Malt

Malt is produced by germinating barley, wheat, or another cereal grain, stopping its growth, and then extracting the enzymes (amylases and proteases) produced during the germination process. In bread making, the amylases are the most important because of their ability to break down starches into sugars, which, in turn, can be used as food by the yeast cells. Today, most flours are malted at the mill, but the baker can still add malt in either syrup or powder form. The syrup has about 60 percent maltose sugars and is used at a level of 1 to 2 percent in a formula; the powder, which is used in much smaller quantities than the syrup, has no sugars.