- Diastatic Malt Powder
- Diastatic Malt Powder in Pizza Dough
- Benefits of Using Diastatic Malt Powder in Pizza Dough
- Diastatic Malt Powder vs. Non-Diastatic Malt Powder
- Diastatic Malt Processing Temperature
- What is Diastatic Malt Powder?
- What is the Difference Between Diastatic vs. Non-Diastatic Malt Powder?
- How Much Diastatic Malt Powder You Should Use for Pizza
- Diastatic Malt Powder in Pizza
- How Long Does Diastatic Malt Powder Last?
- Where to Find Diastatic Malt Powder
- Do You Want to Try Non-Diastatic Malt Powder?
- How to Store Diastatic Malt Powder
- Diastatic Malt Powder Products and Substitutes
- Additional Resources on Dough Enhancers
- The Last Slice
- When in Doubt, Check Our Resources
- Check Amazon’s Pizza-Making Must-Haves
Diastatic Malt Powder
This article discusses what it is diastatic malt powder, how it’s made, how to store it, how to use it in your pizza dough, and how it differs from non-diastatic malt powder.
With a deeper understanding of the chemistry involved, you’ll be on your way to becoming a master pizza baker in no time!
Here are some takeaways.
Diastatic Malt Powder in Pizza Dough
Key Takeaways
Diastatic malt powder is a free-flowing powder with a combination of sweetness and enzyme activity that gives a better structure, increased volume, and a pleasing golden-brown color and improved taste to the pizza crust.
For pizza dough, use ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour or 2% of the total weight of your pizza flour when using the baker’s percentage method. Add it to the dry ingredients, not olive oil or the water-yeast mixture.
On average, diastatic malt will last about a year.
Diastatic Malt Powder in Pizza in Pizza Dough
When it comes to baking, it’s essential to consider the underlying chemistry in and out of the oven.
Without a proper balance of sugars and enzymes in your homemade pizza dough, your pizza won’t have enough rise, and the texture, flavor, and appearance could be lacking.
This situation is where diastase comes into the picture. Master pizza bakers often praise diastatic malt powder as “the secret ingredient” in any good baking recipe.
But what is it, and how can you incorporate it into making excellent pizza dough? There’s a lot to know about it, but don’t worry; we’ve got you covered!
Benefits of Using Diastatic Malt Powder in Pizza Dough
The active enzymes contained in diastatic malt function as a dough conditioner in yeast-fermented doughs. By using it correctly, you can get the following results in your pizza crust:
Strong rise while making the pizza dough balls
Better crust structure
Increased volume
Better flavor as it adds a mild malt taste
Best crust browning as it enhances the color of the crust
Good for your health as it promotes better digestion. It contains fiber, potassium, folate, and vitamin B6, which lower cholesterol and decrease the risk of cardiac disease.
*Note that is not meant to be construed as medical advice.
Diastatic Malt Powder vs. Non-Diastatic Malt Powder
The term “diastatic” refers to the presence or absence of diastase, a group of enzymes such as alpha-amylase and beta-amylase that are useful in baking for their role in the fermentation process.
For this reason, diastatic malt is sometimes called “enzyme-active.”
Enzymatic content is measured in Degrees Lintner.

To better understand the difference between diastatic and non-diastatic malt, it helps first to be familiar with the concepts of germination and fermentation and the malting process itself.
Although fermentation is used in baking, it also occurs naturally in the wild.
Every seed naturally contains a supply of nutrients that it will use to nourish itself as it grows into a new plant; in a process known as germination, the seed sprouts when it senses that conditions are right outside for it to grow and survive.
When this happens, enzymes that are also present begin to break down and store carbohydrates into more readily usable sugars in a process known as fermentation.
After fermentation and the seeds have sprouted, the sugar produced from these carbohydrates is broken down further by yeast cells, releasing carbon dioxide into their surroundings.
The presence of carbon dioxide in your pizza dough balls helps them to rise and makes the dough easier to handle.
The Malting Process
The term “diastase” is derived from the Greek word “diastasis,” meaning “a parting or separation.” This original meaning refers to separating soluble sugars from the rest of the plant material being used.
Malting Process
In the first stage of the malting process, the cereal grain is dried and stored until it is ready to germinate. Many seeds will not germinate immediately, so this initial drying usually takes around six weeks. At this point, the seeds are no longer dormant, and the next stage can begin.

Germination Process
The grain is soaked in water for several days until it begins to sprout. The germination process is then quickly brought to a halt.
The temperature at which it is halted determines whether the finished malt will be diastatic or non-diastatic.

What is Diastatic Malt Powder?
Diastatic malt powder is a malt that has had its germination process stopped by air-drying, or in some cases, by being heated in a kiln at low temperatures. It leaves some of the naturally occurring enzymes already present in the malt. This result is what you want.
Diastatic Malt Processing Temperature
Non-Diastatic Malt
By contrast, non-diastatic malt has had its germination process stopped by heating it at a much higher temperature.
Unfortunately, the heat used in this method destroys those precious enzymes.

Since fewer enzymes are present in non-diastatic malt, less sugar is produced via fermentation since the yeast has less to consume, less carbon dioxide, and less rise.
What is Diastatic Malt Powder?
Diastatic malt powder is a free-flowing powder with a combination of sweetness and enzyme activity that gives pizza dough a pleasing golden-brown crust color.
When you add dry diastatic malt powder to your baking recipe, more starches are broken down into sugars, which yeasts may consume as food during the long pizza dough process, resulting in a higher rise.
This extra sugar also aids in caramelizing a golden-brown crust, which would otherwise be absent in a slow-processed pizza dough.
Diastatic Malt Powder

Diastatic malt also promotes browning and improves the flavor and texture of your crust.
After it’s dried or heated, the malt is ground into malt powder. Do be aware that some high protein flour or bread flour already has malt powder added to it.
If you’re unsure whether there’s any malt in the flour already, there probably isn’t, but you should be able to tell by the time you’re done mixing the pizza dough.
What is the Difference Between Diastatic vs. Non-Diastatic Malt Powder?
For baking purposes, diastatic malt powder is sprouted grains used to feed yeast and bread, giving it a stronger rise. Non-diastatic is used as a sweetener and not to feed the yeast.
Since it is sugar, you will still have the pizza dough’s browning, but the crust’s structure may not be as strong.
Remember that less expensive flour usually doesn’t contain any malt. You can also tell by looking at how many air bubbles you see form while your dough is resting. More malt will produce more air bubbles.
How Much Diastatic Malt Powder You Should Use for Pizza
We recommend using 2% Diastactic Malt for the total flour weight of pizza dough.
To mix diastatic malt powder into your pizza dough, add it directly to the flour in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or the dough whisk of a stand mixer. You may also use a food processor. Please do not mix diastatic malt with olive oil or wet ingredients, as it will not mix well.
For example, if you use 500g of flour, you would have to add 10g of Diastatic Malt. In short, weigh your flour and multiply the result by .02. If you don’t have a scale, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour.

Enzyme-Active Diastatic Malt Powder
When making pizza, you’ll want to use an enzyme-active diastatic malt powder weighing about 0.25 to 5% of the total weight of your pizza flour.
Make sure you add it to the dry ingredients instead of mixing them with your yeast and water.
Diastatic Malt and Baker’s Percentage Method (Hydration)
An important consideration when you weigh your ingredients and use diastatic malt. The malt will add to the total weight of the flour.
To keep the pizza dough’s hydration at your desired level, you need to account for the malt you added to the flour.
For example, our base recipe calls for 500g of pizza or bread flour at 65% hydration or 325g of water. But if you add 10g of malt to the mix, you now have 510g of total flour weight.
So, to calculate the hydration, you must multiply your hydration factor by the total weight of the flour.
In this case, 510 x .65 = 332 g of water.
Is it going to make a difference? Most certainly!
That can make the difference between having a dry or a moist crust.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of weighing your ingredients, you can use ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour.
Pizza Pun
Why are pizza-baking recipes so secretive?
They’re on a knead-the-dough basis.
Diastatic Malt Powder in Pizza
With so many pizza styles to choose from, you may be wondering about the best kind to choose when using diastatic malt in pizza making.
We prefer diastatic malt powder with Chicago-style deep-dish pizza or any variants.
Also, it gives exceptionally sound results when making a dessert pizza. With more rise in your dough, your pizza will be better able to hold all those delicious layers of meat, whole milk mozzarella, sauce, and veggies!
Warning Using Non-Diastatic Malt
It’s essential to use diastatic malt powder for pizza because non-diastatic malt is just another sugar form.

Also, non-diastatic malt can turn your crust reddish or give it a flavor like candy, a taste like malted milk balls. And while malted milk balls are good on their own, they’re probably now what you’re looking for unless you’re making a dessert pizza.
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Pro Tip
When using diastatic malt, a little can do a lot. You don’t need a huge amount of malt to add that nutty flavor to a recipe. More often than not, a little goes a long way, especially when using liquid malt.
How Long Does Diastatic Malt Powder Last?
On average diastatic malt will last about a year. Of course, it is always best to check the expiration date on the package. However, a well-sealed container in the refrigerator can be used past its “best by” date.
Where to Find Diastatic Malt Powder
Diastatic malt is readily available in bakery supplies stores and health food stores, or you can get it online. Here are our favorites which you can get on Amazon.
Do You Want to Try Non-Diastatic Malt Powder?
If you are interested in trying out non-diastatic malt powder to see if you find any difference in your baking, here is what we recommend.
This free-flowing diastatic powder was specially formulated to provide an economical combination of enzymatic activity, sweetness, and appealing crust color to baked goods. Adding our Dry Malt Powder to your baking recipe allows more starches to be broken down into sugars, which yeasts can then use as food during a prolonged dough process, resulting in an enhanced rise.
A free-flowing diastatic powder, old fashion dry malt powder is formulated to provide an economical combination of enzymatic activity, sweetness, and appealing crust color to baked goods. Great for bread, rolls, buns, crackers, sweet dough, cakes, cookies, and all products which require a true natural malt flavor.
How to Store Diastatic Malt Powder
Now that you know how to use diastatic malt powder in baking, let’s consider other considerations.
You’ll want to be sure to store your diastatic malt powder at temperatures below 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
If possible, you’ll want to refrigerate it since the enzymes can go bad after a while. It should have an expiration date, but its shelf life is generally comparable to bread flour.
If necessary, you can freeze diastatic malt powder, which will work just as well once it has been thawed.
However, it is hygroscopic (meaning it retains moisture well), so if you’ve got a large bag of it, you can freeze it with no problem.
Diastatic Malt Powder Products and Substitutes
If you cannot find any diastatic malt powder in stores in your area, you could try using diastatic malt syrup instead.
This product might also be referred to as diastatic malt extract. It’s a liquid instead of a powder, and not all diastatic malt enzymes are present in diastatic malt extract, but the most thermostable ones are.
Luckily, it’s those thermostable enzymes that are the most important.
Alternatively, you could try ordering some diastatic malt from our link below.
Here is what the PROs at Homemade Pizza Pro Use and Recommend
A free-flowing diastatic powder, old fashion dry malt powder is formulated to provide an economical combination of enzymatic activity, sweetness, and appealing crust color to baked goods. Great for bread, rolls, buns, crackers, sweet dough, cakes, cookies, and all products which require a true natural malt flavor.
Additional Resources on Dough Enhancers

How to Instantly Turn All-Purpose Flour into Pizza Flour
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How to Turn All-Purpose Flour into Pizza Flour If you want to know how to turn all-purpose flour into pizza …

Unleash the Flavor: How to Use Oil in Pizza Dough
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This guide will dive a bit deeper into why oil will affect your pizza dough and how it can also enhance your pizza’s other attributes. Hopefully, you will be able to take advantage of these tips on oil on pizza dough in the end. So, let’s dive in.

Vital Wheat Gluten: The Magic Touch for Pizza Dough
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Is your homemade pizza dough missing something? Maybe it’s not rising enough, or it’s not holding its shape as you’d like it to, or it’s just too crumbly. Perhaps you want it to be softer on the inside or crispier on the outside, or you wish it were higher in protein. Don’t worry! All these factors and more can be addressed by adding extra gluten to your recipe. Here’s our guide to everything you need to know for using vital wheat gluten in pizza dough! So let’s get started!

Pizza Dough Enhancers: Everything You Need to Know to Boost Your Pizza Dough Flavor
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Are you eager to learn how to make pizza dough taste better? In this article, we will show you what you can do to improve the flavor and the structure of your pizza dough.
The Last Slice
We hope this has been an informative experience for you. With this, you should better understand diastatic malt powder and how it can be used in your next pizza-baking endeavor.
There are many factors to consider, but practice is the best way to improve your pizza-baking skills.
Knowledge of the ingredients you use and the chemical processes that occur throughout the process is always helpful, even necessary sometimes.
Still, nothing will ultimately replace doing the thing and seeing the results yourself.
And don’t forget to be creative and have fun with it!
Baking pizza may be a science, but it’s also an art.
Ultimately, you should follow your vision and see where it leads you. You may be surprised by how well it turns out.
Thank you for spending your time here with us today.
We’d love to know more about your techniques. What kind of pizza have you made lately, and how did it turn out?
Did you use any unusual ingredients or try anything new?
Let us know in the comments down below!
When in Doubt, Check Our Resources
To help you become a better homemade pizza baker, we developed these reference sources you can use when making any of our recipes.
Check Amazon’s Pizza-Making Must-Haves
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Enjoy!
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