Yikes! Malt loaf you say Rebecca, yes Gluten Free Malt Loaf the trick is that it’s not actually traditional malt made from barley, this is my own malt replacement.
Where do I start? This Gluten Free Malt Loaf has been a labour love, there I am waving the ‘Life’s a drama, Gluten Free doesn’t have to be’ banner and I have to say I got my knickers in a right twist over this bake…I am however pleased to write that I I’ve done it, or as close as can be.
I’d had the idea rattling around my head for some time as to whether a malt loaf could be recreated gluten free, I love Soreen® Malt Loaf and wanted Bethany to have the chance to eat it too, it would be perfect in her lunchboxes for example. The first loaf I made was the right flavours but definitely not the right texture, to be frank it was like a hard lump of playdough. The second loaf I worked on a better texture and lost the flavour in the process so for the third I threw caution to the wind and added an egg, reduced the oil, and hey-presto. I wanted to make a heavier, sticky type bread rather than a malty light loaf, after all, with your run of the mill shop brought malt loaf you often find yourself sucking it off your teeth for the next 20 minutes, which let’s face it is half the fun. If you try this recipe for yourself and add your own tweaks that work I’d love to hear about them.
How to make a gluten free malt paste
To make the ‘Malt’ paste I knew I had to capture all the malty rich flavour without the barley content. it took me a long time to get the right flavour and a consistency that can be used in several different recipes.
- 120 g snacking prunes
- 50 g dried snacking figs
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 50 g butter or dairy free alternative
- 1 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder for deeper colour
- 150 ml dairy free milk I used soya milk here
It’s worth pointing out that I’ve also made this Gluten Free Malt Loaf using brown bread mixes too, and while they work really well, they do tend to have a shorter shelf life as they tend to go quite hard in texture the following day, so this updated version of my recipe has been developed over and over again with gluten free flours until I was happy with the end result.
How to make a flax egg
to make 1 flax egg you need the following ingredients:
– 1tbsp ground flax seed
– 3tbsp water
– 1tsp psyllium husk (optional but does add elasticity to baking)
Simply add all ingredients to a glass and stir before measuring out the other recipe ingredients, by the time you come to use your ‘egg’ mixture it will have thickened to a frog-spawn consistency (thicker if you added psyllium husk)
Then just add to your baking as you would an egg. For 2 eggs double the ingredients but note that recipes that require more than two eggs may fail due to lack of support in the structure.
Different ways to serve my Gluten Free Malt Loaf
Surely there’s only one way to serve a slab of malt loaf and that’s slathered with butter, or in my case dairy free spread. Have you heard of the phenomenon that is cheese and fruit cake? I’ve yet to try it but I wonder if my gluten free malt loaf would lend itself to this party for the taste buds too? Hmmm, I’m going to give it a go and report back.
As malt loaf seems to be a popular lunchbox filler I’d also suggest making these in tiny loaf tins too so the children (or adults, this isn’t an age exclusive bake) can enjoy a deliciously filling bake with their lunches to see them through to dinner time.
Other recipes that are similar to this Gluten Free Malt Loaf
There’s my very own delicious fat free Gluten Free Bara Brith that’s a traditional Welsh Tea Loaf that’s actually made with tea! Other delicious fruity loaves I’d recommend are Free From Fairy’s Gluten Free Barm Brack which is a traditional Irish fruit loaf that is often eaten around Halloween. You also have Free From Farmhouse’s Fruity Flap Jack Fingers, now admittedly this is not a loaf recipe but I’ve eaten this over Emma’s house before and it’s super delicious and packed with fruit, so that counts right?
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Other gluten free loaf recipe inspiration
Gluten free Malt Loaf Recipe
- 120 g snacking prunes
- 50 g dried snacking figs
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 50 g butter or dairy free alternative
- 1 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder for deeper colour
- 150 ml dairy free milk I used soya milk here
- 200 g self raising gluten free flour
- 50 g Coconut sugar or dark brown sugar
- 1 egg or chia seed egg
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 100 g currants
- 1 tsp treacle
- 1 tsp water
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To make the 'malt' paste add all the paste ingredients; prunes, figs, treacle, sugar, butter (or alternative), cocoa and vanilla to a blender and blitz until smooth.
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Add the egg (or chia seed egg made from 1tbsp chia seeds and 3tbsp water) and milk to the blender and mix to combine, finally add enough warm water to loosen the paste and blitz one last time. Transfer ‘malt’ liquid to a large bowl.
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Next add the currants and finally sift in the flour and 1 tbsp of baking powder, fold quickly to combine, the mixture will form a thick sticky batter
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I chose to use a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe, I imagine a 1lb tin would also work as there is not a huge rise on this bake, but you might lose the familiar malt loaf shape? I then sprayed the loaf tin with an oil spray and coated the sides with a little flour mix to prevent sticking and aid the bake in rising.
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Once you’ve added the mixture to the tin, smooth down the batter with the back of a wet spatula, this will create a more appealing finish on the loaf.
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While you set to work on the washing up (!) allow your loaf to prove in a warm place for 20mins. Today’s warm place was in the garden in the sunshine!
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The loaf will not rise very much (if at all) but have faith. Using a palette knife or spatula, free the sides of the dough from the loaf tin to help the bake to rise evenly as possible.
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Make a foil hat (foil with an expansion fold in it)
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Place the tin with the foil hat onto a baking tray in the oven on 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas 7 and set the timer for 30 mins.
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10. After 30 mins remove the tin foil hat to allow the bake for a further 5-10 mins to brown on top.
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11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before glazing with 1tsp treacle mixed with 1tsp water, this is quite a dense loaf so the cooling process takes a bit longer than average.
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12. Enjoy with a cuppa and loads of butter or dairy free spread.
A post packed with 20 delicious Autumn/Winter inspired comfort foods made gluten free, dairy free and in most cases egg free too
— Life’s a drama, gluten free doesn’t have to be
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Having emigrated to Australia I really missed malt loaves so I went searching for a recipe this morning, I didn’t do the glaze as had no treacle and used molasses in the actual loaf – definite tick of approval from us both – thank you.
I love this so much, thank you for taking the time to come back and leave me some feedback Marianne. Love the fact that you switch the treacle to molasses. The end product would have just been ever so slightly less sweet. Thank you again. Rebecca x
I have craved malt loaf for so long it was such a fabulous recipe that I didn’t even wait for it to be totally cold before I had a slice. Hubby rarely had Soreen pre gluten free but he had 2 slices of this and loved it. Will be on the menu regularly now, best recipe I found and I searched a lot of them, thank you for having the patience to keep trialling until you get the recipes spot on 🥰
Oh Marianne, THIS is why I do what I do, it’s often a thankless task and costs a fortune is ingredients and fuel costs but your comment has made it 110% worthwhile xxx
This recipe is spot on! My 3-year old coeliac loves it and so does the rest of the family. Thanks for sharing it :)
This has made my day, thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment Maria, it’s a rare thing to get feedback so I’m thrilled to hear your 3yr old loves it. Happy Baking xxx
I missed soreen so much! I was directed to this recipe on the coeliac Facebook group I’m in! I have to say… I’m impressed! Not sure if I missed it but I couldn’t see where to add the sugar so I just put it in at the same time as the currants. It’s not ‘quite’ the same texture as soreen but it’s amazing either way! Just eaten half the loaf with lashings of butter! I’m not vegan or dairy free either so used full fat milk and found I didn’t need any water to loosen the malt mix. Definitely making this again! Thank you so much!!
Oh thank you so much for your wonderful comment Danielle this has just made my day after a tough week. Yes it’s not quite like the original in texture (I had to stop trying to perfect what could not be perfected before I went totally bonkers) but I’m thrilled you agree on the flavour, THAT is what I was aiming for. Thank you once again for commenting it means so much. Rebecca xx
Thank you for this delicious recipe. It is the best malt loaf I’ve tasted and gluten free too. I used sultanas instead of currants as I find them a bit gritty. The second batch I made I did double so I could freeze a couple of loaves – freezes well too. Thanks again
And THIS comment is why I do what I do…thank you so much Ann I love this more than you can imagine x
Thank you for this fab recipe. I’ve made it twice already for my 3 year old coeliac daughter and we’ve all enjoyed it. There is no mention in the steps of when to add the butter. I’ve added it in step 1 and the result has been good. Thanks again :)
Thank you so much for finding the time to comment Maria – I kind of rely on people like you to proof read for me! It’s rare that I get the time to write my recipes up so when i do it like my life depends on it! My son gets very agitated but the way I ‘hammer on the keyboard’ hahaha.
does it have to be non cows milk or is that just personal choice. My little boy has just been diagnosed coeliac and he adores malt loaf, so I am definitely going to try this thanks
Hi there Claire, the non-milk option is if you can’t tolerate dairy. You can of course use cows milk … another tip if you can have dairy is if you have some, I’d add a tablespoon of milk powder (Marvel) to the ‘malt paste’ as this will really bring out a ‘malty’ flavour. I hope you love it aas much as we do. Rebecca x
Just made this and it’s perfectly delicious!
I’m thrilled to hear this Nikki, t hank you for taking the time to comment. have an awesome 2020 xx
Hi, how much warm water i cannot find it on the recipe. Thank you
Sorry Caroline thank you for your comment and bringing my mistake to my attention. I kinda rely on readers to do my proof reading for me, lazy I know but life is busy here and I can’t always spend the time I’d like on each post. It’s just enough warm water to loosen the ‘malt paste’ it can be quite thick otherwise, especially if using a chia egg. I’d suggest a tablespoon at a time…one may be just fine. Let me know how it goes xx
Oh well done on creating a gluten free version – I imagine that is no mean feat! I am firmly in the fruit cake plus cheese camp – LOVE IT! But it’s got to be a really strong cheddar for me! Eb x
I made this yesterday. It is very nice although I don’t think my processor is powerful enough because I still have fig seeds in the cake (not unpleasant – it is like popping candy!). I might swap figs for dates next time – or buy a new food processor! Thank you for sharing the recipe. We are enjoying eating it. Helen
Haha, yes I do get the odd ‘popping candy’ myself, if you do decide to swap fig for dates, then consider reducing the sugar a wee bit as the dates are far more sweet. Glad you liked it.
oh wow! I LOVE malt loaf and have been known to demolish an entire loaf in one sitting covered in butter!!!! This looks incredible and I will be trying it !! thank you for sharing it with #Bakeoftheweek and making me really want some malt loaf right now!!! xx
I could reply with ‘good heavens, really?’ … but I’d be fake surprised, I too have been known to eat a whole Soreen back in the day when I ate dairy and egg!
I’ve never made a malt loaf before but yours look so good. I love how sticky it is! It would be perfect for snack time.
Well now’s definitely the time to have a go Corina xx
Yum I love malt loaf! Especially slathered in butter!
Loads of butter is the LAW! hahaha
Anything with prunes at the top of the ingredient list gets my vote! Your malt loaf looks gorgeously sticky. Thank you for bringing it to #CookBlogShare
Thank you Monika, I’m in excellent company this week. I too love prunes, such an obvious gluten free alternative to barley malt extract (with a few other ingredients to heighten that familiar flavour). Also great to find a gluten free bake packed with fibre too.
Oh My, Oh My, Oh My! This looks squidgily lush and quite genius. I adore malt loaf and have always wanted to but never have, baked one. Jolly well pinned! Thank you so much for bringing this to #BakingCrumbs
Hehe thank you Jenny, I’ve literally just finished off the last of my latest malt loaf with loads of pure spread and a cup of tea for my working lunch – thrilled to bits with this recipe, no one needs to miss out now, everyone gets ‘Malt’ Loaf xx
I adore sweet, chewy and sticky malt loaf and am so pleased to hear that you’ve nailed gluten-free version! It looks absolutely beautiful, so nice and dense – perfect crumb on a perfect malt loaf! Thank you for sharing with #BakingCrumbs x
Aww thank you so much Jo, that means a lot to me, got a right proud grin on my face now xx
Can any brown bread mix be used please?