Without wheat flour and gluten, many recipes rely heavily on gluten-free starches, which provide structure but often contribute very little flavour, colour or aroma. The result can be a pale, dry and crumbly product with a bland, starchy taste that falls short of consumer expectations.
At Senson, we help bakers overcome these challenges with our range of Gluten-Free Malt Extracts. By enhancing flavour, colour and texture, malt extracts help create gluten-free products that look, smell and taste more like traditional baked goods.
Here are a few examples of how our customers use gluten-free malt extracts in their product development.
Adding Colour and Flavour to White Gluten-Free Bread
One of our long-term customers specialises in gluten-free toast breads made primarily from wheat starch. While gluten-free wheat starch offers excellent consistency and processability, it is naturally quite neutral in flavour, aroma and colour.
To create more appealing products, the bakery uses Senson’s Gluten-Free Light Malt Extract across its bread range.
– When gluten-free bread is baked with Senson’s Gluten-Free Malt Extract, the difference is noticeable. The bread develops a more authentic baked aroma, a richer flavour and a more appealing colour, while the starchy notes typical of many gluten-free products become less pronounced, explains Arttu Ruusunen R&D Manager at Senson.
One reason for this is the stronger Maillard reactions that occur during baking when malt extract is used. Senson’s Gluten-Free Malt Extract contains naturally occurring sugars that act as key building blocks in the Maillard reaction. But malt extract offers more than just sugars.
– You can think of gluten-free malt extract as the essence of malted barley captured in syrup form, says Ruusunen.
In addition to improving flavour and colour, malt extract may also offer benefits in frozen bakery applications. This is particularly relevant for this customer, which sells most of its gluten-free breads in frozen form.
– Malt extract naturally helps retain moisture in the bread. This may reduce the formation of large ice crystals during frozen storage, helping to preserve a softer texture and better product quality after thawing, says Ruusunen.
Creating Authentic Dark and Rustic Gluten-Free Breads
Another customer uses Senson’s Gluten-Free Black Malt Extract to create dark gluten-free breads inspired by traditional rye and rustic bakery products. Dark breads often rely on colour, appearance and subtle roasted notes to communicate quality and authenticity to consumers.
– Our Black malt extract helps achieve these characteristics by providing deep brown, reddish and dark grey tones that are otherwise difficult to create in gluten-free formulations, says Ruusunen.
The customer initially hesitated to use malt extract because it is produced from barley, a grain that naturally contains gluten.
– Our carefully controlled manufacturing process removes gluten to below 20 ppm which is the internationally recognised threshold for gluten-free foods, explains Senson’s CEO Pontus Forth.
This allows manufacturers to benefit from the authentic flavour and colour characteristics of malted barley while maintaining the gluten-free status of their products.
How Active Malt Extract Could Improve Gluten-Free Brioche-Style Buns
In addition to conventional malt extracts, active malt extracts offer exciting opportunities for future gluten-free product development.
– Although malt naturally contains active enzymes, they are usually inactivated during production. By modifying the process, however, their activity can be preserved in the final extract, explains Ruusunen.
Active beta-amylase breaks down starch into fermentable sugars that support yeast activity and dough development. In gluten-free baking, this may help improve loaf volume, create a softer crumb and extend product freshness.
– Such functionality could be particularly interesting for ultra-soft gluten-free products such as brioche-style buns, hamburger buns and premium sandwich breads, says Ruusunen.
Discover the Possibilities of Our Gluten-Free Malt Extracts
Whether you are developing white toast bread, dark artisan-style loaves or next-generation gluten-free bakery products, malt extract can help improve flavour, colour, aroma and overall product appeal.
At Senson, we combine decades of malt expertise with strict gluten-free production practices to deliver reliable, high-quality ingredients for demanding applications. Our team is happy to support your product development work and help you find the right solution for your formulation.
Interested in learning more? Get in touch with our experts and discover what gluten-free malt extracts can bring to your next product innovation.