Effects of different fermentation methods on the highland barley reconstituted dough and bread

To enhance utilization of dietary fiber-rich highland barley in cereal products, this study evaluated the effects of straight dough (STD), sourdough (SOD), and sponge dough (SPD) fermentation methods for reconstituted highland barley dough and bread. The results indicated that the bound water ratio of the SPD dough was 2.73% higher than that of the control, significantly enhancing the dough water-holding capacity ( p < 0.05). SOD (34.75%) and SPD (35.44%) dough showed β -sheet content comparable to control (34.13%). SOD and SPD dough exhibited lower hardness than STD, while SPD bread had hardness and springiness values closest to control. SPD bread achieved the highest overall sensory acceptability (score=7.2), attributable to its similar rheological behavior and stable gluten network, yielding the maximum specific volume (2.54 mL/g). Thus, SPD fermentation optimizes processing performance and improves final bread quality. • SPD was found to significantly enhance the proportion of bound water. • SPD was shown to enhance the gluten network structure of the reconstituted dough.