Effect of liquid fermented Chinese edible Ganoderma Lucidum fungus on wheat bread: A quality improver and staling inhibitor

People's pursuit to additive-free products inspired us to find natural functional compositions to improve bread quality. Ganoderma Lucidum is used as nutraceutical Chinese traditional edible fungus for thousands of years. In this study, Ganoderma Lucidum fermentation broth were prepared by liquid fermentation to obtain high-yield of functional components like polysaccharides that exhibited water holding ability to restrict water migration and inhibited starch retrogradation in bread crumb. The data demonstrated the fermentation broth added to dough, whether sterilized or not, could improve the bread quality, especially decrease crumb softness. Dose-response relationship was observed, however when the addition amount exceeded the critical concentration, there was no more improvement in bread quality. The detection of volatile organic components in bread indicated Ganoderma Lucidum fermentation broth promoted the generation of the aroma of bread and enriched the flavor. This research suggested Ganoderma Lucidum fermentation broth whether sterilized or not could both improve bread quality and offer a potential strategy of additive-free ameliorant for prolonging bread shelf-life in industrial process.