The Fresh Loaf

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I recently picked up some dried malt extract is this the same

FoodHacker's picture
FoodHacker

I recently picked up some dried malt extract is this the same

As diastatic barly malt powder or can it be used more or less in the same way?

I recenly made some knotted rolls using Rienhart's version 1 for white sandwich bread and added the malt extract to it ( I couldn't remember how much malt to use per cup of flour so I made it 1 teaspoon malt per cup of flour) and to be honest I was very happy with the outcome the bread had a nice chewy texture, which is what I have been trying to get from the bread and a nice color as well.

The only other thing that I changed in the formula is I ommited the egg.

I think the next time though I might make a sponge with the added malt extract and let it rest in the fridge at least a day before making the bread.

I got the extract at a brewery supply store and I picked up what they called "Sparkling Amber" and "Traditional Dark"

I was able to get 2 lb of the extract for less than what it would have costed me to order 1lb of malt powder from King Arthur Flour.

 

Happy Baking everyone!!!

davidg618's picture
davidg618

Explanations regarding the processes used to create diastic malt and non-diastatic malt are available on TFL: use the search engine. Bottom line: malt extracts, prepared for home brewing, are non-diastatic, as such, for baking its just a sweetener.

David G

suave's picture
suave

Basically, what you got is flavored sugar.

Chuck's picture
Chuck

Agreed. If you got it through a brewer supply, it's virtually certain that it's non-diastatic. As a general rule, if the package doesn't explicitly say diastatic, it's not. (Whether the malt comes as a powder ["flour"] or a liquid ["syrup"] hasn't got much relation to whether it's diastatic or not.)

Non-diastatic malts as well as diastatic malts are useful in bread making. Non-diastatic malts provide i) sweetness and ii) color, which is sometimes exactly you want. Diastatic malts in addition provide active enzymes which dramatically change the way the dough ferments. In bread making the two are not interchangeable (too bad the names are so confusingly similar:-).

Brewer supplies are a great place to get very dark colored non-diastatic malts you can't get anywhere else; for more information search "crystal malt" here on TFL. Those very dark colored malts may for example aid the desired color of some "dark" rye breads.