Adding Malt Powder or Ovaltine to Bread Flour

[obillo]

I've heard people recommend these items--as well as powdered milk--to pancake and waffle mixes to amp up the flavor. Would I get good results from adding them to bread flour? In what proportion?

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum, @obillo!

If you are adding things like Ovaltine or Horlicks (my favorite brand, I used to get in Chinatown) malted milk powder, you'll have to add quite a bit, and experiment, to find out how much you liked, for the flavor. If just adding pure, diastatic malt powder, you'd only need 1 tsp to about 3 c flour. This helps the enzymatic action convert the starches to sugars, for the yeasts, and helps the rising, and browning. You'll actually see barley listed in the ingredients in some bread flour, and this is it.

 

[summer57]

I use diastatic malt powder as a dough improver. I agree with the amount pepperhead describes. Too much will make your dough sticky.

Non-diastatic malt powder can be used with bagels. It's used for sweetening & helps with browning.

 

[obillo]

Welcome to the forum, @obillo!

If you are adding things like Ovaltine or Horlicks (my favorite brand, I used to get in Chinatown) malted milk powder, you'll have to add diastatic malt powder,, and experiment, to find out how much you liked, for the flavor. If just adding pure, diastatic malt powder, you'd only need 1 tsp to about 3 c flour. This helps the enzymatic action convert the starches to sugars, for the yeasts, and helps the rising, and browning. You'll actually see barley listed in the ingredients in some bread flour, and this is it.

Thanks, Dave. Can you give me a firmer idea of what you mean by "quite a bit"? And would the amount replace and equal amount of flour? Knowing nothing of diastatic malt powder and malt syrup, I simply bought the only malt powder I knew, which of course was Horlicks, and I want to use that up before I go further.

 

[summer57]

Malted milk powders, like Ovaltine and Horlicks, aren't the same as diastatic or non-diastatic malt powder and contain other ingredients.
For baking bread, I'd recommend diastatic malt. Use Ovaltine and Horlicks in cookies, desserts, and pancakes for flavouring.

Here's an article about malted milk powders -

Meet the Umami Bomb of Dessert: Malted Milk Powder

If you love umami bombs like soy sauce and Marmite, it's time you got to know the dessert equivalent: malted milk powder. This rich blend of wheat and barley extracts, along with powdered milk, can add a toasty richness to almost any dessert.

www.seriouseats.com

 

[pepperhead212]

Thanks, Dave. Can you give me a firmer idea of what you mean by "quite a bit"? And would the amount replace and equal amount of flour? Knowing nothing of diastatic malt powder and malt syrup, I simply bought the only malt powder I knew, which of course was Horlicks, and I want to use that up before I go further.

If you are just adding it for flavor you will need a lot more than that 1 tsp of diastatic/3 c flour. It will take some experimenting, but I remember putting 3 tb malt to 2 c flour in some cookies one time, and it wasn't quite enough. I used it in a lot of things like smoothies, that were not exact - I'd add more until it tasted right! Some people don't like to taste uncooked batters (though I've never wasted brownie batter!), but pancake or waffle batter could be adjusted like that, or cook a small one, and add more, if necessary, then make a note of what worked.

 

[obillo]

Malted milk powders, like Ovaltine and Horlicks, aren't the same as diastatic or non-diastatic malt powder and contain other ingredients.
For baking bread, I'd recommend diastatic malt. Use Ovaltine and Horlicks in cookies, desserts, and pancakes for flavouring.

Here's an article about malted milk powders -

Meet the Umami Bomb of Dessert: Malted Milk Powder

If you love umami bombs like soy sauce and Marmite, it's time you got to know the dessert equivalent: malted milk powder. This rich blend of wheat and barley extracts, along with powdered milk, can add a toasty richness to almost any dessert.

www.seriouseats.com

Thanks, Summer