Herman Malt Loaf
Right, I know what you are thinking, I’m going to provide you a recipe for that amazingly sticky stuff that comes in a yellow packet, known in our house as “sticky cake”, common name: Soreen.
Well, sorry to disappoint but I’m not!
I will however provide you with an amazingly easy recipe, which makes two 1lb loaf tin loaves, two of which came out of our oven this morning and there is less than one left now! It is no sticky cake but it is pretty good even if I do say so myself.
Herman (Ever so slightly) Malt Loaf
- 400g strong bread flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 225g sultanas
- 3 tbsp malt extract
- 25g butter
- 85ml boiling water
- One 350g/12oz portion of Herman
Place the flour, salt and sultanas into a bowl and give a mix so the sultanas and salt are mixed in.
Put the malt extract and butter into a heat proof bowl or jug, pour on the boiling water. Mix this well until the malt extract and butter have completely dissolved. Leave this to cool until lukewarm.
Pour the liquid mix into the dry ingredients along with the portion of Herman and mix gently until completely combined. The mix will be thick and sticky.
Grease two 1lb/450g loaf tins. Divide the mixture equally into the two tins, then cover with cling film or put into a plastic bag. Leave this overnight to proof.
Herman Malt Loaf – ready for their overnight proof
First thing in the morning turn your oven on to 190C/Gas 5, once the oven is heated put the tins in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack.
That’s it! Simple as that! No kneading or anything. I am so happy, I think I will be making this rather a lot, kids love it too!
Straight out of the oven – have visibly risen
Very light inside nothing like malt loaf!
Cheeky Monkey Isabella pinching a bit just as I’d buttered it ready for a photo!
General Appearance: Actually looks like a fruit bread but very nice and golden on the top.
Aroma: Doesn’t have a very strong smell, just sweet and bready.
Texture: Quite a dense texture, which I was expecting, but also quite soft and lovely with the sultanas in, they seemed to absorb some of the moisture from the dough overnight so were nice and juicy.
Taste: Really lovely real bread taste, not as sweet as I was expecting which was great, very slight malt after taste.
As this bread is not too sweet I know I can add some more malt extract, maybe only another tablespoon and possibly some treacle to give it a darker look and deeper flavour but as it goes I think it is just perfect. Not a malt loaf as you’d imagine, maybe I should just change the name then there will be no malty expectations and it will be enjoyed just for what it is.
If you are new to bread baking or have never even baked a loaf of bread before this recipe is for you, I totally love it!
Let me know if you try it,
For now,
Catherine
PS. If you go out looking for Malt Extract it can be found in the vitamin section of most supermarkets and in health food shops, it is believed to have health benefits so what with the malt and sultanas in this loaf you can eat as much as you fancy 
Ah, was just wondering where to get malt extract when I saw your PS at the bottom – great! Have been wanting to get it for bread baking but not managed to get around to finding out where to actually get it from, but now I know where to look! Love all your Herman recipes, have got my first Herman sitting on the counter at the moment ready to be used today, and was wondering what to do with the portion I wasn’t giving away, so looking forward to trying some of your recipes.
Hi Jenny, lovely to meet you and to have a look round your blog, you have some delicious recipes there.
Really hope you enjoy having your Herman to stay, he is a great house mate and I can highly recommend the Malt Loaf recipe, one of my favourite Herman versions. It is great just sliced but also can be toasted.
Let me know how you get on with your Herman and if you do try any recipes