Sourdough starters are a symbiotic relationship between lactic acid bacteria and yeast. So you will find different find both yeast and lactic acid bacteria. There are three categories of of lactic acid bacteria, based on the kind of acids that they produce.
In bread making they The LAB (Lactic acid Bacteria) ferment sugars are already in the flour and that have been broken down by enzymes to produce carbon dioxide and acids
These organic acids both flavour the bread and facilitate the biochemical processes that contributes to the enhanced nutritional profiles of sourdough bread. Based upon how they ferment carbohydrates, lactic acid bacteria can be categorised into three main types.
- Homofermentative lactic acid bacteria.
- Heterofermentative lactobacilli
- Facultative Heterofermentative LAB
Facultative Heterofermentative LAB is the kind that can either produce different end products such as lactic acid, acetic acid and carbon dioxide similar to heterofermentative bacteria or only produce lactic acid depending on the type of sugars available for fermentation.