My sister is 80 years old and still smoking and does not have a problem with it. She can and has quit before, but gains weight and she had rather risk smoking than be fat. Both her and her husband are addicted to booze and cigs, neither suffer any damage to due to those things. Smoking is a nasty habit, I tried it, hated it and did not indulge.

Oh, boy, I had to dig deep in files in the basement for this one (LOL)... This information comes from a large number of articles in my file. I'd also suggest you do your own research on the subject so you gain a better understanding for yourself. Malt can be non-diastatic and diastatic. It's one of those things that is so ridiculously cheap to make from sprouted grain, you can make a lifetime supply with a 1-cup of grain (but I suggest to start with no more than 1/2-cup). - Non-diastatic malt is primarily used to add flavor, sweetness and color to the crust, but it will also add to the food supply for yeast. - Diastatic malt will do the same as non-diastatic malt, and in addition, supplies amylase enzymes. The amylase enzymes convert starches to maltose sugars and will also increase the softness in the dough. - "Mills typically put in 1/10% malted barley flour (barley because barley malt is cheaper than wheat malt) to provide diastase (enzyme), which converts the starch in damaged starch granules to sugars that are utilizable by the yeast over an extended ferment. The use of more diastatic malt than this can result in slack, sticky dough, and will not improve yeast action." - Diastatic malt powder is powdered malted grain, usually barley, but wheat and rice may also be malted. Diastatic refers to the diastatic enzymes that are created as the grain sprouts. It does all of sugar's jobs and has none of the shortcomings, so when malt is added to dough, it essentially gets a nutritional boost, not like the empty, non-nutritive sugar calories. - Malt extract is used the same as diastatic malt powder. - Malt syrup is a sweetener. Replace a tablespoon of sugar or sweetener in a bread recipe with 1/2 t. of diastatic malt powder, OR, 2 T. of malt extract. Add malt extract to the warm water if proofing bakers' yeast. "Adding barley malt, malt syrup, or malted flour ALL help break down big molecules of starch into simple sugars that yeast can use. For maximum sweeteness add a tablespoon of baking malt syrup (source: CookWise)." - How to make your own diastatic malt powder: Sprout 1/2-cup of wheat berries by covering them (plus 1") with water in a jar for 12-hours (or so - overnight). Drain. Rinse with clean water and drain again. Add a an open cover to your jar (I use a mesh sprouting lid). Leave the jar in a dark place for 2-3 days (or until the sprout is as long as the wheat berry). Be sure to rinse the grain once or twice each day. To dry the wheat, place on a sheet in a dehydrator and dry at 100-degrees F., until completely dry. Do NOT dry at a temperature above 130-degrees or you will kill the enzymes. When completely dry, grind the dried sprouted grain into flour and use approximately 1 t. per loaf. It should add a nice "wheaty" note. Check King Arthur Flour for more information at the link below. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: King Arthur Flour - diastatic malt powder

I agree with Linda. I've only used malt powder, and it was sweet like molasses, but of course has its own distinct flavor. I think if you used 1-1/2 tbsp molasses and half a tsp of brewers' yeast, you might get a somewhat similar flavor. Since I haven't tried this, I would recommend combining the yeast with the molasses and see how it tastes. This is pure speculation on my part, but I think the flavors are similar. You could also use maple syrup instead or make your own malt substitute from sprouted wheat berries. Lars Here is a link that might be useful: Make your own malt substitute

"Sugars" are not just one thing, nor are they from one source when dealing with bread making. You don't say what type of bread you are making that requires barley malt syrup, and that would be helpful information. -Table (white) sugar is 50% fructose and 50% glucose. -A bread making favorite of mine because it retards mold, staling, and aids in keeping bread "fresh" longer is agave nectar, which is between 56% and 92% fructose. -Honey, a great choice if you are going to freeze your bread (a well-documented topic in bread science), is 20% water, 30% glucose, 40% fructose, 1% sucrose. Sugar is hygroscopic and attracts and bonds to moisture. It keeps water from evaporating and reduces staling which is why enriched breads last much longer than lean breads. However, too much sugar in a bread recipe can damage gluten development as well as damaging yeast because sugar draws water from yeast and inhibits its growth. That why some sweet dough recipes include extra yeast to compensate for the higher percentage of sugar. They often require more kneading to develop gluten when they have a high percentage of sweetener in them; and they also take much longer to rise. You could use Osmotolerant Instant Active Dry Yeast (Fermipan Brown or SAF Gold), which is recommended for use in dough characterized as sweet, salty or low absorption. The osmosis is the means by which yeast cells absorb oxygen and nutrients and give off enzymes and other substances. This type of yeast is beneficial in certain types of recipes because osmotic tolerance is called for because the amount of available water in the dough is limited. Two tablespoons of sugar per cup of flour is about the maximum you can add without major gluten damage. "When dough contains a lot of sugar, the two gluten proteins link with sugar instead of with each other. Glutenin combines with sugar, gliadin combines with sugar, and very little gluten is formed." So what about barley malt syrup....? It's primarily maltose. You often find barley malt, barley malt syrup, or malted flour in sweet breads like Hawaiian Bread or Portuguese Sweet Bread to not only add sweetness, but it's not as detrimental to gluten formation as table sugar. Barley also contains enzymes that help break down big molecules of starch into the simple sugars that yeast can use. All sugars interfere with gluten development, but all sugars are not identical. Glucose, which is corn syrup, browns at lower temperatures than many sugars. Most sugars are hygroscopic and absorb water from the atmosphere. BUT, fructose, which is one of the two sugars in white table sugar, is more hygroscopic than most. That's why agave nectar and honey helps keep bread moist longer - they have higher amounts of fructose than sugar. FYI (free of charge information) - Yeast doesn't like lactose, the sugar in milk, so I avoid proofing yeast in milk, although you will find recipes that do that. Breads that contain milk/dairy products have more residual sugars than those containing only sucrose. You'll have to do your own research on the nutritional aspect. I'm in the middle of making potato soup for lunch and it needs my attention. Good luck on your studies. -Grainlady