I've been unsuccessfully traversing my local stores in an effort to find
this mysterious "Diastatic Malt." Whole Foods is usually my ace-in-the-hole
when it comes to esoteric, hard to find "things"... But I've been
completely stymied.

Is there a trade or manufacturers name that I should be asking for? The
folks that worked there were absolutely (helpful but) clueless--at least by
the name I gave them. Also, where in the store would I find it? Baking
"stuff?" Beverages? Cereals? Hemorrhoid remedies? Since they have an
in-store bakery that makes absolutely wonderful breads of all kinds
(including French & SD), I went and asked the "head baker". She also didn't
have a clue...

Any clues or other help would be most appreciated.

Dusty
San Jose, Ca.
--
Remove STORE to reply

Going + Brewery supply store + minimal $$'s ( 1/lb) = malted barley
(preferably 6 row barely)

malted barley + kitchen blender = fine flour

small pinch of ground malted barley + dough flour without malted barley =
more activity

try it, should work.

Samartha

At 07:41 AM 4/4/2004, you wrote:
>I've been unsuccessfully traversing my local stores in an effort to find
>this mysterious "Diastatic Malt." Whole Foods is usually myace-in-the-hole
>when it comes to esoteric, hard to find "things"... But I've been
>completely stymied.
>
>Is there a trade or manufacturers name that I should be asking for? The
>folks that worked there were absolutely (helpful but) clueless--at least by
>the name I gave them. Also, where in the store would I find it? Baking
>"stuff?" Beverages? Cereals? Hemorrhoid remedies? Since they have an
>in-store bakery that makes absolutely wonderful breads of all kinds
>(including French & SD), I went and asked the "head baker". She alsodidn't
>have a clue...
>
>Any clues or other help would be most appreciated.
>
>Dusty
>San Jose, Ca.
>--
>Remove STORE to reply
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Rec.food.sourdough mailing list

>http://www.mountainbitwarrior.com/ma...food.sourdough

===
Samartha Deva
Certified Rolfer
Certified Rolf Movement® Practitioner
Longmont, CO
www.IRolfYou.com
(303) 774-1375

remove "-nospam" when replying, and it's in my email address

"Dusty" > wrote in message
...
> I've been unsuccessfully traversing my local stores in an effort to find
> this mysterious "Diastatic Malt."
snip
> Dusty
> San Jose, Ca.
The easiest way to purchase is go online and order from King Arthur and it
will be delivered to your door. You can also purchase it at a store where
home brewers get their supplies. Food co-ops and health food stores will
carry malt in powdered and syrup form--this isn't diastatic malt.
Janet

In article >,
"Dusty" > wrote:

> I've been unsuccessfully traversing my local stores in an effort to find
> this mysterious "Diastatic Malt." Whole Foods is usually my ace-in-the-hole
> when it comes to esoteric, hard to find "things"... But I've been
> completely stymied.
>
> Is there a trade or manufacturers name that I should be asking for? The
> folks that worked there were absolutely (helpful but) clueless--at least by
> the name I gave them. Also, where in the store would I find it? Baking
> "stuff?" Beverages? Cereals? Hemorrhoid remedies? Since they have an
> in-store bakery that makes absolutely wonderful breads of all kinds
> (including French & SD), I went and asked the "head baker". She also didn't
> have a clue...
>
> Any clues or other help would be most appreciated.
>
> Dusty
> San Jose, Ca.

Hi Dusty. I live just a bit north of you in Belmont and I haven't found
it in any local store either. I ended up ordering from King Arthur.
Just go to www.kingarthurflour.com and the catalog number is 3413. I
got my bag at least a year ago - it doesn't take much to make a
difference in crust color and seems to keep well in the fridge.

marcella

Sheesh! - is this so difficult? In San Jose, try:

http://www.beerandwinemakers.com/

and give them a call.

I paid $ 1.- / lb in Boulder/CO, got 2 lbs over a year ago and still work
on the first lb. They also had malted rye there :-)

other cities, try:

http://www.beach-boy.com/beer/retail/retail.htm

KA - well, I think one pays too much on everything from there and needs
shipping. By my taste it's overkill and one does not need the "pure" malt.
Malted barley through the kitchen blender does fine and the critters are
happy about the ground up bulk and minerals from the whole kernels -
especially if they are deprived living on white flour diet.

They (KA) appear to charge close to $ 5/lb and one needs to pay shipping,
then it's over $ 12.- to CO - so.... money is not everything, although
spending $ 12 for a lb of grain I find somewhat extreme and I think it
gives bad sourdough karma. If the brewer shops are open today (looks they
are closed on Mondays), you get it right away and get the benefit of
checking out their shop - they are in the fermenting business as well.

If you're a purist and think you need to get it from KA, get it there, but
I sure don't want to be in your sourdough skin.

Samartha


>Hi Dusty. I live just a bit north of you in Belmont and I haven't found
>it in any local store either. I ended up ordering from King Arthur.
>Just go to www.kingarthurflour.com and the catalog number is 3413. I
>got my bag at least a year ago - it doesn't take much to make a
>difference in crust color and seems to keep well in the fridge.
>
>marcella

Thanks Marcella & Samartha. Okay, okay...I'd forgotten about the brew
shops. I seem to have read here sometime back that they can be a source of
malt...but in my single-minded pursuit of same through the various baking
goods and bulk stores I'd neglected to recollect that little tidbit. The
place that you found for me is on the other side of town...but certainly
closer and quicker than waiting for KA to send me some. And yes, I agree
with Samartha; KA seems to be a premium price kinda place...

Marcella, if you'll drop me your snail mail addy off-line I'd be happy to
split anything I snag there with you...or get you one of your own...your
call. They're closed today and tomorrow, so it'll be Tuesday before I get
some.


Dusty
San Jose, Ca.
--
Remove STORE to reply
"Samartha" > wrote in message
news:mailman.1081105205.12000.rec.food.sourdough@w ww.mountainbitwarrior.com...
> Sheesh! - is this so difficult? In San Jose, try:
>
> http://www.beerandwinemakers.com/
>
> and give them a call.
>
> I paid $ 1.- / lb in Boulder/CO, got 2 lbs over a year ago and still work
> on the first lb. They also had malted rye there :-)
>
> other cities, try:
>
> http://www.beach-boy.com/beer/retail/retail.htm
>
> KA - well, I think one pays too much on everything from there and needs
> shipping. By my taste it's overkill and one does not need the "pure"
malt.
> Malted barley through the kitchen blender does fine and the critters are
> happy about the ground up bulk and minerals from the whole kernels -
> especially if they are deprived living on white flour diet.
>
> They (KA) appear to charge close to $ 5/lb and one needs to pay shipping,
> then it's over $ 12.- to CO - so.... money is not everything, although
> spending $ 12 for a lb of grain I find somewhat extreme and I think it
> gives bad sourdough karma. If the brewer shops are open today (looks they
> are closed on Mondays), you get it right away and get the benefit of
> checking out their shop - they are in the fermenting business as well.
>
> If you're a purist and think you need to get it from KA, get it there, but
> I sure don't want to be in your sourdough skin.
>
> Samartha
>
>
> >Hi Dusty. I live just a bit north of you in Belmont and I haven't found
> >it in any local store either. I ended up ordering from King Arthur.
> >Just go to www.kingarthurflour.com and the catalog number is 3413. I
> >got my bag at least a year ago - it doesn't take much to make a
> >difference in crust color and seems to keep well in the fridge.
> >
> >marcella
>

On Sun, 4 Apr 2004 06:41:24 -0700, "Dusty"
> wrote:

>I've been unsuccessfully traversing my local stores in an effort to find
>this mysterious "Diastatic Malt." Whole Foods is usually my ace-in-the-hole
>when it comes to esoteric, hard to find "things"... But I've been
>completely stymied.
>
>Is there a trade or manufacturers name that I should be asking for? The
>folks that worked there were absolutely (helpful but) clueless--at least by
>the name I gave them. Also, where in the store would I find it? Baking
>"stuff?" Beverages? Cereals? Hemorrhoid remedies? Since they have an
>in-store bakery that makes absolutely wonderful breads of all kinds
>(including French & SD), I went and asked the "head baker". She also didn't
>have a clue...
>
>Any clues or other help would be most appreciated.
>
>Dusty
>San Jose, Ca.

Dusty,

Whole Foods sells malted barley syrup in the baking section near the
flours. The brand is Eden. It's organic. Of course, this is very
sweet, like molasses. I have no idea whether this is diastatic or
not...the jar doesn't say. BTW, I think this is the same stuff that
KA sells as "Organic Barley Malt Syrup," see pg 34 of April catalog.
(WF price is slightly less than KA.)

HTH!

"jeff higgins" > wrote in message
...
....
> Whole Foods sells malted barley syrup in the baking section near the
> flours. The brand is Eden. It's organic. Of course, this is very
....
>
> HTH!
Yes. Thank you, Jeff. Although I scoured the shelves in that area, I
apparently missed that item. But, even if I'd found it, I was looking for
the dry variety.

I'm going to be on the road for the next few years, won't give up my bread.
I want to make up a dry mix of ascorbic acid, the malt, and gluten. That
way I can buy most any flour as I travel, and can spike it with a Tbsp or so
of that mixture. Not the best solution I'm sure, but certainly better than
finding only some non-bread flour and making hockey pucks...I've made enough
of those...(:-)!

Thanks again...both to you and all the kind folks that have replied both
here and off-line...


Dusty
San Jose, Ca.
--
Remove STORE to reply

Another good source of diastatic malt: Korean malt from Korean or
other Asian groceries.

My problem with diastatic is that it's hard to know how much to add.
The right amount may give a good effect, but if you accidentally (or
unknowingly) use too much, the bread turns out to be a sticky mess.

I've had good results with sprouting grains (e.g. rye) and then
toasting them to destroy the diastatic enzymes. I.e. I use them for
flavor, not enzymes.

RF






"Dusty" > wrote in message >...
> "jeff higgins" > wrote in message
> ...
> ...
> > Whole Foods sells malted barley syrup in the baking section near the
> > flours. The brand is Eden. It's organic. Of course, this is very
> ...
> >
> > HTH!
> Yes. Thank you, Jeff. Although I scoured the shelves in that area, I
> apparently missed that item. But, even if I'd found it, I was looking for
> the dry variety.
>
> I'm going to be on the road for the next few years, won't give up my bread.
> I want to make up a dry mix of ascorbic acid, the malt, and gluten. That
> way I can buy most any flour as I travel, and can spike it with a Tbsp or so
> of that mixture. Not the best solution I'm sure, but certainly better than
> finding only some non-bread flour and making hockey pucks...I've made enough
> of those...(:-)!
>
> Thanks again...both to you and all the kind folks that have replied both
> here and off-line...
>
>
> Dusty
> San Jose, Ca.

(Ron) wrote in message . com>...
> Another good source of diastatic malt: Korean malt from Korean or
> other Asian groceries.
Korean malt may not be diastatic malt as its usually used for
flavoring purposes.
> My problem with diastatic is that it's hard to know how much to add.
> The right amount may give a good effect, but if you accidentally (or
> unknowingly) use too much, the bread turns out to be a sticky mess.

Diastatic malt is never a problem to use if you understand that
diastatic activity of flour is considered.You have the balance the
amylase activity of the flour with the added malt. Not too much or not
too little. You have to do your test yourself and see the baking
performance.
If you ferment and proof the dough properly with regards to timing;
If your bread displays poor crust colour and less oven spring it means
that you really need malt.
But if the bread exhibits normal bsking characteristics then there is
no need to fortify it with diastatic malt. Rather you can add
nondiastatic malt for improved flavor.
You just do not dump malt into your dough indiscriminately but rather
add it in controlled amounts to prevent the defects you mentioned.
Some flours may need more malt and other need less , the rest does not
need supplement at all.
> I've had good results with sprouting grains (e.g. rye) and then
> toasting them to destroy the diastatic enzymes. I.e. I use them for
> flavor, not enzymes.
Then what you really need is non diastatic malt, therefore you can be
perfectly happy with most asian malt.
Roy

What I actually meant to report in my message is that the Korean malt
I randomly purchased must have been diastatic, since the spoonful or
two I added turned the dough into an inedible sticky mess. Since it
was a sourdough rye, I fermented it rather long at a warm temperature,
which must have given the enzymes an ideal environment to develop (or
whatever it is that they do). Of course, I can't vouch for all Korean
malt being diastatic, as mine appeared to be. So, Korean malt of this
type may either present a good find for those looking for diastatic,
or a recipe for disaster for those like myself, who had no business
using it. On the other hand, you may chance upon another Korean brand
of malt which is not diastatic in the first place. Risky business,
this use of malt!

(By the way, the easiest way to get malt flavor is probably to crush a
bit of Grape Nuts cereal.)

RF


(Ron) wrote in message . com>...
> Another good source of diastatic malt: Korean malt from Korean or
> other Asian groceries.
>
> My problem with diastatic is that it's hard to know how much to add.
> The right amount may give a good effect, but if you accidentally (or
> unknowingly) use too much, the bread turns out to be a sticky mess.
>
> I've had good results with sprouting grains (e.g. rye) and then
> toasting them to destroy the diastatic enzymes. I.e. I use them for
> flavor, not enzymes.
>
> RF
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Dusty" > wrote in message >...
> > "jeff higgins" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > ...
> > > Whole Foods sells malted barley syrup in the baking section near the
> > > flours. The brand is Eden. It's organic. Of course, this is very
> ...
> > >
> > > HTH!
> > Yes. Thank you, Jeff. Although I scoured the shelves in that area, I
> > apparently missed that item. But, even if I'd found it, I was looking for
> > the dry variety.
> >
> > I'm going to be on the road for the next few years, won't give up my bread.
> > I want to make up a dry mix of ascorbic acid, the malt, and gluten. That
> > way I can buy most any flour as I travel, and can spike it with a Tbsp or so
> > of that mixture. Not the best solution I'm sure, but certainly better than
> > finding only some non-bread flour and making hockey pucks...I've made enough
> > of those...(:-)!
> >
> > Thanks again...both to you and all the kind folks that have replied both
> > here and off-line...
> >
> >
> > Dusty
> > San Jose, Ca.