Siuflower,

That's an interesting process for making your own diastatic malt.  Re: sources, I know for sure King Arthur sells diastatic malt powder, I have purchased it from their on-line store along with French flour and gluen.  

 Howard - St. Augustine, FL

Isn't diastatic malt usually malted barley.  Barley has a much higher Diastatic Power (DP), meaning, it will convert more starch to sugar per amount used.

Yes, you can order it from KA, but I don't use diastatic malt in all my baking, only when the recipe asked for it. It will take me a long time to use up 1 lb. it make more sense for me to make a small amount to keep it fresh. I made 1/4 cup of wheat berry two months ago and I only used 2 tsp and still have plenty left for the future.

There are two kinds of malt, wheat and barley. The barley mostly for making beer and the wheat malt is I used for baking. I think you can use either one for baking. I think you can make barley malt following the recipe.

Hello all fellow bakers! After lurking around here for a few months I have a question for you. I wanted to make my own diastatic malt and have found a jar of what is either barley or what berries in my pantry. Yes, I know I should have lebelled it, but at the time I put it there I was NEVER going to forget what it was. Same thing used to apply to boxes of food in my freezer, but now I am the queen of masking tape and permanent markers and so that is no longer a problem.

So the question is, how do you tell the difference between the two grains? Will it matter which one it is when I finally get it to sprout then dry and grind it?

By the way, I love the sense of community that you have here.

Couldn't find diastatic malt.  Did find barley berries, get this, in Austria (a direct translation from the box) the grain is labeled:  "Naked Barley."    Grown right here in the "backyard" so to speak.

This is an old variety with lots of Beta-glucan.  Let the sprouting begin! 

does rye have a high diastatic power too? amylase activity in ordinary rye flour seems to be storming already ;)

From what I understand, the seeds put out rootlets, these are not what we want.  We want the sprout that is growing inside the seed and the only way to check on the growth is to cut a germinating seed open and look inside.  When the sprout inside is the length of the seed, then it is ready to dry.  The rootlets are removed as their taste is not desired.  It takes anywhere from 6 to 8 days. 

It is important that the seeds stay moist by rinsing often and well aired, so not too packed together. 

Drying is done low temperature.  Grinding should also be done as cool as possible.

Ha!  There is a better way!  Today, Day 3, I observed that the outside of the seed is translucent and in this photo one can see the sprout extending up the side of the seed.  Look at all those rootlets! 

Now the question is:  Stop when the sprout reaches the end of the seed or when it extends beyond the length of the seed the same length as the seed?

Mini

Stopped the growing. Rinsed and starting to dry using a fan.  Some of the sprouts extend beyond the seed, same are the same length and some are like the photo above.  Rootlets everywhere!   I judge them to be ready to dry at 66 hours old, Day 4. 

Mini

for letting me post this here.  I thought it fitting to keep the sprout info together.  Thank you again,

Mini

generally rye, wheat and lentils sprout much faster: 2-3 days, even in winter. Maybe it's a peculiarity of barley...

The water I rinse them with is slightly warmer than room temp.  I placed them in sprout trays and put them into the oven on a rack.  I removed the rack for rising placing everything over the sink.  Then run water into the trays.  They drain into the sink and when all the water has run off,  they go back into the cold oven with the door shut.  Worked well and they were out of the way.  If I needed the oven, all I had to do was stack them. 

The bulk doubled in size overnight each time.  I layered the seeds about 1cm deep in the trays when they were 30 hours old.  When I flipped them out this morning they were like round matts.  So I laid them upside down on parchment -- roots in the air!

I did have them outside first but they started to green. So I've got them in a dark room over the oven rack and suspended that up off the table and parked a ventilator in front of it.  The little rootlets are shriveling up.  The seeds without roots are falling out of the matts.  (Better than pigeons for sorting!)  Interesting "green" smell. There is quite a few sprouts to dry.  I started out with 500g  and wishing I had made less.

Mini

I guess I could have skipped the last rinse, that seemed to slow down the drying and they just kept growing.  They did stop and I'm having a bugger of a time getting them dried without heat. 

Today is the 6th day since I started and the 3rd day of drying. 

Mini

isn't a drink; it refers to the color produced as it's roasted. Does anyone know if I can make my own by (carefully) roasting commercial diastitic malt?
Thanks