Traditional Production Method and Basic Characteristics of Dried Bread “Peksimet”

The 4th International Symposium on “Traditional Foods from Adriatic to Caucasus”, Girne, Kıbrıs (Kktc), 19 - 21 Nisan 2018, ss.239, (Özet Bildiri)

The scientific studies to extend the shelf life of bread, which is the basic food source of mankind,

have continued for years. In the past, making bread more durable was especially important for

sailors. There are many methods to keep bread for longer storage times, lowering of its moisture by

long-term drying is one of them. Peksimet is the type of sourdough bread which is obtained as a

result of dropping its moisture for a long period of time drying in stone ovens after baking and

slicing. This product is still produced in Muğla Region of Turkey traditionally. In the region,

peksimet has been produced generally in summer by using white wheat flour (white peksimet, WP)

or whole wheat flour (dark peksimet, DP) and consumed during winter. Low moisture content helps

it to withstand 2 years without deterioration. Dried peksimet has been softened by soaking in water

before consumption.

In this study some basic characteristics such as; acidity, pH, moisture, ash, salt, crumb and crust

color and sensorial evaluation of WP and DP were determined. White wheat bread produced

commercially was taken as control bread (CB). Acidity level of both WP and DP were found twice

as much as than CB. As expected, the sourdough in the peksimets was led to significant decrease of

pH value and increased the acidity level. Moisture content of CP was observed

36.0 % while for WP and DP it were measured as 6.0 and 7.9± 0.2 % respectively. Ash content of

WP and DP were found significantly higher than CB. There is also significant differences was

determined between brightness, redness and yellowness values of CB and peksimet samples. In the

test of organoleptic quality, the WP and DP were rated in the same score in terms of overall

appearance, structure, crust and crumb color, texture, odor, aroma and taste but all these scores were

rated lower than CB. Only chewiness values of DP was taken same points with CB. As a result, the

spreading of the production and consumption of this local breads will be beneficial both in terms of

increase the storage times of bread and in the presentation of different flavors to the consumer.