Diastatic Malt Powder
Use hulled whole barley. If not hulled then just pich through to
remove and hard bits. Buy the best quality malting barley you can find.
Rinse the grain with tepid water, drain & let stand for 12h to 18h at
60 to 70 deg F (15 to 21 deg C)
The container must not be sealed. Barley must be able to breath.
Cover with cheese-cloth to exclude insects.
Rinse and drain again every 12 hours.
The barley will start sprouting (malting) within a couple of days.
Allow to grow about 3 days until the sprout is about as long as the
grain itself.
It now contains the optimum amount of the enzyme Diatase.
Rinse again, drain and dry gently with towel.
Spread on a baking sheet and place in a warm, well ventilated place
until the grain is completely dehydrated. Speed during this operation
is desired.
Using a commercial herb-dryer works best but is not essential for success.
If using an oven be careful not to allow the temp to exceed 120 deg F
(50 deg C) or you will kill the enzymes.
(that wonderfully flavored malted syrup or powder is made by toasting
these grains at temp exceeding 170 F (76 C))
When completely dry, grind the grain to a powder in a grain grinder,
once again being careful not to generate excessive heat.
One cup grain should make 2 to 3 cups Diastatic Malt powder.
The powder must be kept in an air tight container.
Half to one percent is sufficient to get the job done.
May be added to the pre-ferment as well as the final dough.
Regards
Gerald.
-----Original Message----- From: Reggie Dwork
Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2014 10:26 AM
To: gh52@mweb.co.za
Subject: diastatic malt
Hi Gerald,
Please do send the instructions for making diastatic malt to
bread-bakers. We are curious and I'm sure that others will be interested.
Thanks,
Reggie