Barley malt syrup rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 22 recipes to cook with it.

What is barley malt syrup?

Barley malt syrup is a thick, dark sweetener made from sprouted barley. The grain is malted, meaning it is allowed to germinate so its starches convert to sugar, then mashed and cooked down into a sticky syrup the color of dark molasses.

Its flavor is the whole reason to keep a jar around. It tastes deeply malty and toasty, like the crust of a good loaf, with only about half the sweetness of white sugar.

That gentle sweetness and rich color are why it belongs more in a bread bowl than a coffee cup.

Baking and Cooking With It

Bakers reach for it first. A spoonful in a yeast dough feeds the yeast and deepens both the flavor and the crust color, which is why it turns up in chewy, golden loaves like Authentic Italian Bread and Buckwheat Oat Bread.

Its signature job is bagels. The brief boil before baking is what gives a bagel its shiny, chewy skin. Barley malt syrup in that boiling water is the traditional touch that builds color and a malty tang.

You taste exactly that in Brooklyn Bagels. A spoonful also goes into the dough itself for the same reason in Best Homemade Hamburger Buns.

Beyond bread it works anywhere you want malty depth over plain sweetness. It enriches Easy Baked Beans, lends a darker note to Malted Rye Bread, and stirs into granola and marinades. Warm the jar in hot water first, since cold syrup is stubbornly thick and hard to measure.

Flavor and Pitfalls

Treat it as a flavor more than a sugar. It pairs with whole grains, rye, oats, nuts, and dark chocolate, and it is what gives a malted milkshake or malt loaf its signature taste.

Because it is only about half as sweet as sugar, swapping it one-for-one into a dessert leaves things flat and underwhelming. Use it where you want the malt character, not where you simply need things sweet.

The most common mistake is fighting its thickness. Straight from a cold jar it drips in a slow, sticky rope that clings to the spoon and the jar. Warming it and oiling the measuring spoon first lets it slide right off.

A second pitfall is its mild bitterness in the wrong dish. That toasty edge is a gift in bread but can turn muddy in a delicate, lightly flavored batter, so save it for hearty bakes.

Substitutes

The closest stand-in by flavor is brown rice syrup, which shares the thick body and restrained, gentle sweetness, though it is milder and less malty. Both are good for chewy textures.

Molasses matches the dark color and brings its own deep flavor, but it is more bitter and assertive, so use a little less and expect a different character.

Dark honey or maple syrup will sweeten and brown a bread, but they are noticeably sweeter and lack the malt note.

For the bagel boil specifically, a tablespoon of brown sugar or honey in the water gives color and a touch of sweetness, just without the true malt flavor. If you can find it, non-diastatic malt powder is the most faithful swap for that job.

Buying and Storing

Look for it in jars or tubs near the honey and molasses, or in the baking and natural-foods aisle. Read the label: pure barley malt syrup or extract is what you want, not a barley-and-corn blend, which is sweeter and less malty.

It is shelf-stable and forgiving. An unopened jar keeps for a year or more in a cool, dark cupboard. An opened one stays good for many months at room temperature thanks to its low moisture and high sugar.

Keep the rim and lid clean so they do not glue shut. Store the jar somewhere easy to reach, since you will likely warm it before each use.

If it ever crystallizes or stiffens, set the jar in a bowl of hot water to loosen it back to a pourable syrup.

Quick facts

In Chinese

大麦麦芽浆

British (UK) term

Barley malt syrup

en français

sirop de malt d'orge

en español

jarabe de malta de cebada

Recipes using barley malt syrup

There are 22 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 22 recipes