This malted milk bread is golden, lightly grainy, and just different enough from a plain white sandwich loaf to make people ask what’s in it. The answer is simple: malted milk powder and malted wheat cereal, both of which you can find at most grocery stores.
The result is a soft, everyday loaf with a warmth and depth of flavor that plain white bread just doesn’t have. It makes excellent toast, a great grilled cheese, and a sandwich that tastes like you actually tried.
What Is Malted Bread?
Malted bread is any bread that gets some or all of its flavor from malt, which is grain that has been sprouted and dried. That process develops a subtle sweetness and a distinctive depth of flavor. This recipe uses malted milk powder and malted wheat cereal rather than malt extract or malted flour, which makes the ingredients easier to source and the results more predictable for home bakers.
This is not a British-style malt loaf, which is a dense, sticky, dark bread. This is a light, soft sandwich loaf that happens to have a gentle malt character.
A Hint of Grain
This recipe was inspired by a recipe from King Arthur Flour’s Book, Whole Grain Baking. I tweaked it ever so slightly to keep it light but still have that hint of grain and malt flavor.
The grain from the cereal is detectable but not so heavy or grainy that folks will think it’s a a whole wheat or whole grain bread. The bread flour keeps the texture soft and wonderful.
Light Malt Flavor
This is not a malt beer bread. It’s not going to have that deep malty flavor like that. Instead the malt flavor comes through in light ways that enhance both sweet and savory sandwich fillings.
Most folks who eat this bread won’t be immediately with the malt flavor – just an overall deliciousness.
The malt cereal also helps give the bread its golden color.
Specialty Ingredients
This bread does require two special ingredients that might not always be in your pantry: malted milk powder and malted wheat cereal.
Both can usually be found in the regular grocery store. Feel free to use whatever you can find. Malt-O-Meal cereal is fairly common as are other brands. Malted milk powder can often be found near the chocolate syrups in the grocery store
Easy Bake
Despite the couple of more special ingredients, this is a super easy loaf of bread to bake. There’s nothing fancy here and it can easily be shaped into round loaves or even rolls if desired.
How to Serve
Truly use this loaf like you would any loaf of sandwich bread.
It makes delicious toast spread with jam. The malted flavor will go incredibly well with chocolate spreads, too.
The golden color deepens wonderfully when cooked and the flavor is perfectly paired with sharp cheddar for a grilled cheese.
Serve alongside soup for dipping.
How to Store
Let the loaves cool completely before storing. Keep in an airtight bag or container at room temperature where they should stay fresh for up to 4 days.
This bread freezes well. Wrap cooled loaves tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 6 months and thaw on the counter before slicing. You can also slice before freezing and pull out individual slices as needed.
Troubleshooting
The bread didn’t rise well. Make sure your yeast foamed up properly in the warm water before adding anything else. If it didn’t foam after 10 minutes, start over with fresh yeast. The water temperature matters too. Too hot kills the yeast, too cold and it won’t activate. Aim for water that feels comfortably warm on your wrist.
The loaf is dense. The malted wheat cereal adds weight to this dough so it won’t rise quite as dramatically as a plain white loaf. That said, it should still be noticeably lighter than a whole wheat bread. If it’s very dense, the dough likely needed more kneading or a longer first rise.
The malt flavor is barely noticeable. This is an intentionally subtle bread. If you want a stronger malt flavor, increase the malted milk powder by a few tablespoons. Just know that more powder can make the dough slightly stickier.
The crust is too dark before the center is done. Tent the loaves loosely with foil partway through baking and continue until the internal temperature reaches around 190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
The loaves stuck to the pans. Make sure to grease the pans thoroughly before adding the dough. Letting the loaves cool for 5 to 10 minutes before turning them out also helps.
Malted Milk Bread
Golden sandwich loaves with a subtle malt flavor from malted milk powder and malted wheat cereal. Soft, lightly grainy, and perfect for everyday toast and sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Dry, Active Yeast
- 1 3/4 Cups Warm Water
- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 1/2 Cup Malted Milk Powder
- 1 Cup Malted Wheat Cereal
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the yeast and warm water. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Add the honey and mix well.
- Stir in the cereal and salt.
- Add 2 cups of the bread flour and malted milk powder, stirring well. Continue adding the flour a bit at a time until a soft dough begins to form.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until soft and elastic.
- Lightly coat the bowl with oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn to coat with the oil.
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rise until about doubled about an hour.
- Grease 2 loaf pans.
- Punch the dough down and knead slightly.
- Divide the dough in half and form into loaves.
- Place into greased loaf pans. Cover with a towel and let rise about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake the risen loaves in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until golden and sounds hollow when tapped with a knuckle.
- Remove from the pans immediately to cool on wire racks completely.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 32 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 91Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 210mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 3g
I try but cannot guarantee this nutritional information is 100% accurate.
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