Sourdough influences in a good way all aspects of the bakery products quality. Sourdough fermentation has gained the worldwide attention due to its positive influence on sensorial, textural, nutritional and shelf life of baked goods. For this work, four commercial starter cultures were selected, in order to assess their influence on products quality. The major lactic bacteria in the starter cultures were: Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus sanfrancisco and according the producer, specific facultative hetero-fermentative lactic strains. The obtained sourdoughs, fermented according to their supplier specifications, were added to wheat dough at 5 - 30 % amount level. The starters’ performance was assessed in 2 stages protocol. Firstly, all starters were assessed by analysing the results of physico-chemical and sensorial properties. In the second stage, three starters were selected and the protocol was performed again. Physico-chemical analyses (porosity, elasticity, H/D, L/w, acidity) were performed according to SR 91/2007. Aroma profile and sensory analysis were assessed using a hedonic test. All starter cultures showed good performance on improving the bread quality in the conditions of this experiment, differences could be noticed in relation to textural and sensorial properties.
