Sealed fermentation preparation of high mechanical strength bacterial cellulose with small pore size for enhancing dough performance

The outstanding properties of bacterial cellulose (BC) have facilitated its broad application in the food industry. However, BC often necessitates further modification. Conventional physical, chemical, and biological modification approaches frequently exhibit certain limitations. In this study, leveraging the characteristic of the unique BC-producing strain FY-07 to rapidly ferment and generate large amounts of gas, a simple, efficient, and low-cost hermetically sealed fermentation modification strategy was developed to prepare the modified product BC-P. Characterization of BC-P revealed that sealed fermentation did not affect key physicochemical properties. However, it significantly enhanced tensile strength, Young’s modulus, UV and water vapor barrier properties. Texture and rheological analyses further demonstrated that incorporation of BC-P into flour improved the functional properties of the resulting composite dough, underscoring its potential to enhance food texture. Overall, this study presents an effective and innovative strategy for modifying BC, thereby advancing its potential for application in food systems and beyond. • Hermetically sealed fermentation was employed to produce modified bacterial cellulose. • Tensile strength, Young's modulus, springiness, chewiness and cohesiveness significantly enhanced. • Pore size, water vapor transmission rate and ultraviolet transmittance reduced. • The performance of the doughs with modified bacterial cellulose addition significantly improved.