Intro and question

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

 

I am Betty Jo and live in Alaska. Our family is going slowing due

to my dh. I use recipes from Sugar Addicts web site

http://www.sugaraddict.com/

 

They have a recipe using Diastatic Malt in place of sugar. The only

it

is for 2 loaves of bread and I use a bread machine. Could any of you

expert at math look at it and tell if it could be converted to a

bread machine. I can't knead due to wrist problems. I figure the

more nature food I can get him to eat the easier it will be to

change.

 

Diastatic Malt

 

Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook, by Nancy Albright, 1977

 

If you have ever wondered why even the professionally baked breads

taste so good in Europe - the secret is diastatic malt which is

contained in the wheat berry. Generally unfamiliar in the United

States, diastatic malt can occasionally be found in health food

stores. But you can make it at home. Using diastatic malt, you can

bake yeast bread without sugar, honey or molasses.

 

Most recipes for yeast breads - even for those breads which are not

supposed to taste sweet - call for some sugar. The sugar feeds the

yeast and also makes the crust brown and crunchy. People who know

about the drawbacks of sugar try to replace it with either honey or

molasses. But both are high in calories and forbidden in certain

diets. Diastatic malt does all of sugar's jobs and has none of these

shortcomings. It is rich in enzymes and vitamins, so when the malt

is added to the dough, the bread's nutritional value increases. The

action of the enzymes on the yeast and flour improves the flavor and

appearance of a loaf of bread, and, in addition, gives it a finer

texture and helps the bread stay fresh longer.

 

This ingredient is made from sprouted grain. Beer brewers have known

about it for generations. They use barley sprouts which are roasted

and ground. But it is quite difficult for the average consumer to

get unhulled barley (the only kind that will sprout) so it is easier

for most of us to use wheat berries for making diastatic malt at

home. The enzyme action is the same as in the barley product.

 

Make Your Own Diastatic Malt

 

For a batch of dough yielding three or four loaves of bread, one

tablespoon of diastatic malt is enough. Too much will make your

bread too sweet, dark and sticky.

 

Here's how to make your own diastatic malt, according to Jane

Nordstrom in Barmy Bread Book (Sante Fe: Lightning Tree Books,

copyright 1974 by Jane Nordstrom):

 

 

" Place one cup of wheat berries in a glass jar and sprout them in

the way you sprout any other grain. Wheat sprouts relatively fast,

and you will see little shoots, about the same length as the grain,

appear after about two days. At this point, drain them well and

spread them out evenly in thin layers on two large baking sheets.

You can dry the sprouts in an oven in about eight hours at a maximum

temperature of 150 degrees F. You also can dry them by placing the

baking sheets in the sun; it will take several days if you use this

method. Grind the dried sprouts into a fine meal one cup at a time

in a blender or an electric grinder. "

 

The result, which is enough diastatic malt for about 150 loaves of

bread, can be stored indefinitely in a tightly closed glass jar in

the refrigerator or freezer.

 

100% Whole Wheat Bread

 

From Barmy Bread Book (Sante Fe: Lightning Tree Books, copyright

1974 by Jane Nordstrom).

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F.)

 

1 teaspoon diastatic malt

 

2 tablespoons or 2 packages yeast

 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 

2 teaspoons sea salt

 

5 cups whole wheat bread flour (approximately)

could also substitute spelt flour

Directions:

Combine first three ingredients and let sit until bubbly. Add oil

and salt and enough flour to make a firm dough. Knead until smooth

and elastic. Place in a warm place to rise until double in volume.

 

Punch down dough, knead briefly and let rise a second time. Punch

down and divide dough into two pieces and let rest 10 minutes. Then

form into loaves and place in two medium-size greased loaf pans. Let

rise until dough is approximately 1 1/2 times the original volume.

 

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. for 35 to 40 minutes or

until loaf sounds hollow when rapped with knuckles. Cool on racks.

 

Yield: 2 medium loaves.

 

Have a Blessed Day,

Betty Jo