With their health and flavour benefits, malted products have been taking a leading role in bakery products for a while now. You may have had a malted bread BLT from your local supermarket, tried a freshly baked artisan malted loaf, or enjoyed malted biscuits with your mid-morning cup of tea.
The key to malted products is the quality of the malts used. Here we dive into what exactly malt flour is and why it deserves its time in the spotlight.
What is malt flour?
Malt flour is flour with a twist as it is produced using grains such as barley, rye and wheat that have been malted in various ways.
What are malted grains?
Malted grains are predominantly used in the brewing industry. For all malts, the grains are first steeped under controlled conditions to enable germination. During germination, which takes 4 to 5 days, the endosperm of the grain is modified by enzymes produced by the embryo, breaking down the cell walls, protein matrix and starch granules. This step makes the starch granules accessible, which is ideal for brewers and distillers. The germinated grains can be kilned at this stage to gently dry them. These are known as base malts and still contain enzymes.
Typically for malt flours Silvery Tweed uses either crystal malts or roasted malts. To make crystal malts the grains aren’t dried at the end of germination, they are roasted wet and enzymes convert the starchy interior of the grain into sugars. The grains are then dried and roasted to develop colour and flavour before cooling. The sugars in the grain crystallise to give sweet caramel-flavoured malts.
Alternatively, the base malts that have been kiln-dried can be roasted at high temperatures to develop darker malts with flavours ranging from chocolate to coffee.
Diastatic v Non Diastatic Malts
Diastatic malts still contain functional enzymes, whereas in non-diastatic malts the functionality of the enzymes has been lost due to the heat treatments applied.
At Silvery Tweed, we take the various types of malted grains and mill them into flours.
Why use malt flour?
Arguably the most compelling reason to use malt flour is the flavour it brings to the finished products into which it goes.
Non-diastatic malt flours are a great way to add more depth and complexity of flavour. Many would describe the result as a slight sweetness, with nuances ranging from lighter sweet caramel to burnt toffee when using crystal malts and chocolate to dark roasted coffee when using roasted malts. These malt flours are also a great way to add colour to your product.
Diastatic malt flour used in small quantities in bread gives improved rise, softer crumb and more crust colour development without the need for adding sugar. High diastatic malt flour helps to give malt loaves their characteristic flavour and gooey texture, as the enzymes present break down the starch
It does not stop there; Malt flour is a plant-based, clean-label addition and offers nutritional benefits too. The grains that are malted and milled are wholegrains, so a good source of fibre. The germination /sprouting process increases the bioavailability of nutrients, making them easier for our bodies to absorb.
How can malt flour be used?
Malt flour is incredibly versatile as an ingredient, and although you may have mostly seen it in bread form, it can be used in almost any product that requires flour. That may include pancakes, pizza bases, biscuits and cookies. It can also be added to breakfast cereals and sauces.
If looking to add colour, flavour or sweetness to products malt flour may be a solution.
Silvery Tweed’s Malt Range
As well as a comprehensive selection of barley, wheat and rye malt flours, we also provide kibbled malted grains, and cereal flakes such as wheat, oats and spelt coated with malt extract that can be used to add flavour and colour, to a range of finished products.
Sourced from our trusted maltsters, we process only the finest malts at our Berwick-upon-Tweed production facility so that our customers are guaranteed the highest quality ingredients to go in their products.
Visit our malted products page or contact us to find out more about our range of malted flour.