Malted Wheat Sandwich Bread For The Perfect PB&J

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My recipe for malted wheat sandwich bread has an ingredient that you’re probably familiar with (malted milk powder) and one that’s almost certain to be new to you (malted barley syrup).  I hadn’t bought malted milk powder in a long time until I made chocolate malt cake with vanilla malt frosting for our Easter dinner this year.  Now I have it on hand all the time for baking…and for old fashioned ice cream malt emergencies.

Stella Parks, a fantastic pastry chef who posts on Serious Eats, has written a great post about using malted milk powder.   You can buy Carnation malted milk powder in nearly any grocery store for under $4 and it’ll keep for a long time (unless you love malts as much as I do!)

I’ve been keeping a jar of malted barley syrup in the frig ever since I started using it a few years ago in several of my yeast bread recipes, including bagels and pretzels, and it’s usually available in food coops, at Whole Foods, and in some larger grocery stores, but you may get blank stares when you ask for it.  It’s very sticky and needs to be refrigerated after opening, so I always weigh it (as I also do with honey) when adding it to my recipes–faster, easier, and less cleanup!

After the dough had it’s first proof, I patted it out on our pastry slab into a rectangle about 8″ square, then rolled it up into a tight “log”, tucked the ends under, and eased it into an 8-1/2″ by 4-1/2″ pan.

Neither Joe (joeshealthymeals.com) nor I have any affliation with Crate and Barrel and they have no idea who we are, but I LOVE that store and you’ll see one of their marble slabs in many of our blog photos.  We bought one a couple of years ago in Florida and last week we bought one to leave here in Minnesota.  Its cool surface makes it easy to roll out bread, pie, or cookie dough, and for displaying cheese, canapes, or other foods when you’re entertaining.  I highly recommend the Crate and Barrel real marble slab, especially since they’re under $50.  The one we have is 24″ by 16″ and 1″ thick.

Once it’s shaped and in the pan, I set my timer for 30 minutes to check when the dough is just even with the top of the pan.  When it has reached that level, I turn the oven on so it’s preheating and ready as soon as the top of the dough is about 1″ above the top of the pan and ready to bake.

When it finished baking, I let it cool for about an hour before I sliced it up and made my lunch.  We had it with dinner that night, too.

I love creamy peanut butter and jelly (or jam or honey) sandwiches made with malted wheat sandwich bread.  This was Josie’s homemade strawberry freezer jam.  So much goodness!

I need a big glass of milk and a big cloth napkin when I eat PB&J sandwiches!

Please leave a question or a comment and rate this recipe with the stars below, then Pin, Tweet and/or share on Facebook and Instagram.  If you make the recipe, it would be wonderful if you’d post a photo on Instagram with #mjbakesalot and I’d love it if you would also come back here and make a comment.

Thanks, and bon appetit!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Malted Wheat Sandwich Bread For The Perfect PB&J

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Malted milk powder and barley malt syrup add a subtle sweetness to an easy whole grain bread that may become your new favorite for PB&J or egg salad sandwiches, for toast with your eggs, or sliced and buttered with dinner.

Author: MaryJo

Recipe type: Yeast Breads

Cuisine: American

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 fluid oz, 237 ml) warm water, 110°F, 43°C
• 2 tablespoons (1 fluid oz, 42 grams) malted barley syrup (or honey)
• 2-1/4 teaspoons (.25 oz, 7 grams) active dry yeast
• 1 3/4 cups (7 oz, 198 grams) white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
• 1-1/8 cups 5-1/4 oz, 150 grams) bread flour
• 1/4 cup (1-1/4 oz, 35 grams) malted milk powder
• 1/2 cup (2-1/4 oz, 60 grams) oat bran, wheat bran, or a combination
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (use 1 teaspoon of regular table salt)
• 2 tablespoons (1 fluid oz, 29 ml) vegetable oil

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, add the barley malt syrup to the water and stir to combine, then add the yeast and let it proof for a few minutes while you gather the rest of your ingredients.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to thoroughly combine.
3. Add the yeast mixture and the oil to the dry ingredients and mix and knead together until the dough is smooth, 6 to 8 minutes by machine, or 10 to 12 minutes by hand.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased container, cover wtih a piece of greased waxed paper or plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 60 minutes.
5. Grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan and set it aside.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured or oiled work surface and shape it into an 8" loaf.
7. Put the dough in the prepared bread pan, cover it loosely with greased waxed paper or plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it's about 1" above the edge of the pan, 45 to 60 minutes.
8. When the dough has been rising for about 35 minutes, preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C).
9. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes until it's golden brown and an instant-read thermometer reads 195°F (91°C) in the middle of the loaf.
10. Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and cool it on a rack before slicing.
11. Store the completely cooled loaf well-wrapped at room temperature, or double wrap it in plastic and freeze.

Notes

You can use 2 tablespoons brown sugar instead of the malt barley syrup or honey, if you prefer.
Total time does not include proofing time.

3.5.3251

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