The contribution of lactic acid bacteria to the quality of sour bread made with sponge doughs fermented by a brewers' yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a homofermentative, Lactobacillus sakei, and another two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was investigated. A remarkable increase in free amino acids, especially L-glutamic acid, was observed in the sour sponge dough fermented by L. sakei, or the dough fermented by S. cerevisiae and L. sakei. Though the same tendency was observed in those samples fermented by the last two, it was lower than that of the first. The flavor of the sour bread was believed to be derived from the moderate production of organic acids such as lactic and acetic acids, and an increase in free amino acids. Moreover, the bread with the sour sponge doughs was suggested to be more resistant to Aspergillus niger, a common spoilage fungus for bread. When rats were fed a high fat diet containing the sour bread, an increase in serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels was suppressed. The result of a binding test between the dead cells of LAB and bile acid suggested that they could bind and exclude bile acid in the small intestine of the rats.