Sugar From Germinated Grains
“T
he baguette crust will become exceptionally
crispy if you use a particular malt,” says
master baker Leonard Yue of Fairmont Singapore.
In French, levain refers to a mix of flour and water
with a colony of wild yeast and good bacteria.
When the organisms have exhausted the natural
sugar found in the flour, you will need to feed
them with a new supply of flour and sugar, such
as malt. As long as you keep it alive, the dough
will continue to reward you with a complexity of
flavour you won’t find in quick breads. Malt made
from sprouted grain contains amylase, which
breaks down starch into sugar. This sugar will
caramelise upon baking, giving the crust a nice
texture and colour. For his European malt loaf,
baker Yue incorporated cranberries, hazelnuts, and
chopped pieces of 55 percent chocolate, so the loaf
is wonderfully chewy, crunchy, tangy, chocolaty,
and gently sweet. Among the four malt sugars
tasted, Fujiya sweet potato malt from Kagoshima
has been the most popular, with a delicate, mellow
fragrance. Chef Alan Chan of Jiang Nan Chun, Four
Seasons Singapore, explains it this way. “When you
drizzle a tail of fish with malt before roasting it, it
becomes much more fragrant.” Malt is crucial when
barbecuing meats in Chinese cooking. “Dipping the
roasted meat into malt, and repeating the process
four or five times while you are roasting it, will yield
a char siu with a tender, almost ‘fluffy’ texture, and
a good colour.”127127TABLE
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Malt has a natural sweetness
that brings out the character
of European bread.
Leonard Yue
malt loaf with cranberry, hazelnut & chocolate by Baker Leonard Yue
Do More With Fujiya sweet potato malt
(from Kagoshima), has a malty,
earthy scent with a silky texture.
Good as a glaze for breads, or in
Asian desserts such as yam cakes.