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Advice on malt flour

Elsasquerino's picture
Elsasquerino

Advice on malt flour

Hi everyone. I've been a bit slack with recording my bread journey here of late... But never fear, I have been baking bread. 

My return to the hallowed Fresh Loaf forum is to ask advice of the elders, I'm sure they're all still here!

I'm going to make a proper rye bread for the first time in quite a while.  I happened upon a copy of Claus Mayer's book, Meyer's Bakery, in a TK Maxx of all places and fancied this recipe for Dark rye with rye berries and pumpkin seeds.

340g cracked rye

175g pumpkin seeds

500g cold water - left to soak overnight as a 150% hydration rye starter matures, before draining and adding to.

400g of said starter

200g water

400g dark rye flour

20g salt

10g dark malt flour (or 30g of malt syrup)

So I know enough to have gathered that he is calling for non diastatic malt flour here. Trouble is I haven't any... But I do have the diastatic stuff.

Can I kill the 'diastatic' off somehow? Is it worth it? Shall I just drop it from the recipe? Any store cupboard alternative you may suggest? 

Thanks people!

suave's picture
suave

You can slowly and carefully roast diastatic malt.  Or you buy a jar of malt syrup, Whole Paycheck usually has it.

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

Till it's non diastatic. But would like to know if using diastatic malt will have any negative effect? What's the worst that can happen? 

I can understand if you wish for diastatic malt for the enzymatic reaction but use non diastatic then you'll lose that added extra you want for your bread. But vice versa? 

How about still using it but limiting it to 1% of the flour? 

suave's picture
suave

If the miller knows what he's doing the flour already has appropriate amount of malt in it.

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

And a miller will have already added malt in the correct proportions one should be careful when a recipe asks for malt? 

albacore's picture
albacore

Too much diastatic malt might give you an unpleasant "gummy crumb". I would limit addition in first trial bake to 0.4%.

If you want non-diastatic, just pour boiling water on your diastatic malt flour - simple, but it won't be dark. Add a bit of molasses or treacle?

Lance

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

Nice one! Simple and effective. Will it still add flavour even if one does miss out on the colour a tad? 

albacore's picture
albacore

Well 10g doesn't sound like a lot does it? So maybe not much! Elsasquerino might be better off with a bit of your crystal rye, Abe!

Lance

Abe's picture
Abe (not verified)

Then with pleasure! I have loads of the stuff. With mere grams used in any one recipe, coupled with having to buy at least a 500g bag, Borodinsky bread being one of many recipes i like and only baking once a week, I have far more then I know what to do with. 

Anyone who lives in London and wants some crystal rye malt then please just ask. 

bearhunter's picture
bearhunter

it has been my understanding that unless specified as "non" diastatic it IS diastatic. I would also hazard the assumption, although I have no experience with this bread, that it has plenty of flavour in it.

Non diastatic malt is flavouring only pretty much where as I would think that this recipe needs the diastatic boost because there doesn't appear to be much yeast/ starter nourishment here for what would be a reasonably dense loaf.

Qualifier here, this is pure assumption on my part by thinking what diastatic malt does and would think that confusing diastatic malt with "non" is a pretty big error in printing the recipe considering a lot of people don't even know what it is. 

albacore's picture
albacore

Found on p285 of the recipe source book:

Elsasquerino's picture
Elsasquerino

I decided to try the slow roast... I got to thinking it would add the dark colour as well as deactivating the enzymes. I think it's done the trick! 

The worry was really that I wouldn't kill it and I had a big concern that I'd have a very, very gummy interior. However it seems quite a respectable crumb and although I will be getting some dark malt flour as recommended at the back of the book - well spotted Lance - and comparing the end result, I'm suitably impressed. 

I just measured out the 10g of diastatic and shook it out evenly in a small pie tray and once it looked like 'Diax' on the bakery bits website (good and dark) I pulled it out and used as per the recipe. I should've got a crumb shot for you guys... I will tomorrow.