August 28, 2009 - 8:13pm
Diastatic malt powder
Does anyone know of a store that stocks diastatic malt powder in the Milwaukee area? I know I can buy it on the KAF website, but it costs $4 + $6 shipping. (I just can't get myself to pay more for the shipping than the product.)
I have tried The Purple Foot, but from what I can tell, their malt powder is not diastatic. So far I have not been able to locate anyone who has it locally.
Paul
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Check local stores that sell supplie for home brewing. They typically have rye or wheat malt which is the kind you want. Should cost you about $2/lb. Of course driving there will probably cost more than that, but such is life.
Home brewing stores carry non-diastatic malt powder, but not diastatic malt powder, (which hasn't had its enzymes denatured). I did an exhaustive search in Houston with now luck, and ended up ordering it from King Arthur.
Diastatic malts are the basic ingredient of brewing. Any store that caters to home breweres must carry a decent to extensive variety of malts sold as grain, whole or crushed. The powder you're referring to is likely dried malt extract which is something else completely.
I too, had trouble finding the diastatic and non diastatic malt so decided to make my own. It's an easy process, sprout wheat berries and after about 3 days, dry the sprouts at a temp that is about 100 degrees F, this will keep the enzyme intact. Once dry grind the sprouts and you have diastatic malt. To get non diastatic malt dry the sprouts at 300 degrees F until they are cocoa colour then grind. Store in sealed jars. Hope this helps.
What do you use to grind the sprouts? Can it be done without a grain mill, perhaps in a food processor or coffee grinder? I'm thinking the sprouted grain will be softer and grind easier than fresh whole grain. Is that correct?
Yes, I just use a cheap coffee grinder although I do have a mill but have not used it for this purpose. I only use a skimpy 1/4 t of the diastatic malt and no sugar for a single boule of pain au levain bread and use 1t of the non diastatic malt for a boule of light rye. Do you need any instructions on the sprouting process?
Yes, that would be nice. I have never done it before. I have not been able to find diastatic malt here and I'm not willing to pay the high postage to order it. I'm kind of a do-it-yourselfer anyway, so making my own sounds great!
Day 1 - Put about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the grain either wheat or barley into a large Mason jar and then fill it with luke warm water. Cover the jar with cheesecloth and secure it with a rubber band. Let it sit on your counter overnight.
Day 2 - Pour the water out through the cheesecloth, leaving the barley inside the jar. Lay the jar on its side and shake it back and forth gently to make the grain settle flat on the side of the jar. Set the jar on its side in a dark and warm area.
8-12 hours later - fill the jar with lukewarm water again and drain - repeating the morning procedure. You may already see little sprouts. They are followed by root sprouts which are followed by a bigger leaf sprout.
Day 3 same as Day 2 - you may have root and leaf sprouts or you might just have roots...but if there's NO ACTIVITY by the evening you might have a bad batch of barley...give it another day to be sure.
Day 4 - you should have both the big thick leaf sprouts and the scraggly roots - check the length of the leaf sprouts. Many of them will tend to curl back over the grain itself. When the majority of the leaf sprouts are as long as the grain itself, you're ready to go to the malting stage. If they're not long enough yet, rinse and repeat the Day 2 and 3 procedure until they are as long as the grain.
Spread sprouts out on cookie sheet and dry in oven with temp. around 100 degrees F, don't go to hot or you'll spoil the enzyme. It may take several hours, once dry grind. You now have diastatic malt.
For non diastatic malt lay sprouts on cookie sheet and put in a 300 degree F oven until the sprouts look the colour of cocoa. It will smell wonderful:)
For the very detailed instructions on making the diastatic malt. I will certainly give it a try very soon. It was very kind of you to offer to post this!
I have both diastatic and diastatic that I bought from King Arthur's perhaps 2 years ago. What's the shelf life of them? Is it best to get rid of them at this point?
Most malt powder is made with Barley, I'm not sure what the dif would be if it was made with wheat, but the process might be the same, sprout, dry, grind and use. This is not a common Item at the store and it is not the same as what the home brewers use. I first started buying mine at an amish bulk store. If they don't have it see if they can order it for you.
Thanks to everyone for your input.
I have been to the homebrewing store (The Purple Foot) which turned out to be an interesting exercise. The person at the counter had no idea what diastatic means, so she called the owner of the store, who assured me all of the malt powder they sell is diastatic. She stated that they just don't use the word diastatic anymore. I ended up contacting the manufacturers of the products they sell directly to verify this. As it turns out, none of it is diastatic (unless I missed one.) At least I did not buy the wrong product.
An internet search led me to a company that sells it wholesale, but I think it may take me several loaves of bread to go through 200 or 2000 or 20,000 lbs, whatever their minimum order is. Perhaps some of you would like to split a shipment. (LOL) I suppose I could start a business selling it, but it still might be on my shelves 10 years from now.
I was hoping for the KAF free shipping sale, but the last one I get was for a $75 minimum order. That buys pretty much flour for me. Perhaps I will have to resign myself to just ordering it.
Paul
...or make your own. Should be an interesting project and really doesn't seem difficult. Buy a pound of wheat berries...sprout 'em...dry 'em...grind 'em.
Sorry big mistake!!