SUMMARY
Bread is a popular food in the world because of its variety and convenience. Currently, studies on the adding probiotics to bread are limited due to the adverse effects of processing, such as baking temperature, aerobic environment to the probiotic bacteria. The objective of this study was to produce probiotic cream bread, in which Lactobacillus acidophilus was microencapsulated with Alginate 2% (A); Alginate 2% + maltodextrin 1% (AM); Alginate 2% + xanthan gum 0.1% (AX); and Alginate 2% + maltodextrin 1% + xanthan gum 0.1% (AMX). Microcapsules were added to the kernel, conducting encapsulation yield investigations, survival in baking, preservation of bread, and in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid conditions after 8 days of storage. The results showed that the addition of xanthan gum enhanced the encapsulation yield, it reached 92.9% and 92.37% in AMX and AX samples, respectively. The viability of L. acidophilus during baking was decreased by 3.64 and 3.75 Log (CFU/bread) in AMX and AM samples, compared to A and AX which were decreased by 4.75 and 4.44 Log (CFU/ bread). In SGF (Simulated Gastric Fluid) and SIF (Simulated Intestinal Fluid) conditions, the AMX microcapsules provide the best probiotic protection among the four tested carriers. The combination of xanthan gum and maltodextrin in alginate matrix, eventually leading to having dual efficiency: First, xanthan gum would act as buffers that reduce acid activity; Second, maltodextrin acting as a protective agent of L. acidophilus against high temperature as well as potential prebiotic that improve the viability of probiotic.