Malt Syrup

Malt syrup, also called malt extract, is used primarily in yeast breads. It serves as food for the yeast and adds flavor and crust color to the loaves. Malt is extracted from barley that has been sprouted (malted) and then dried and ground.

There are two basic types of malt syrup: diastatic and nondiastatic. Diastatic malt contains a group of enzymes called diastase, which breaks starch into sugars that can be acted on by yeast. Thus, diastatic malt, when added to bread dough, is a powerful food for yeast. It is used when fermentation times are short. It should not be used when fermentation times are long because too much starch will be broken down by the enzyme. This results in bread with a sticky crumb.