What Is Malt?
Malt is a key ingredient in a wide range of food and drink products as an ingredient. Malt can be a sweetener and a fermenting agent, providing a unique flavor to various recipes. Malt refers to cereal grains that have been soaked and dried, changing their chemical composition and flavor. Barley is the most common grain for malting, but malt makers or maltsters can also malt other cereal grains like wheat, oats, corn, rye, and rice. The malting process involves soaking and drying the grain. The germination and heating processes transform the grains into simpler carbohydrates and easier-to-digest proteins. The resulting malt tastes sweeter and is more nutritional for yeasts and human consumption.

How Is Malt Made?
The desired end-product affects the malting process, but the basic steps involved in malting include:
1. Harvest: Gathering, cleaning, and drying the grains is the first step in malting. Since ancient Mesopotamia, the most common malted grain is barley. Malt makers or maltsters can malt all kinds of grains, but barley remains a popular staple.
2. Soak: Soaking or steeping the grains involves submerging the grains in water. The enzymes activate and set off chemical changes as the grains absorb water.
3. Germinate: When the grains reach a specific moisture content, maltsters drain the excess moisture and sprouting begins. The starches in the grains convert into sugars, such as monosaccharide glucose, disaccharide maltose, and maltodextrin, among others. Specialized enzymes called proteases help break down the grains’ protein into different forms, including amino acids, that yeast can consume.
4. Dry: At a certain point, the maltster halts the chemical transformations of the green what is malt with air and heat. This preserves the germinated grain in its new, changed state with the right combination of starch, protein, and sugar.
5. Roast: Some malts, such as those for certain types of beer brewing, roast in an oven or kiln. This additional heating process creates further changes in the nutritional profile of the grain, affecting the fermentation process and altering the flavor of the finished product.

Ways to Use Malt
Various food and beverage items utilize what is malt in different forms. Malt can be a fermenting agent for baking recipes or provide a distinctive flavor for savory dishes.One of the most popular uses of malt is in brewing beer. Brewers mix malted barley grains or base malt, sometimes in the form of malt extract, with water and heat it. This first step of the brewing process is known as mashing. Brewers then introduce yeasts to the resulting liquid, called wort, which changes the fermentable sugars into alcohol, resulting in the popular beverage.You can add malt powder or malt syrup to baked goods recipes, such as yeasted breads and bagels. Malt powder or syrup is a subtle sweetener that adds a nutty, sweet flavor to the finished product. The malt powder also supports the feeding of yeasts, improving the airy texture of the finished bread.