Tailor-made fermentation of sourdough reduces the acrylamide content in rye crispbread and improves its sensory and nutritional characteristics.

Thirty strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae E8.9 (wild type) were used to formulate fifteen combinations of starters by mixing two or three LAB with the yeast (ratio LAB: yeast, 10: 1). Such combinations were used to prepare rye sourdough and their performance in term of acidification and biochemical characteristics during fermentation at two temperatures (30 and 37 °C) and duration (4 and 8 h) were screened. The best thirteen sourdough formulations were selected and used for rye crispbread making. The analysis of acrylamide concentration demonstrated that 11 out 13 formulations resulted in significant decreases of concentration compared to the baker's yeast (control), with reductions up to 79.6 %. The rye sourdough crispbreads showed also higher amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) compared to the baker's yeast control. Two rye sourdough crispbreads, selected to represent the opposite extremes within the thirteen formulations in term of VOC profiles and fermentation performances, demonstrated better sensory and nutritional features, such as phytic acid reduction (up to 47.3 %), and enhanced total free amino acid compared to the control. These evidences suggest the potential of tailored sourdough fermentations as alternative and suitable biotechnological strategy for lowering acrylamide levels in rye crispbread.