March 2, 2014 - 12:20pm
Malt powder and syrup
I am new to bread making and see recipes with malt powder or syrup. I went to local brewing supply store to see what they have. There were many choices I left empty handed. If you follow the link below to their web site you will see why. Are the extracts here the same as the powder/flower I see in recipes? Which ones? I asked about the shelf life of the syrups and was told it is only about a week after opening so I prefer to stick with dry item..
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-ingredients/malt-extract.html
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My "Eden Foods Organic" 16 oz jar seems to do fine in the refrigerator for months. It is a grocery store product so perhaps the brewing supply syrup is different somehow.
The malt syrup produced by Eden Foods is non-diastatic, meaning that the enzyme diastase has been de-activated by heat (cooking). Non-diastatic malt has a long shelf life, especially when refrigerated.
Any malt product from a brewer's supply house is likely to contain diastatic malt, which contains a large amount of active enzymes. Some flours (such as bread flour) already contain diastatic malt, so it should never be added to such flour. Whole wheat almost never contains malted barley, so it is a good idea to include it whole wheat bread. Malted barley extract is also present in malted milk powder.
Bob
Are there any diastacit malt syrups? Couldn't find any myself that were specifically labeled as such, though I didn't try contacting breweries, just online vendors. I'd think a malt in liquid form would have to be [ultra?] pasteurized to have any kind of shelf life, unless always kept refrigerated. F'rinstance, even maple syrup can turn, and that stuff gets way boiled down before bottling.
King Arthur is having an incredible sale on diastacit barley malt so I ordered a bunch. What would be the best way to keep it, refrigerated or frozen? Thanks.
Yes, there is such a thing as diastatic malt syrup. http://www.nybakers.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=61 . Diastatic malt powder will just as good a job, though.
Bob
That link did not work but good to know that malt powder Is comparable.
Is diastatic malt ever used just as a sweetener in and of itself, or is its sole purpose to break down starches into sugars to be consumed by yeast?
Maltose (the predominate sugar in malt syrup) does not have much sweetening power. Even though diastatic malt contains maltose, the only reason I can think of using diastatic malt is for the enzyme content. For sweetening only, I would recommend using non-diastatic malt syrup.
Bob
Jeepers, every time I type in "diastatic" my iPad changes it to diastacit. DYAC!
Anyway, I recently read somewhere on these forums that whole wheat retains enzymes so does not need to be enriched with malted barley flour the way AP and BF are. Is there a benefit in adding malt to WW other than to improve the flavor?
To the best of my knowledge, dry malt extract (DME) and liquid malt extract (LME) purchased from a brewing supply store are boiled when they are made and would have no diastatic power themselves.
You can store them in the freezer and they can last for quite a while. Air-tight container for the DME! It's amazing what that stuff does with even a tiny amount of moisture. It sticks to everything...