Culture-Dependent Estimation of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeasts

Here we describe how to enumerate lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in sourdough samples, using the plate count method and selective/elective agar culture media. The results of the analysis, expressed in terms of cell density, will be useful to predict the leavening and acidification performances of the analysed sourdough or, on the opposite, trying to understand eventual lower performances than the ones usually observed. In addition, the plates containing colonies of presumptive lactic acid bacteria and yeasts might be exploited for isolating pure microbial cultures.