Bitesize Baking

Ancient grains

This is a term used to describe certain grains which have remained unchanged for millennia whereas, wheat, rye and rice have been bred to grow and taste very different to their ancestors. Some examples of ancient grains are einkorn, emmer, spelt, red and black rice, wild rice, buckwheat, sorghum, teff, millet, quinoa and amaranth.

Malt and malting process

Malt is a very popular baking ingredient used to add flavour and texture and also for its functional effect from naturally occurring cereal enzyme activity. These natural enzymes in the malt flour turn some of the starch in the dough into sugars that the yeast then uses as a food source. The malting process is basically a process of controlled germination whereby the grain is 'tricked' into sprouting as the barley or wheat goes through the three malting steps of steeping, germinating and kilning.

Malt extract process

Malt extracts are made by combining ground up malt with water and gently heating to accelerate enzyme activity in a process called 'mashing', similar to how brewing is carried out. The process converts almost all of the starch into a sugary solution which is then concentrated by evaporation into a viscous syrup or even further into a dry powder.

Wholegrain

For a cereal to be wholegrain, it must have its 3 main components - bran, endosperm and germ, all present in the same relative proportions as originally present when the grain was growing in the field. Wholegrains are an essential source of fibre and proteins and have many well documented health benefits in both digestive and heart wellbeing.