Baking Malt: more rise, a darker crust and a fuller flavour
One spoonful of malt changes a loaf noticeably. Here you will find organic barley and rye malt, enzyme-active and enzyme-inactive.
ORGANIC
Organic baking malt rye dark, inactive
Content: 0.25 kg (€48.36 / 1 kg)
Regular price: From €12.09
ORGANIC
Organic baking malt barley light, active
Content: 0.25 kg (€43.96 / 1 kg)
Regular price: From €10.99
Baking Malt: the small addition with a big effect
Baking malt is grain that has been sprouted and then kilned, nothing else. Even so, that single spoonful often decides whether a loaf stays pale and flat or gains rise, colour and a roasted note. Our range covers organic baking malt from barley and rye in pale and dark form, each one matched to what you want to achieve in the dough.
Enzyme-active or enzyme-inactive
The key difference lies in the kilning temperature. Keep it low and the enzymes survive: this enzyme-active malt splits starch into sugar, feeds the yeast and gives you a brisk rise, an open crumb and even browning. Kiln it hotter and the enzymes are gone, so the enzyme-inactive malt works through taste and colour alone. That is exactly what you want in rye and sourdough loaves, where any extra starch breakdown would leave the crumb sticky.
Dosage and use
Baking malt goes in dry with the flour and is kneaded in as normal, with no soaking needed. The usual dose is one to two per cent of the flour weight, so roughly ten to twenty grams per kilo. With enzyme-active malt it pays to start low, because too much leaves the dough slack and the crumb damp. Dark malt can be used more freely if you are after a deeply coloured loaf. Store it dry and tightly closed and the aroma stays stable for months, for which a jar with a screw lid is entirely enough. Malt that draws in moisture clumps together and loses its effect, so always measure it out with a dry spoon.
Frequently asked questions
What is pale enzyme-active malt for?
For wheat and mixed loaves, rolls and baguettes. It supports the rise and gives you an evenly browned, crisp crust.
What is dark enzyme-inactive malt for?
For hearty rye and sourdough loaves. It darkens the crumb and brings the malty, faintly sweet roasted note with it.
Can I simply add malt to a recipe?
Yes. Count it as part of the flour weight and change nothing else. With enzyme-active malt you may want to hold back a little water.
Organic baking malt from barley and rye
Baking malt is sprouted and dried grain, which makes it one of the oldest ways to improve a loaf without reaching for additives. We stock pale barley malt in enzyme-active form, which breaks starch down, feeds the yeast and gives you a brisk rise, an open crumb and even browning. Next to it sit dark barley malt and dark rye malt, both enzyme-inactive: they no longer act on the dough itself but work through colour and roasted aroma, giving rye and sourdough loaves the dark crumb and malty note you know from a good country bread. All three are certified organic and go in dry with the flour, with no soaking beforehand. One to two per cent of the flour weight is usually plenty, and with dark malt you can go a little higher if you want more colour in the finished loaf.