Hempseed Flour‑Based Bioingredient Fermented by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ITM21B for Salt‑Reduced Bread Production in Industrial Bakery Environment

This study aimed to investigate a sustainable biotechnological method for producing salt-reduced baked goods without com￾promising sensory appeal or texture, in line with current health recommendations. A yeast-leavened bread was formulated by incorporating, at 10% (w/w dough), a biomolecule-enriched bioingredient based on fermented hempseed or wheat gluten four mixed to wheat four, acting as salt replacer to achieve a 50% reduction in salt. The bioingredients, obtained using Lac￾tiplantibacillus plantarum ITM21B as a starter culture under two Fermentation Conditions (FC1: Dough Yield 500, 37 °C and FC2: Dough Yield 250, 25 °C), were characterized for strain growth, pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), organic acids (lactic, acetic, propionic, phenyllactic and hydroxy-phenyllactic), total proteins, total free amino acids (TFAA) and L-glutamic acid. The two bioingredients obtained under FC2, which were particularly rich in biomolecules, were then incorporated in 50% salt-reduced bread formulation (6.7 g/kg) and processed in an industrially relevant pilot plant. The presence of both bioingredients resulted in a twofold increase of L-glutamic acid content compared with the Control bread (standard salt content, no bioingredient). Additionally, breads containing the bioingredients exhibited signifcantly reduced hardness and chewiness, as well as a softer crumb, with the strongest efects observed in breads containing hempseed-based bioingredient. Sensory analysis revealed that despite the salt reduction, bread enriched with the hempseed bioingredient was well-accepted by panelists, showing color, crust and crumb frmness, staling, odor, taste and sapidity attributes comparable to the Control bread. In conclusion, the addition of 10% hempseed-based bioingredient improved texture and increased L-glutamic acid levels, efectively compensating for the reduced salt in sensory evaluations.