# Impact of Ferment Processing Parameters on the Quality of White Pan Bread
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Ferment Storage Time
#### 3.2.2 Effect of Ferment Storage Time on Bread Processing  
Bread was processed using three inclusion levels of ferment taken immediately after fermentation and cooled to 24 \({}^{\circ}\)C (0 h storage) and after being stored for 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. Addition of ferment to the dough reduced mixing time but this was not found to be significantly different from the mixing time of the control with the exception of the dough prepared with ferment stored for 48 h at an inclusion level of 50% and for doughs prepared with ferment stored for 72 h for all three inclusion levels (Table 7). Figure 3: Ferment viscosity at 6–9 min holding time of the pasting profile during fermentation and over a 72 h storage. Bars represent the means and standard deviations of two replications. No significant differences were detected for the results at \(p\) < 0.05 (Tukey–Kramer test) for each holding time as indicated with the bars with the same letter. Within a ferment storage trial, mixing time tended to decrease as ferment inclusion level increased. There was a significant reduction in the mixing time for the ferment stored at 48 h, added at 50% and 70% inclusion and for the ferment stored at 72 h, added at all three levels of inclusion compared to the control. These findings are in agreement with [PERSON], who reported that use of flour-containing ferment resulted in reduced mixing times [31], therefore improving production efficiency in a bakery. When fresh ferment was used (0 h stored), proof times decreased as ferment inclusion level increased indicating higher rate of fermentation in the dough. The same observation was reported by [PERSON], when the final dough was prepared using flour-containing ferment, indicating reduced proof times as the level of flour increased in the ferment [32]. In this study, ferment that were stored showed the opposite trend with longer proof times tending to increase as ferment inclusion level increased. The longest proof time was observed for the dough prepared with ferment stored for 72 h added at a level of inclusion of 70%. This is likely due to poor dough handling properties which exhibited excessive softness and stickiness after mixing and high extensibility and medium stability after proofing. When compared to the control, the changes in proof times among the ferment storage intervals and inclusion levels were not statistically significant. Overall, based on visual observations, doughs mixed with ferment were softer, stickier, and more extensible compared to the control at the equivalent amount of water in all final doughs. In the current study, the impact on dough handling properties was affected by the level of ferment inclusion, with the most noticeable changes observed when 70% ferment was added. Stability of the dough after proofing was not affected for most of ferment treatments. [PERSON] suggested that organic acids produced in the ferment caused the dough to be sticker; however, the increase in dough stickiness did not negatively affect bread quality as improved load volume and crumb structure were observed [11]. [PERSON] concluded that ferments, prepared with flour, resulted in softer final doughs due to a loss of some absorptive capacity by the flour [32]. When fresh ferment (0 h stored) was used for dough preparation in our study, even at 30% inclusion, the dough was noticeably softer and stickier, however at 70% inclusion the dough became excessively soft and sticky. The control dough (no ferment) exhibited optimal softness and minimal stickiness. Regardless of the level of inclusion, addition of fresh ferment (0 h stored) resulted in a dough with better balanced dough properties and improved extensibility during the moulding stage compared to the control dough which exhibited resistant properties. Moderate dough stability was observed after proofing when fresh ferment (0 h stored) was included at 50% and 70% inclusion rates compared to the control.