addition to causing "stringy bread" or "bread stringing", B. subtilis if ingested at high concentrations (for example 108 cfu/g of food) it can cause food poisoning whose symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and migraine. Among the Bacillus species, the presence of B. cereus in raw materials (flour, yeast, etc.), a highly toxigenic species, has also been reported. Flours can also be contaminated by moulds: generally these microorganisms are present with an average value of approx. 103 cfu/g.
Molds can originate from wheat before harvesting or during its storage, from the machinery used for milling and/or from the processing environments of bakery products. Within the bacterial microflora present in wheat flour there are also some species belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Among these, homo-fermenting bacillary-shaped species were isolated – Lactobacillus casei, L. coryniformis, L. curvatus, L. plantarum and L. salivarius – bacillary-shaped hetero-fermenters – L. brevis and L. fermentum – homo-fermenting coccica – Enetrococcus faecalis, Lactococcus lactis, Pediococcus acidilactici, P. parvulus, and P. pentosaceus – and heterofermenters of coccica form – Leuconostoc and Weissella.
The humidity of the flours is a parameter that significantly influences the development of contaminating microorganisms and consequently the shelf life of the foodstuff (ICMSF 1998). Indeed Aydin et al. (2009) observed that samples with medium humidity values of 14% showed a higher fungal burden. The Codex Alimentarius Standard (1995) indicates a maximum level of humidity allowed for flour equal to 15.5%. Although this humidity value is considered too low to support microbial growth and/or toxin production by fungal contaminants (e.g. the growth of mycotoxigenic species of Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp. requires a minimum humidity content in the substrate of 13 16,5%), it has been seen that increases of 1% – 2% of humidity are sufficient to favor the development of these microorganisms.
The vision of AILOVETOURISM
Why did I decide to do a technical discussion of how Apulian bread is produced throughout the supply chain?
If needed, once again, we have demonstrated that the territory and the types of wheat
grown in Puglia they have a mix of yeasts; fungal communities and unique micro-organisms. This guarantees a singularity that can be a commercial lever in the sale of tourist packages. By presenting this technical part in a more dynamic and fictional way, various tourist packages could be created.
Our packages have already included a product in which we will talk about the reasons and human events connected to this unique bread production in the world. STAY TUNED
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