Production of a yeast-free focaccia with reduced salt content using a selected Leuconostoc citreum strain and seawater

A biotechnological protocol to produce a focaccia (a typical Italian flat bread) without bakers' yeast addition and with reduced salt was developed, to meet the current needs of the consumer. Based on its leavening capability, the Leuconostoc citreum strain C2.27 was selected to be used as a starter instead of the baker's yeast and inoculated in a liquid sourdough (type-II) for the production of the "yeast-free" focaccia. The addition of different NaCl concentrations and the replacement of the salt with food grade seawater were evaluated, and the capability of the selected strain to affect technological, nutritional and sensory features of the focaccia investigated. A significant improvement of the nutritional characteristics of the focaccia was observed compared to the control (leavened with bakers' yeast and added with NaCl 1.5 g/100 g) using 0.7 g/100 g of salt in the form of NaCl or seawater. Besides the reduced Na content (66% lower than the control), focaccia with seawater also showed a higher content of Ca2+ and Mg2+ (ca. 36% and 53%, respectively), and the lowest predicted glycemic index compared to the other experimental focaccia.