For me, the word malt conures up associations with both familiar childhood pleasures and old-timey delicacies that I never experienced but that are lodged in my pop cultural memory. Happily, a wonderful Food Find exists to make your own (possibly healthier) malted delights: plant-based malt powder.
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What is malt powder?
You may have enjoyed treats made with malt before. From chocolate coated malt ball candies, and malted milk drink powders, to the the malted milkshakes of bygone era soda shops, malt adds its its toasty, earthy, and sweet nature to a variety of treats, drinks and other foodstuffs.
Malt is derived from the process of “malting” grains, a time honoured technique dating back at least to Ancient Egyptian times. Malt is made from soaking grains in water, most often barley, until the grains sprout. Once the grains have sprouted, or germinated, they are either air or heat dried to halt the germination process, and this is the process known as “malting.”
The germinating process releases various enzymes in the grain that break down starches into sugars, which gives malted grains and the resulting products where malt is used that distinctive malted and naturally sweet flavour profile. The malted grains can be ground into various types of preparations, from coarse meals to superfine powders, or transformed into liquids or syrups, and used in everything from drink mixes and desserts, to bread baking and beer brewing.
How is malt powder different from malted milk powder?
Pure malt powder, most often containing only one plant-based ingredient, is not to be confused with malted milk powder, even though some recipes use the terms interchangeably. Malted milk powders contain dried milk, sugar, often other dried grains, and sometimes other iffy ingredients that may not be as welcome in your present day eating habits.
However, the great news is, you can enjoy the characteristic roasty flavour of malt at home, customized to your preferences. Pure or true malt powder, having barley or grain as its only ingredient, is completely plant-based. As malt powder is naturally sweet, you can also control how much and what kind of additional sweetener you add to whatever you are making.
Where to find malt powder
Pure or true malt powder is a light blond powder with a superfine texture similar to icing sugar. It can be found at natural and health food stores, bulk food bins, and online specialty vendors. I most often buy malt powder at my local bulk food store, where I am able to check the ingredient label and make sure what I am buying is indeed plant-based, and not malted milk powder. Pure malt powder can be labeled in a variety of permutations, but will most often be found as “malt powder”, and the only ingredient should be listed as grain, or malted grain.
How to use malt powder
I can happily report that homemade malted milk drinks, from comforting warm sips, to creamy iced delights, can be easily made using malt powder, which readily dissolves in liquids. I often treat myself to a cup of Hot Malted Oat Milk before bedtime, and in the winter I look forward to warming myself up with a velvety mug of Malted Hot Cacao.
If you want to craft your own creation, experiment with adding malt to other beverages, from your favourite coffee-based drinks to homemade milkshakes and smoothies. The flavour of malt powder, while distinctive, is relatively mild, and its inherent sweetness also relatively moderate. Start by adding a few teaspoons or one tablespoon to whatever you are making, adding more from there as desired to increase the desired malty goodness and sweetness.
If you are planning to create a cold beverage, first dissolve the powder with a touch of hot water to ensure a lump free mix, before adding your cold liquid. As an alternative method, make your beverage hot, let it cool to room temperature, and then add ice cubes or refrigerate until chilled.
Malt powder isn’t limited to enhancing homemade beverages, and those with a sweet tooth will find that malt is called for in various baking recipes from brownies to cookies, and other kinds of specialty versions are called for in bread baking, something I have yet to try.
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