malt extract substitute?

[twinky1156]

A whole wheat bread recipe called for 1 tablespoon of malt extract. I had
none and couldn't find what the equivalent would be online. I found alot of
beer making sites tho... I ended up using 1 tablespoon of unsulphured
molasses. The loaves turned out fine and tasted fine. Is molasses normally
the substitute? How important is malt extract in wheat bread?

twinky1156
(embarrassed re baguette cam post - i blame my flu medication for the
momentary loss of sanity)

[Dick Margulis]

twinky,

First of all, the baguette cam was charming. Don't be
embarrassed--medication or not.

If you will read the ingredients of any (white) bread flour and many
brands of all-purpose flour, you will note that "malted barley flour" is
an ingredient. I think it is usually about 3% by weight of the flour but
could be wrong about that. Maltose seems to be the preferred sugar if
you are of the yeast persuasion; and, as stone ground whole wheat does
not have malted barley flour added to it, the author of your recipe
thought that adding some malt syrup would be a good thing. In any case,
some people feel that malt syrup is somehow a more acceptable sugar in
terms of human diet than anything derived from sugar cane, so they
prefer it to molasses.

However, perfectly acceptable breads can be made--indeed, are made every
day--with no added sugar whatever. (The one adjustment you might want to
make, in the absence of malt, would be to increase the yeast a bit; but
don't go overboard.) I think in terms of flavor, substituting molasses
is a reasonable choice. Personally I favor a mix of molasses and honey
when I make whole wheat bread (half and half or two-thirds of one and
one-third of the other), but it's strictly a matter of taste.

The other thing to keep in mind, if you do want to add malt but can't
find malt syrup, is to use some malt powder (the kind that is used to
flavor malted milk shakes). Horlick's is the only brand I'm aware of,
but there may be others. And maybe the King Arthur site has either
powder or syrup to sell.

Dick

[twinky1156]

Thanks, Dick.

I've just come from the kitchen having scrutinized the print on a bag of
flour (first time ever). What we learn! I use King Arthur Flour's
Traditional Whole Wheat Flour (stone ground from hard red wheat, 100% of
wheat germ & bran for those interested). As for sugars in whole wheat flour,
you are right, 0g sugar is listed. I see your comment regarding the taste
factor. Using the whole tablespoon of molasses was fine, but I feel may be
too "beefy" a flavor, for wont of a description, for the younger tastebuds.
I would try Horlicks the next time, or experiment with an all-honey loaf.

The recipe for the whole wheat loaves is from Baking with Julia -
contributing baker Craig Kominiak of Pane Ecce(sp?). This is the gist of the
recipe:

2-1/4 cup warm water (105F-115F)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey
3-1/2 to 3-2/3 cup bread flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon malt extract
1 tablespoon salt

1st rise: 1-1/2 hours
2nd rise: about an hour or growing over tops of 2(two) 8-1/2 by 4-1/2 inch
loaf pans
375degree oven, 35 minutes

We used to have Horlicks before bed as kids. It never dissolved completely
like Ovaltine, but we didn't mind

"Dick Margulis" <marg...@fiam.net> wrote in message
news:3A8CA90D...@fiam.net...

[Sharon Hale]

Hi Twinky,
You can buy barley malt syrup at health food stores. I frequently use it in my
breads. It is not as sweet as some of the other additives such as honey.

Sharon
***Play with your dough***

[Rob Grist]

twinky1156 wrote:

Molasses is a regular in all my whole wheat breads. Malt extract is a little
difficult to come up with unless you happen to be making beer the same
afternoon. They accomplish the same thing and remember to keep your molasses
in a nice washable jar!

[Ribitt]

Here in the Toronto area I went to a DIY beer/wine making store and
purchased a 500 ml container of malt extract for $Cdn 2.50. About 2 cups.
About $US 1.65. Take your own container as these places have 45 gallon drums
of the stuff and they are not prepared for such small sales.

Works great, along with molasses, in a malt bread that I am trying to
develop. More on this later.

"Rob Grist" <robg...@home.com> wrote in message
news:3A8DC835...@home.com...

[Janet Bostwick]

Twinky,

The following quote is from Reinhart's "Crust and Crumb," not because he
knows more, just because I happen to have it beside me.

"Malted barley powder is a natural sugar that enhances the flavor of bread,
lends color to the crust, and feeds the yeast. It is available at beer and
wine-making supply stores. Ask for diastatic malt, which means that the
diatase enzymes are still active. These enzymes are like vitamin pills for
the fermentation process if used in small quantities. (Nondiastatic malt,
or malted barley in which the diatase enzymes have been cooked, is used in
larger quantities as a flavoring agent in some bread recipes. Brown sugar
is an acceptable substitute. (p.41)

"Malted barley is also called malt, malt powder or crystal, or malt syrup.
It is made by soaking barley in water to begin sprouting, and then roasting
the sweetened, sprouted grain. The best malt to use in this bread is
dark-roasted powder or crystal, called nondiastitic malt )the diatase
enzymes have been cooked in the roasting and will not affect fermentation).
(p.192)

You need to decide the purpose of the inclusion of malt extract in your
recipe. However, I believe that the liquid form is intended for a
sweetening syrup.

Janet
"twinky1156" <bookh...@hotmail.comREMOVE> wrote in message
news:t8p8c2a...@corp.supernews.com...

[bsa...@ix.netcom.com]

Janet Bostwick wrote:
>
> Twinky,
>
> The following quote is from Reinhart's "Crust and Crumb," not because he
> knows more, just because I happen to have it beside me.
>

<snip>

>
> "Malted barley is also called malt, malt powder or crystal, or malt syrup.
> It is made by soaking barley in water to begin sprouting, and then roasting
> the sweetened, sprouted grain. The best malt to use in this bread is
> dark-roasted powder or crystal, called nondiastitic malt )the diatase
> enzymes have been cooked in the roasting and will not affect fermentation).
> (p.192)
>

There is a product I used to buy called malted wheat. It was a powdered
ingredient for making milk shakes and gave it a distinctive flavor. So I guess
malting a grain is the process of soaking/sprouting/roasting. The product is
available at stores here in the Miami area. I might do some experimenting with
it.

Bert

[twinky1156]

Thanks to all who responded. I will be sure to look into the malt extract
and its forms the next time I am at the healthfoods store or if I happen to
be in need of a case of beer! It is too bad that things like this and other
sundries (that used to be *common* items) are no longer easily found at the
local supermarket - dried cherries being one of them. I didn't think they
were that challenging to find either...

twinky1156
oh how she misses deja-news!

"twinky1156" <bookh...@hotmail.comREMOVE> wrote in message
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[see.m...@mouse-potato.com]

Dick wrote:

> The other thing to keep in mind, if you do want to add malt but can't
> find malt syrup, is to use some malt powder (the kind that is used to
> flavor malted milk shakes). Horlick's is the only brand I'm aware of,
> but there may be others.

I have a jar of Carnation Malted Milk Powder. I use this with milk
to make malted-milk shakes, and I also have added it to Junket (any
East-coasters from the 60s remember this custard?) to add a malted flavor.
I like it so much that I decided to add some to white bread once, just
to see how it tasted.

Well, that loaf of bread rose REALLY high, and the texture was quite
fluffy and soft. I must have made those yeast really really happy.
I couldn't taste any malt flavor, though. I've been reducing the amount
of malt I add; now it's down to 1 to 2 tsp. per loaf and it seems quite
good as a dough conditioner.

So is this malted-milk powder the same as diastatic malt? Is that
what's making the bread softer? If it's so good for bread, why isn't
it recommended in recipes? Carnation Malted Milk Powder is available
in every supermarket so it's easy to find.

The ingredients on the jar are: wheat flour and malted barley extracts,
dry milk, lecithin, salt, sodium bicarbonate.

Sandy
sandy at
halcyon dot
com

[twinky1156]

I just remembered another brand of powdered beverage called POSTUM.
According to Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads, Postum is used
to color the loaves for the recipe Peasant Black Bread (pp151-152). It
doesn't actually tell me it is a substitute of malt extract, but I'm pretty
sure I remember Postum being very similar to Horlicks. I wonder if Carnation
Malted Milk Powder is in the same league as Horlicks and Postum. It probably
is, and well known in the States.

<see.m...@mouse-potato.com> wrote in message
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