From process to flavor: Microbial and sensory characterization of traditional Kaak and its artisanal production...

With rising interest in legume-based fermented products, traditional legume fermentation practices are gaining renewed attention. One such example is Kaak, a traditional Lebanese baked product made using naturally fermented chickpea-soaked water. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of Kaak production and microbial species diversity. Despite practices variations among bakers, five key steps were consistently identified: chickpea-soaked water fermentation, preparation of two starters, dough preparation and baking. Fungal species diversity, analyzed using Illumina Miseq ITS1 sequencing, revealed high variation in fungal species composition of chickpea-soaked water (W) between bakeries, with dominance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in some samples. In contrast, the fermented starters (F1 and F2) and the dough (D) consistently included Alternaria species and S. cerevisiae. Bacterial species analysis, using 16S rDNA V3-V4 sequencing, revealed a dominance of Weissella species in some dough samples while Clostridium perfringens was consistently the most abundant bacterial species in chickpea-soaked water and throughout the process. This species seems to have a major contribution to the organoleptic properties of traditional Kaak made with chickpea-soaked water as evidenced by descriptive quantitative sensory analysis that revealed unique distinctive features of traditional Kaak, pertaining to aroma, taste and texture in comparison to Kaak made with commercial S. cerevisiae strains without chickpea-soaked water. Altogether, these findings reveal, for the first time, the unique sensorial profile of traditional Kaak associated with its specific microbial diversity and traditional production. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of traditional legume-based fermentation and highlight the value of preserving artisanal practices.