[Sca-cooks] Sourdough

[Decker, Terry D.]

Careful there, diastatic refers to the separation of normally joined parts.
What you are thinking of is diastasic, which refers to an amylase or mixture
of amylases that improve the conversion of starch to maltose.  Diastase (or
diastasic) malt is malted barley flour.  The malt powder adds amylase to the
fermentation to produce more maltose which converted to glucose by the yeast
to feed the lactobacilli (IIRC the process).  You essentially increase the
food supply for the yeast when you use it.

Bear

> though. The KA better for bread flour is high rise as well. One of the
> modern bread-rise ingredients is diastatic malt powder--
> would that have
> perhaps come as a by-product of beer/ale making or is from somewhere
> else entirely? I've used diastatic malt powder in whole wheat
> breads and
> gotten quite a rise out of them, so I know the boost it adds
> to yeast is
> quite powerful.
>
> ciorstan