Malt in bread

[Massimo Maddaloni]

Hello all,
I finally decided to give it a try and used malt to make some Altamura bread.
I kneaded a dough made with white flour/durum wheat semolina at an approximate ratio 4/1. I added dry yeast. After a primary fermentation of a few hours, I prepared the final dough to which I alternatively added a) 20L crystal malt or b) dry malt extract. For those of you who don't homebrew, the two are completely different despite the word "malt". Also, 20 L refers to the "darkness".
The results were really astonishing: in both cases I managed to reproduce flavors that I have never been able to obtain.
Perhaps a darker crystal malt (40 or 60 L) would be better.
I take the liberty to encourage everyone to experiment with brewing malt.
Regards
Massimo

[crustyo44]

Hi Massimo,
I am a very small homebrewer and certainly will have a go using malt as you suggest.
Try and make this bread the "no knead method"
Personally I make most of my bread this way now. It's a bit heavier but that's what I prefer.
Experiment with adding some seeds, oil etc.
Regards,
Jan.
Brisbane.

[Minki]

Using malts in breads is a wonderful thing.
My bakery apprenticeship involved making Italian style breads using Malt.
This was used to enhance the flavor of the bread.
Making a loaf today without malt seems like the loaf is naked without it.
It gives a wonderful aroma and long aftertaste.
Just don't over do it. Keep it light.

[crustyo44]

Hi Minki,
You wrote about keeping the malt light, can you give us some quantities as what you think of as the best combination.
Regards,
Jan. Brisbane.

[Minki]

We used to use Malt flours and liquid malts in our breads. My recipes are for massive qty's 130kg's flour. Try using small amounts...start from .5% to flour weight and work your way up to suit your flavor. Don't go more than 2%. But I have heard of some recipes using up to
8%. Just remember, liquid malt is very sticky and very black.... and awful to clean up when it spills.

Here are some links I just Googled. Lots of info on the net.

http://artisanbreadbaking.com/flour/malts
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-malt-extract.htm
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/12093/malt-extract
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-malt-powder.htm
http://bakerybits.co.uk/Dried-Malt-Extr ... 78640.aspx
http://www.dryit.com/diastaticmalt.html

You will love the taste.
Hope this helps.

some other info...
barley malt syrup = barley syrup = malt syrup = dark malt syrup = malted cereal syrup = extract of malted barley Notes: This tastes a bit like molasses, and it's not as sweet as sugar or honey. It's mostly used to make beer, but it's also used to make breads or other baked goods. Substitutes: molasses (1 cup barley malt syrup = 2/3 cup molasses) OR rice bran syrup (1 cup barley malt syrup = 4/3 rice bran syrup) OR maple syrup