I apologize in advance if by not remembering the start of this thread I'm
jumping in out of turn.....
But I strongly disagree that the type of malt does not matter in bread
baking at home. I use a plain malt powder (sold as barley malt powder) for
flavoring crackers, but diastatic malt for yeast doughs. The dimalt is
enzymatically active, and releases sugars from the starches in the flours
during the rising time, and these sugars can be the source of incredible
flavor in the crumb and better textures and browning of crusts. I just
have to put in another plug for The Breadbaker's Apprentice, by Peter
Reinhart, a deserving winner of both the James Beard and the IACP cookbook
of the year award, in which the actions of malt are made clearest. I've
read a lot of breadbooks but never really did anything with the dimalt I'd
purchased once up on a time until I read this book. I used the dimalt the
first time I made his "pan l'ancienne" and forgot it the second time--and
it made a huge difference. In that recipe, you knead the dough and then
retard it overnight in the refrigerator, before letting it warm and rise
the next day. I believe this gives the dimalt more time to work. So if
you're not sure whether the type of malt matters, try some bread with and
without the dimalt, and be sure to retard the dough for several hours or
overnight, and you'll see what a difference the right malt can make!
Diane Brown, MD, PhD
Fellow in Pediatric Rheumatology and Immunology
St. Louis Children's Hospital
314-454-6124/brown_d@kids.wustl.edu