Baking & Snack - July 2006 - 101

coatings, allowing germination to
proceed for a limited time. The length
of time for germination depends on the
end use of the malt ingredient. When
it's time, germination is ceased by
applying heat, followed by drying the
green malt in a kiln to varying degrees
of flavor and color.
The end result brings about chemical
changes in the growing embryo, particularly secretion of the enzyme amylase.
Dextrins, which are gummy carbohydrates with a slightly sweet taste, are
also produced.
"The finished product is a standard
malt that contains high levels of alphaand beta-amylase enzymes," said Mr.
Hansen. "These are the enzymes that
convert starch into sugar for fermentation, which they do equally well in beer
and bread."
Dave Kuske, director of malting operations at Briess, added, "By adjusting
the drying time, drying temperature
and order of the malting process, specialty malts can be produced. These
are characterized by distinctive flavors,
rich colors and either reduced levels or
the absence of enzymes."
It is important to note that although
malt is considered a whole grain for food
labeling purposes, it is not included in the
recently authorized health claim for barley beta-glucan soluble fiber related to its
ability to reduce cholesterol.
FDA has identified several sources
of barley beta-glucan soluble fiber that
are eligible for the health claim. These
include whole-grain barley, barley

bran, barley flakes, barley grits, barley
flour, barley meal, sieved barley meal
and pearl barley produced from clean,
sound, dehulled or hulless barley using
standard dry milling techniques. Barley malt is not included. To qualify
for the health claim, a food made from
these sources must contain at least 0.75
g of barley beta-glucan soluble fiber
per serving.
"Research has long shown that barley
holds tremendous potential as a healthful food choice," said Mary Sullivan,
executive administrator of the National
Barley Foods Council, Spokane, WA.
Indeed, although malt does not
qualify for the health claim, it still has
a reputation among today's health
and wellness community as a wholesome, all-natural, whole-grain ingredient that provides flavor, color and
natural sweetness.

USING MALT
The two basic malt ingredients used
in the baking industry are syrups/extracts and flour. As mentioned, syrups/
extracts can be viscous solutions or be
dried, which when rehydrated, resemble the viscous form. Flours are simply
milled malt.
A distinguishing characteristic of
all malt ingredients is the presence or
absence of enzymes. Considering that
the purpose of malting barley grain is
to enable the secretion of amylase, it
seems odd that there would exist malt
ingredients without enzyme activity.
However, such malts without enzyme

activity, referred to as nondiastatic, are
very important to bakers.
"Nondiastatic malted barley flours
provide flavor and color without impacting the dough system," said Mr.
Hickenbottom. "This is useful in nonfermented bakery products such as cookies, cakes and pastries. Nondiastatic
malt ingredients contribute all the same
flavor and color qualities to the finished
product as diastatic malt, except those
related to enzyme activity."
Nondiastatic malts are roasted, which
gives them their pronounced flavors
and colors. "Light roasting creates reddish hues and caramel/toffee flavors,
while dark roasting creates dark brown
to black colors and flavors typical of
other roasted foods such as coffee and
cocoa," said Mr. Kuske.
This similarity to coffee and cocoa
makes dark-roasted nondiastatic malt
applicable in baked foods with these
flavor profiles.
"There are two distinctive styles of
dark-roasted nondiastatic malted barley flour referred to as 'chocolate' and
'black,'" according to Mr. Kuske. "The
chocolate variety has distinctive cocoa flavors and is dark brown. It can
be used to provide cocoa flavor and
color by substituting for up to 25% of
the cocoa in a formulation, or it can
be used in smaller amounts for color
and eye appeal. When compared with
cocoa, the color is more intense and
more soluble, with almost 70% of the
flour solubilized.
"The black variety, on the other hand,

In today's health and wellness
community, malt is a wholesome,
all-natural whole-grain ingredient.

106 / BAKING & SNACK / July 2006

Baking & Snack - July 2006

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