Looking for obscure product in RDU area
Does anyone know where I can find non-diastatic malt powder in the Triangle? I'm looking to use it in a bagel recipe. Southern Season, Fifth Season, and Whole Foods are out as none of them knew what it was.
burgeoningfoodie
Nov 06, 2009 04:20PM
It's been a while since I've thought about this, but wouldn't any malt powder be non-diastatic? That just refers to the enzymatic ability of the malt to convert other starches into sugars. And I thought that the drying process generally denatures those enzymes. That's why extract homebrewers can't use unconverted grains (oats, other malts) b/c the starch doesn't convert and it leaves a haze.
So, if you can't find find malt powder at one of those outlets, I'd look for a homebrew supply shop. And it's been many years since I was shopping at the ones in the Triangle, so I don't know who's even left. Most in ATL have gone out of business, but there are a couple left.
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You may order online from King Arthurs Flour ~
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/i...
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I was in Harmony Farms today and looked - they don't have it. They are pretty open to special orders though, so you might want to give them a call.
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Ted - I looked at a place in Carrboro called Fifth Season which has home brewing supplies, but I wasn't sure if the product of malt powder would be labeled as diastatic or non-diastatic. I don't believe they are automatically non-diastatic but I'll do more research based on your suggestion. Maybe I was just thinking of Barley Malt Syrup which I think I've seen in other bagel recipes (the purpose for the product). I'm not sure if what they had would work. Thank you for your insight.
Nancy - Thank you for your suggestion. I realize I can order it from King Arthur's, but reputation aside, some of their items tend to be overpriced and 16oz seems like a lot. Wanted to try the local route first. A lot of things I've read said that health food stores would maybe have it.
meatn3 - Thank you for the information. I'll look into it.
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I looked a the King Arthur page and was a bit confused. What the homebrew shops will have is powdered malt extract, and I'm not sure if that's the same as the malt powder on KIng Arthur's site. It may be, since it's non-diastatic, which might mean that the starches are all converted to sugars and then spray dried to make the powder, which does in all the enzymes. The diastatic malt powder might be just ground up malt, which would still have its enzymes intact.
Good luck. You might check Weaver Street, too. I used to make a periodic pilgrimage to American Brewmaster on the NE side of Raleigh. And Google at least still has Brew Better Supply listed on 54 south of the airport. Looks like the Triangle didn't suffer massive expansion then contraction of the homebrew supply shops like ATL did.
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Right I just found one of KA baking catalogues and saw there are both diastatic and non-diastatic and I know I definitely need the latter. I'll double check with brewstores again. They didn't quite know what non-diastatic meant when I went to one store, but that may just be a confusion in jargon and as you pointed out that enzymes are usually already removed.
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Here's a great discussion of the difference from:
http://www.muntons.com/mmi/products/l...
In short, the homebrew shops are not going to carry non-diastatic malt extract, b/c it's primarily used in baking, not brewing, and they may not know what you're talking about. I had to look it up. Non-diastatic extract would be less fermentable and more sweet than what homebrewers normally use. That being said, what they have should work for your purposes. At American Brewmaster in Raleigh, you can buy less than 1 lb of extract. I'm not sure about Durham Brewmaster or Five Seasons in Carrboro. 1 lb of extract is about $5. There are several types, you want to buy light or extra light.
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I'm not sure about how you'll use
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Non diastatic malt powder as far as making bagels is concerned is used to help give the bagel it's taste but also the sheen and texture on the outside when boiling it.. if I recall correctly.
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