September 1, 2020 - 8:27pm
Malt for Bagels
Not sure if this is in the right place but I’m looking for some advice/information.
As has been said finding malt syrup for bagels is not easy. Is there any reason that you couldn’t use liquid malt extract (lme) that is used for home brewing beer? If so there could be some depth of options with the varieties available for brewing.
Thank you in advance for your help.
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The malt used for brewing will be diastatic malt, whereas the syrup I see most often recommended for bagels is non-diastatic. The non-diastatic has been heated enough that the enzymatic activity has been halted and mainly will just act as a sweetener and color enhancer. Amylase is a key enzyme in diastatic malt and serves to convert starch. Most commerical flour has diastatic malt added by the miller and there's no need for the home baker to add more.
I don't know what area you're in but most Whole Foods stores carry Eden Malt Syrup. Ordering on line you can get it from Walmart or Plesant Hill Grain. This is the non-diastatic barley malt syrup.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Eden-Foods-Organic-Barley-Malt-Syrup-20-Oz/38303597
https://pleasanthillgrain.com/organic-barley-malt-syrup-20-ounce
Dave
None of the Whole Foods in my area carry it.
The other poster is right about the diastatic nature of brewers malt but I use it all the time with no ill effect. I like to use DME because I never have the liquid stuff around. I use it both in the dough and the boiling water. My go to recipe is an adaptation of Hammelman's recipe from Bread.
Here's a shot of my last Bagel bake. When I start to miss NYC (my hometown) I bake up a batch.