Determination of key aroma compounds in the crumb of a three-stage sourdough rye bread by stable isotope dilution assays and sensory studies

An investigation of the volatile fraction of a freshly prepared sourdough rye bread crumb by means of the aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), followed by identification experiments, revealed 22 flavor compounds in the flavor dilution (FD) factor range of 128 to 2048. Quantitations performed by stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA) and a calculation of odor activity values (OAV; ratio of concentration to odor threshold) revealed the following as contributors to the overall crumb flavor: 3-methylbutanal (malty), (E)-2-nonenal (green, fatty), (E,E)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, waxy), hexanal (green), acetic acid (sour, pungent), phenylacetaldehyde (honey-like), methional (boiled potato-like), vanillin (vanilla-like), 2,3-butandione (buttery), 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone (spicy), and 2- and 3-methylbutanoic acid (sweaty). Using either citrate buffer, starch, or deodorized crumb as model matrixes, the typical malty and sour rye bread crumb flavor was reproduced by adding a mixture of 20 reference odorants in the "natural" concentrations as quantitatively determined in the fresh crumb.