December 14, 2021 - 1:37pm
Diastatic Malt Powder and yeast
Not a pro, still learning, quick question: Can I use diastatic malt powder together with my yeast when baking bread? Or is it one or the other? Thanks.
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Not a pro, still learning, quick question: Can I use diastatic malt powder together with my yeast when baking bread? Or is it one or the other? Thanks.
yes they are completely diff functions
yeast is a rising agent
diastatic malt is for breaking down starches into sugars and thus contributing to rise (by creating more yeast food), flavour and browning
Yes, HappyCat is correct, yeast and diastatic malt perform different functions but work together. Yeast needs sugars to break down to create the gases that leaven your bread you are making. Diastatic malt is rich in amylase an enzyme also in flour that helps with breaking down the starches in the dough into sugar that the yeast can then use to multiply and create gases. Those sugars also help with the Maillard reaction helping your crust to brown when baking.
Benny
Happycat and Benny have answered your question. Just want to point out that diastatic malt powder should be used in small quantities. Less is more. About 1 tsp per loaf is all that's needed.
I think you can use up to 3%
I use it only when I want an open crump, like in baguettes.
You can use yeast without malt, but not malt without yeast. Also not sure if it works with rye and/or sourdough.
Diastatic malt definitely can be added to sourdough doughs for the same reasons listed above. It is especially helpful for baguettes which have a shorter baking time than other larger loaves. As a result of the shorter baking time, it can be harder to brown before they are done baking so I have found that for my sourdough baguettes adding 1% diastatic malt is very helpful to get the browning faster. I will say that for whole grain bread, there is little reason to add diastatic malt and I never do.
Benny
Yes, you can use them together or separately. It depends on the bread recipe.
Not every bread needs yeast, but malt will make it beautiful, browning well.
And not every bread needs malt, only yeast.
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It's good for crust color because yeast can run out of freely-available sugars over a long ferment. Malt can convert more of the starch in the flour to sugar so that there is more residual sugar come bake time. More sugar means more caramelization.
If a darker crust is what you're after, then you could also cut out the middle man and enrich the dough with sugar. But another reason to use diastatic malt is to speed up and strengthen fermentation (a result of the increased availability of sugars in the dough).
Another point worth noting: the amylase in malt is most active around body temperature and its activity will diminish the further you go from that optimal temperature. In short, it will be less active in colder doughs.