Non-Diastatic Malt

Origin

Malt is produced from sprouted grains, typically barley. However, wheat and rice grains may be used as well.

Malt obtained from barley grains has traditionally been used as the principal ingredient in the brewing process, and as a minor ingredient for baking applications. Barley, unlike wheat, is very versatile. It has the ability to adapt to unfavorable climate and soil conditions, becoming an economical source for malt production.¹

Commercially available wheat or rice malt is rather rare. The higher costs associated with wheat production, and different crop conditions of rice, make them expensive sources for malt production—especially when there’s a fully developed malt industry based on barley grains.

Function

The difference between non-diastatic malt and diastatic malt is the enzyme content or activity. Diastatic malt is not kilned, but dried at low temperatures to preserve its enzymatic activity.

Non-diastatic malt is produced for its sweetening and coloring effect. The enzymes have been killed/inactivated through the application of additional heat during kilning (temperatures higher than 160°C). This kind of malt is high in maltose, a reducing sugar, which aids in the Maillard reaction. When added to formulas it mainly functions as a flavoring and crust coloring aid.

Application

Non-diastatic malts for baking applications are available commercially in a variety of forms including:

• Flour
• Extract
• Syrup (20% moisture)
• Dried syrup²

Syrups and extracts are prepared by the extraction of malt and are specially suitable for the brewing industry. The extract is then concentrated to a syrup or spray-dried to powder form which is normally used for bakery products formulation.

In bagels production, this malt is usually added to the boiling water to provide a good color and aroma to the bagel.

If used as a sweetener, and no table sugar is included in the formulation, it is important to account for its relative sweetness/sucrose equivalent. Commercial Non-diastatic malt presentations, such as syrups, are usually 40% as sweet as sucrose. So, their use may require adjustments in the scaling step to achieve desired flavor in the finished product that equivalent to the sweetness when table sugar is used.³

Malted grains are a rich source of carbohydrates obtained from starch (mono, disaccharides and dextrins), and this pool of sugars will be present in the dough if the Non-diastatic malt is intended for baking applications. Since it is rich in sugars, the crust color of bread will turn out darker than normal.⁴

Non-diastatic malt extract is commonly added as an ingredient in the production of cream crackers. Here, the Non-diastatic malt extract can be used at 2% (dry flour weight) in the dough side (using the Sponge and Dough System), or at 1.5% (using the Straight dough System).⁵

Suggested usage levels of non-diastatic malt in yeast-leavened bakery products⁶