Programme
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Monday, February 23, 2026
18.00 - 19.00 – Registration and poster mounting
19.00 - 21.00 – Welcome reception
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
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08.30 – 09.30 - Introductory Session
Chair: Luc DE VUYST (FoodFerment, Aalst, Belgium)
08.30 – 08.45 - Welcome
Luc DE VUYST, Chairman (FoodFerment, Aalst, Belgium)
Christophe COURTIN, Vice-chairman (KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Inge ARENTS (Flanders’ FOOD, Brussels, Belgium)
08.45 - 09.30 – Plenary lecture
Friedrich HEINRICH (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium)
The rise of sourdough. A brief (pre-)history of our daily bread and traditional grains from the Neolithic Revolution to the
Green Revolution
09.30 – 12.10 – Plenary session
Session 1 – Microbiology and biodiversity of the sourdough microbiota
Chair: Marco GOBBETTI (Free University of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy)
09.30 – 10.10 – Keynote lecture
Michael GÄNZLE (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)
Community assembly in sourdough fermentations
10.10 – 10.50 – Coffee break and poster viewing
10.50 - 11.30 – Keynote lecture
Delphine SICARD (INRAE, Montpellier, France)
Yeasts in sourdough: diversity, origin, and community structure/assembly/dispersal
11.30 – 12.30 - Oral presentations (3 presentations; each 15 min plus 5 min of discussion)
Session 1 – Microbiology and biodiversity of the sourdough microbiota
Chair: Marco GOBBETTI (Free University of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy)
11.30 – 11.50
Thomas GETTEMANS (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium)
Rising together: exploring sourdough fermentation diversity through co-design in the HealthFerm Citizen Science
initiative
11.50 – 12.10
Erica PONTONIO (University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy)
The ecology of tradition: how propagation shapes sourdough characteristics
12.10 – 12.30
Biao SUO (Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China)
Construction of a functional microbial strain library from traditional Chinese sourdough and its application in the
development of steamed bread for improving quality and flavour
12.30 - 14.00 – Lunch break
14.00 – 16.00 – Plenary session
Session 2 – Biochemistry, physiology, genetics, and molecular biology of sourdough microorganisms
Chair: Michael GÄNZLE (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)
14.00 - 14.40 – Keynote lecture
Marco GOBBETTI (Free University of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy)
Functional robustness of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in sourdough fermentation: lessons from synthetic microbiota
design
14.40 – 15.20 – Keynote lecture
Caiti HEIL (North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)
Genetic and phenotypic diversity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in sourdough
15.20 – 16.00 – Coffee break and poster viewing
16.00 – 18.20 – Oral presentations (6 presentations; each 15 min plus 5 min of discussion)
Session 2 – Biochemistry, physiology, genetics, and molecular biology of sourdough microorganisms
Chair: Delphine SICARD (INRAE, Montpellier, France)
16.00 – 16.30
Héliciane CLEMENT (Lesaffre Institute of Science and Technology, Marcq-en-Baroeul, France)
Integrating omics and non-omics data to reveal the metabolic pathways activated during sourdough fermentation
16.30 – 16.50
Jan Patrick TAN (ETH, Zürich, Switzerland)
Metabolome variation of Type 1 European starters collected through citizen science
16.50 – 17.10
Laura-Jeanne ROUSSELLE (University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France)
Interactions between yeasts and lactic acid bacteria in a synthetic sourdough: comparison of Maudiozyma humilis and
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
17.10 – 17.30
Manon LEBLEUX (University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France)
Fermentation performance and aroma production of two sourdough yeast species, Maudiozyma humilis and Maudiozyma
bulderi
17.30 – 17.50
Yuwei TAN (Jiangnan University/Wageningen University, Wuxi/Wageningen, China/The Netherlands)
Intelligent backslopping for optimized fermentation starters and enhanced flavour
17.50 – 18.10
Francesco Maria CALABRESE (University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy)
Omics insights revealed microbiota functional adaptation in sprouted cereals
19.00 – Walk departure to the Market Place of Brussels
19.30 – Beer reception in the Town Hall of Brussels
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
09.00 – 11.30 – Plenary session
Session 3 – Fermentation and process technology of sourdough and bread productions
Chair: Ömer SIMSEK (Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey)
09.00 - 09.40 – Keynote lecture
Mia EECKHOUT (Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium)
Composition and properties of cereal, pseudocereal and alternative flours
09.40 - 10.20 – Keynote lecture
Peter STOLZ (Böcker, Minden, Germany)
Sourdough fermentation from an industrial bread production perspective
10.20 – 10.50 – Coffee break and poster viewing
10.50 - 11.30 – Keynote lecture
Christophe COURTIN (KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Bread dough fermentation and baking
11.30 – 12.30 – Oral presentations (3 presentations; each 15 min plus 5 min of discussion)
Session 3 – Fermentation and process technology of sourdough and bread productions
Chair: Markus BRANDT (Böcker, Minden, Germany)
11.30-11.50
Robin Y. XIONG (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)
Measurement of strain-level stability of microbial community of backslopped sourdough
11.50-12.10
Markus DÜSTERBERG (Böcker, Minden, Germany)
Declining protein content in wheat flour – Impact of sourdough fermentation
12.10-12.30
Eline LAMBRECHTS (KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Understanding the key enzymatic conversions for successful fermentation with kilned oat wholemeal flour
12.30 - 14.00 – Lunch break
14.00 – 16.30 – Plenary session
Session 4 – Functional aspects of sourdoughs and sourdough breads
Chair: Christophe COURTIN (KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
14.00 - 14.40 – Keynote lecture
Luc DE VUYST (FoodFerment, Aalst, Belgium)
Flavour production during sourdough and sourdough bread production
14.40 – 15.20 – Keynote lecture
Kristin VERBEKE (KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Human intervention and clinical trials with sourdough breads
15.20 – 15.50 – Coffee break and poster viewing
15.50 – 16.30 – Keynote lecture
Carlo RIZZELLO (Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy)
Mechanistic insights into the health-promoting activities of sourdough lactic acid bacteria
16.30 – 18.10 – Oral presentations (5 presentations; each 15 min plus 5 min of discussion)
Session 4 – Functional aspects of sourdoughs and sourdough breads
Chair: Kati KATINA (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland)
16.30 – 16.50
Daniel WEFERS (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany)
Formation of isomalto/malto-polysaccharides in sourdough
16.50 – 17.10
Celine VERDONCK (KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)
Organic acids and the gluten matrix: unravelling their role in sourdough breadmaking
17.10 – 17.30
Weining HUANG (Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China)
Attenuation of colitis-related metabolic dysregulation via consumption of wholemeal sourdough bread but not wholemeal
bread: a molecular discovery
17.30 – 17.50
Fabienne VERTÉ (Puratos, Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium)
Impact of faba bean flour-based sourdough on the organoleptic, techno-functional and health-related properties of
wholemeal wheat bread
17.50 – 18.10
Annabelle VERA (Philibert Savours, Lyon, France)
Microbiological characterization of a pilot-scale sourdough production line during Type 1 sourdough propagation
19.00 - Bus departure to Tervuren
20.00 - 24.00 - Conference dinner in the Afrikapaleis
Thursday, February 26, 2026
09.30 – 12.30 – Plenary session
Session 5 – Industrial practices, legislation, and other sourdough-based products
Chair: Fabienne VERTÉ (Puratos, Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium)
09.30 – 10.10 – Keynote lecture
Kati KATINA (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland)
Oat- and rye-based industrial sourdoughs – challenges and opportunities
10.10 – 10.50 – Keynote lecture
Emanuele ZANNINI (Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy)
Industrial gluten-free sourdough breads and cereal products
10.50 – 11.20 – Coffee break and poster viewing
11.20 – 12.00 – Keynote lecture
Ömer SIMSEK (Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey)
Sourdough beyond bread: inspirations from other sourdough-based products and future
fermented food designs
12.00 – 12.30 – Keynote lecture
Markus BRANDT (Böcker, Minden, Germany)
Sourdoughs and sourdough breads are diverse - but so is their regulation
12.30 - 14.00 – Lunch break
14.00 – 15.40 – Poster session
14.00 – 14.40 – Flash presentations (8 presentations of 4 min + 1 min of discussion)
Chair: Fernanda MOZZI (CERELA, San Miguél de Tucuman, Argentina)
Christian ABI KHALIL (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium)
Microbial dynamics of barley/pulse sourdough fermentations from Antiquity, reconstructed according to recipes
described in Pliny the Elder’s Historia Naturalis (AD 77-79)
Zühal DUMAN (Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey)
Effect of proteolytic lactic acid bacteria on the Ehrlich pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae PFC121 during sourdough
fermentation
Gabriela SAMANIEGO (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium)
Genomic blueprint of Companilactobacillus paralimentarius for sourdough applications
Giverny GANZ (ZHAW, Zürich, Switzerland)
A bread model system to assess the effect of single functional cultures on the microbiological and technological
parameters of sourdough and bread.
Linda NECHAVAVA (Oniris VetAgroBio - UMR INRAe SECALIM-Nantes, Nantes, France)
Beyond volatile molecules: contribution of potent odorants to the olfactory diversity of sourdough and the aromatic profile
of sourdough bread
Olga NIKOLOUDAKI (Free University of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy)
Sourdough fermentation of Tritordeum and a Tritordeum-bran composite: impacts on bread nutrition and proximal-colon
microbiota in the SHIME® model
Andrea TORREGGIANI (University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy)
Microbial and NMR-metabolomic profiling of fermented sorghum: assessment of its prebiotic potential in a functional
gluten-free bread
Vimac NOLLA-ARDEVOL (Puratos, Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium)
Postbiotic-enriched sourdough: a novel approach to gut health in bakery applications
14.40 – 15.40 – Poster viewing
15.40 – 19.00 h – Sourdough bread session
Chair: Luc DE VUYST (FoodFerment, Aalst, Belgium)
15.40 – 16.40 - Panel discussion with the Belgian bakers Henrik Durnez (Bio Bakery De Trog, Ieper, Belgium), Laurent
Maes (Renard Foods, Elsene, Belgium), Philip Fastré (Panerex, Maesmechelen , Belgium)
Moderator: Karl DE SMEDT (Sourdough Institute, Sankt-Vith, Belgium)
16.40 – 17.05 – Oral presentation
Sebastian MARQUARDT (Publisher BROT & BROTpro, Wellhausen & Marquardt Medien, Hamburg, Germany)
Communicating sourdough: from scientific evidence to consumer perception
17.05 – 17.30 – Oral presentation
Yuqi SHAO (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)
Towards whole grain bread with minimal use of refined ingredients: strategies and challenges
17.30 – 19.00 - Sourdough bread and beer pairing tasting session (organised by Puratos, Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium)
17.30 – 17.45 - Technical introduction
Stefan CAPPELLE (Puratos, Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium)
Sourdough tasting: the scientific, producer, and consumer points of view
17.45 – 18.45 – Guided tasting session
Sourdough bread and beer pairing
18.45 – 19.00 – Conclusions
Karl DE SMEDT (Sourdough Institute, Sankt-Vith, Belgium)
Friday, February 27, 2026
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09.00 – 11.30 h – Oral presentations (6 presentations; each 15 min plus 5 min of discussion)
Session 5 – Industrial practices, legislation, and other sourdough-based products and technologies
Chair: Emanuele ZANNINI (Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy)
09.00 – 09.20
Andrea POLO (Free University of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy)
Sourdough fermentation and red lentil protein enrichment as sustainable valorization of pasta by-products to make new
pasta
09.20 - 09.40
Medana ZAMFIR (Institute of Biology Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania)
BorÅŸ beyond soup: the microbial and functional richness of a Romanian fermented beverage
09.40 - 10.00
Maria G. ROBLES HERNANDEZ (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada)
Impact of Bacillus spp. fermentation on bread functional and sensory quality
10.00 – 10.30 – Coffee break
10.30 - 10.50
Nicole PARVIAINEN (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland)
Assembly of a synthetic sourdough consortium for the fermentation of faba bean
10.50 – 11.10
Giuseppe PERRI (University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy)
Synergistic application of proteases and in situ dextran production via fermentation with Leuconostoc
pseudomesenteroides to improve the metabolomic, safety, and technological profile of Acheta domesticus powder for
breadmaking
11.10 – 11.30
Silvia CERA (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland)
Oat sourdough fermentation enhances flavor and β-glucan functionality in wholegrain oat bread
11.30 – 12.00 – Closure of the symposium and announcement of the next edition
Christophe COURTIN (KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium)