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Diastatic malt. What am I doing wrong?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Godiva, Jan 11, 2009.

  1. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I am trying to make my own diastatic malt powder. I bought wheat berries. I put them in a jar with water. I change the water every day. I put them in a dark, warm place.

    They water gets foamy and smells of yeast. But the berries are not sprouting. I've tried twice. They're supposed to sprout after a few days. Each time I've tried it for over a week and no sprouts. The sprouts are supposed to be at least as long as the berry before I dry them and grind them into powder.

    No, I'm not buying diastatic malt powder. It comes by the lb. I only need a few tsps.

    I'm open to suggestions.
     
    #1 Godiva, Jan 11, 2009
  2. tleonhar

    tleonhar Senior Member

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    Are you leaving them sit in water Godiva? If so, I believe this is the problem. Most seeds do not like to be submerged in water, to sprout they need dampness and air. The sprouting process I'm familiar with consists of placing the seeds in a jar with a perforated lid, like cheesecloth over the mouth and rubber band to hold in place. You add water to the jar with seeds, wait a few minutes, and drain the water off, hence the cheesecloth. Repeat this process 2 to 4 times a day and you should get your sprouts in short order.

    Good Luck!!
     
    #2 tleonhar, Jan 11, 2009
  3. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    Ah, I see. Yes, I have been leaving them in the water, just changing the water every day. It's now getting quite foamy and has a yeasty scent so I know something is happening. But no sprouts.

    Here are the directions I have: "sprout a cup of wheat berries by covering them with water in a jar for 12 or so hours, dump out the water & rinse with clean water, and place the jar in a darkish, warmish, place. Rinse the berries every day with clean water and return to their place."

    I misunderstood what they were telling me. I think they meant to add water and then pour it off every day to keep the seeds damp. Not change the water every day and have the seeds submerged.

    Let me give it another try. I've got a bag of wheat berries so can afford a few failed attempts.

    Thanks.

    BTW I'm trying t make Royal Lunch Milk Crackers. Nabisco doesn't make them anymore. I only have the ingredients to go by so I'll be doing some trail and error adjusting the only cracker recipe I've been able to find.
     
    #3 Godiva, Jan 11, 2009
  4. tleonhar

    tleonhar Senior Member

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    The recipe sounds quite interesting, let me know how it works out for you. Are you using just wheat or do you have a mixture of wheat and barley? I know in beer making if you are brewing a wheat beer, there has to be both grains due to the fact that the enzymes are present in a much higher lever in malted barley than wheat, but that may be unique to brewing beer so it will be interesting to hear your results.
     
    #4 tleonhar, Jan 11, 2009
  5. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I'm using just wheat.

    The diastatic malt using in commercial breadmaking is from barley, but that is mostly to cut costs as barley is cheaper than wheat. Cost isn't an issue since I'm so small scale.
     
    #5 Godiva, Jan 12, 2009
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