# Impact of Ferment Processing Parameters on the Quality of White Pan Bread
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Fermentation Time
#### 3.3.3 Effect of Fermentation Time on Bread Quality  
Quality parameters of the breads processed without ferment (control) and with ferment prepared using four different fermentation times and added at varying inclusion levels are provided in Tables 9 and 10. Images of the bread and bread slices are provided in  
had slightly lower crumb brightness (L*) but this was not significant with the exception of the ferment that had been fermented for 90 min and used at an inclusion level of 70% which had a significantly lower L* value compared to the control. Crumb redness (a*) was not significantly affected by fermentation time of the ferment nor the level of ferment inclusion used in the bread. The highest a* value was observed for the breads processed with the ferment, that was prepared using a fermentation time of 210 min and added at 30% and 50% inclusion levels but this difference was not significant. Ferment prepared using a 280 min fermentation time produced bread that had the lowest a* (redness) value but this was not significant. Yellowness (b*) increased slightly in the breads processed with ferment but this was not significant compared to the control. Using a fermentation time of 150 min to produce the ferment resulted in bread that had the lowest crumb yellowness (b*) compared to the control when a 30% and 50% level of inclusion was used. Longer fermentation times of 210 min and 280 min resulted in increased crumb yellowness at all three inclusion levels. Overall, ferment prepared using a 150 min fermentation time produced bread with a crumb colour that was most comparable to the control regardless of the level of inclusion. Breads processed with ferment resulted in a crumb structure with significantly larger cell diameter which was coarser compared to the control (Table 10). Only the breads made with the ferments prepared using the 150 min fermentation time added at a 30% of inclusion level and using the 90 min fermentation time added at a 50% of inclusion level did not follow this trend and instead had a crumb structure that was comparable to the control. Breads made with ferment had significantly thicker cell walls than the control bread with the exception of the breads made with the ferment that was prepared using the 150 min fermentation time added at a 30% inclusion level and using 90 min and 150 min fermentation times added at a 50% level of inclusion. Cell contrast was not significantly impacted by the addition of ferment regardless of fermentation time used to prepare the ferment. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Fermentation** & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Crumb Structure**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Bread Crumb Scores**} \\ \cline{2-10}
**Time and** & \multicolumn{4}{c}{} & & & & & & & \\
**Inclusion** & **CD 2 (mm)** & **NC/SA 2** & **CWT 2** & **CC 2** & **Colour** & **Texture** & **Softness** & **Resilience** & **Strength** \\
**Level** & & & & & & & & & \\ \hline
**Control** & 2.06 \(\pm\) 0.05 \({}^{\circ}\) & 0.59 \(\pm\) 0.01 \({}^{\textrm{a}}\) & 0.46 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\textrm{b}}\) & 0.77 \(  
Figure 8: Breads made with ferment prepared using varying fermentation times. **(a)** 90 min, **(b)** 150 min, **(c)** 210 min, and **(d)** 280 min. Left to right: control (no ferment), 30% ferment inclusion, 50% ferment inclusion, and 70% ferment inclusion. Bread scores for the control and breads made with ferment are provided in Table 10 and used as supplementary data. Differences were observed in the scores for breads containing ferment compared to the control. Crumb colour scores for the breads processed with ferment were slightly higher, or comparable to the control. However, when ferment  
Figure 9: Slices of bread made with ferment prepared using varying fermentation times. (**a**) 90 min, (**b**) 150 min, (**c**) 210 min, and (**d**) 280 min. Left to right: control (no ferment), 30% ferment inclusion, 50% ferment inclusion, and 70% ferment inclusion.