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You will love this Gluten-Free Malt Loaf which has all the familiar hallmarks of your favourite dark treacly loaf but is made without malt extract and without xanthan gum. Sticky, a little chewy, intense with fruit and bags of malty flavour. And you know it’s made all the better with the requisite lashings of salted butter.
If you have fond happy memories of the squidgy delights of Soreen Malt Loaf then this gluten-free recreation of your favourite childhood snack will have you reaching out for the cake tin at every available opportunity. It’s the perfect afternoon or mid-morning treat.
Table of contents
Does Malt Loaf contain gluten?
Traditional Malt Loaf gets its name from the Malt extract which gives the loaf its signature flavour and texture. However, malt is not gluten-free since it is derived from barley.
Gluten-free malt substitute
To achieve that lovely malty flavour for our Gluten-Free Malt Loaf we have to turn to our other ingredients, which build together to create a deliciously complex faux malty flavour:
- An overripe banana
- Black tea
- Medjool dates
- Black treacle
- Teff flour
- Sorghum flour
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Sticky. Achieved from all our lovely dried fruit, rich treacle and sticky sweet rice flour.
- Chewy. Soreen has an almost fudgey constistency, here we have the same thing.
- Fits every occasion. Whether you are craving a sweet or salty mid-afternoon treat, this Malt Loaf will be your saviour.
- Wonderful malted flavour (without using any actual malt!)
- No xanthan gum. Too many gluten-free bakes rely on xanthan gum for texture and structure. With this loaf, it’s just not needed.
READ MORE >>> Why I never bake with xanthan gum
Watch to see how to make it
Gluten-free flours
This recipe requires a blend of 3 naturally gluten-free flours to achieve the perfect texture and flavour for our Gluten-Free Malt Loaf:
Sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
This starchy flour is incredibly important in creating the exact squidgy texture you would expect from a traditional Malt Loaf. Sweet rice flour is very sticky and when used as the majority flour in a recipe it can give a gorgeous chew to a bake. It is also great for binding your flour blend together.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Sweet Rice Flour
Sorghum flour
This wholegrain flour is used for its deliciously earthy flavour which works with the teff flour to create our faux malt feel.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Sorghum Flour
Teff flour
This is a very flavourful wholegrain flour which has hints of molasses and is a wonderful background note to the complex flavours of this loaf.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Teff Flour
Ingredients needed
- Whole milk. To make this Malt Loaf dairy-free you can swap for a plant based alternative. Oat milk, almond milk or cashew milk work very well here.
- Hot tea. English breakfast tea or assam tea are lovely choices.
- Medjool dates. The sticky caramelly dates are what is needed here for their fudgy texture.
- Sultanas. You can swap for raisins but I prefer the texture of sultanas here.
- Banana. This helps add chew and a gentle background flavour to the loaf.
- Sugar. Dark brown muscovado sugar is required here for its lovely molasses flavour and rich moist texture.
- Black treacle. This is a very British ingredient with a unique flavour which is a signature of a good Malt Loaf. You can substitute for black molasses if you can’t get hold of it.
- Gluten-free flour. A blend of sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour), sorghum flour and teff flour as above. I do not recommend substituting for a regular gluten-free flour blend as it will not give our loaf the right texture or flavour.
- Egg. This recipe uses a medium sized egg, about 60g. This recipe has not been tested with a vegan egg replacement.
- Sea salt. To amp up all the other flavours.
- Raising agents. Both baking powder and bicarbonate of soda are needed here for rise and tender crumb.
- Apricot jam. This is used to brush the surface of the Malt Loaf after it has baked for a glistening look. It can be omitted or swapped for honey.
Step-by step instructions
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Date mixture. Soak dates in hot tea and milk then blend.
- Treacle mixture. Warm treacle, brown sugar and sultanas in a saucepan.
- Mix wet ingredients. Mix the blended date mixture with the treacle mixture and the bananas until combined.
- Dry ingredients. Whisk flours with bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
- Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Until combined. Pour into a loaf tin.
- Bake. For 45 minutes.
Pro tips
- Brewing the tea. Weigh out 100ml of just-boiled water and add your black tea bag. Brew the tea bag in the water for 2 minutes before removing the bag.
- If you don’t have a blender, you can use a food processor to mix the date mixture. Alternatively, you can diced the dates up very small before you soak them in the hot tea and milk and avoid blending entirely.
- Always sift your dark brown muscovado sugar as it has a tendency to clump and won’t mix well with the other ingredients.
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How to store
Wrap up well in baking parchment and store in an airtight container in a cool dark place for up to 5 days.
How to freeze
Allow the Malt Loaf to fully cool. You can freeze the Malt Loaf whole for up to 2 months. Wrap up well in cling film and aluminium foil to avoid freezer spoilage.
However, my favourite way to freeze Malt Loaf is to slice the whole loaf up and wrap up each individual slice in cling film. Store the slices in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. You can defrost a slice of Malt Loaf individually by warming up in the toaster for a couple of minutes. The sugars in the Malt Loaf caramelise and it tastes incredible spread with melted salted butter.
Other recipes you’ll love
- Gluten-Free White Sandwich Loaf
- Banana Oat Bread
- Coconut Lime Drizzle Cake
- Happiness Bread
- Plantain Bread
- Gluten-Free Banana Bread with Ground Almonds
- Blueberry Basil Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Rice Flour Madeira Cake
I urge you to give this Gluten-Free Malt Loaf a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Gluten-Free Malt Loaf
Ingredients
- 120 ml whole milk
- 100 ml tea - hot and freshly brewed
- 150 g medjool dates - about 8, pitted and diced
- 80 g black treacle
- 75 g sultanas
- 40 g dark brown muscovado sugar
- 1 banana - mashed
- 150 g sweet rice flour - glutinous rice flour
- 80 g sorghum flour
- 70 g teff flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 egg - medium, 60g
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam - warmed through in a saucepan
Instructions
- Pour the milk and hot tea into a large measuring jug and add the dates, making sure they are fully submerged. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Blend the date mixture until smooth using an immersion blender.
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C / 150°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 4 and line and grease a 9 inch loaf tin.
- Pour the treacle, sugar and sultanas into a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has melted into the treacle.
- Turn off the heat then add to the blended date mixture along with the mashed banana, stirring well to combine.
- Whisk the flours together in a large mixing bowl with the bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
- Make a well in the centre of the flours and whisk in the egg and the date/sugar/banana mixture.
- Bring the flours into the liquid ingredients then stir everything together until completely combined.
- Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until an inserted metal skewer comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, turn out of the tin and cool on a wire rack.
- When the loaf is at room temperature, brush the surface liberally with the warmed apricot jam then wrap in greaseproof paper and store in an airtight container. Leave the loaf to mature for at least 24 hours before serving so the loaf gets lovely and sticky.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Gluten-free flours. I do not recommend swapping any of the flours in this recipe if you can as they have been carefully chosen for the right texture and consistency. If you have issues of availability then the teff flour or the sorghum flour can be replaced with oat flour but you will lose some of the malty flavour.
- Whole milk. For a dairy-free version you can swap for a plant based alternative. Oat milk, cashew milk or almond milk are the best choices.
- Egg. This recipe has not been tested with an egg substitute.
Baking Tips
- Brewing the tea. Weigh out 100ml of just-boiled water and add your black tea bag. Brew the tea bag in the water for 2 minutes before removing the bag.
- If you don’t have a blender, you can use a food processor to mix the date mixture. Alternatively, you can diced the dates up very small before you soak them in the hot tea and milk and avoid blending entirely.
- Always sift your dark brown muscovado sugar as it has a tendency to clump and won’t mix well with the other ingredients.
Gill says
So, yesterday, I had an ‘off’ day in the kitchen. I decided to make this lovely Malt Loaf, again, as it’s such a great recipe. I had my various bowls of ingredients, mixed and lined up, ready to go and switched my stick blender on, in one bowl. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise that the handle hadn’t clicked into place properly, so I switched it off, to sort it out but accidentally caught it with my wrist. It fell and first knocked the bowl of warm treacle mixture over, then in trying to catch it, I knocked the stick blender in the other direction and the whole bowl of liquid ingredients spilled all over my digital scales, the worktop, the floor and dribbled, slowly, down the front of the kitchen cabinets, too. The kitchen, now resembling a Jackson Pollock artwork, was one very wet, sticky mess.
Never one to be beaten, I decided to use a large spatula and try and salvage the spilled ingredients that remained on the worktop. Waste not, want not, eh! I cooked it, fully expecting it to end up being thrown into the bin BUT surprisingly, it turned out really well. I’ve just tried some and I’m happy to say it’s just as delish, as the last one I made. So glad I persevered!
Penny says
You're such a clever baker Georgina. You stand out (way in front) from the other gluten-free recipe writers because of your pioneering work on using imaginative and effective flour blends. I've used Teff sparingly in the past because I'm not a huge fan of the flavour. (It falls into buckwheat territory for me and I don't care for that.) Anyway, here it was a triumph and tickled my taste buds delightfully.
I thank you, even though I'm not sure my waistline does ; )
Please, please publish an offline recipe book . You'd do it beautifully and it would sell like hot cakes. x
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Penny, you are so kind and what a lovely comment to receive. I would love to write a cookbook - it would be a dream come true - hopefully in the next couple of years!
Penny says
There's a space reserved for it on my kitchen bookshelf.
Penny Vere says
Interesting that you use malt, as malt is a biproduct of germinating barley, it has never been on our gluten free list? Maybe you are talking of something different as I am in Canada and perhaps the name suggests a different product. Anyway, great recipe, I will use honey instead of the malt and am sure I will get the nice darkness with the blackstrap molasses. It looks to be a sure favorite.
Jo says
Made this loaf last night and couldn’t wait two days! Just served it up with tea for the in laws - wow love it ❤️
Georgina says
So happy you enjoyed it - thank you for sharing!
Leigh-Ann says
When you say malt extract do you mean liquid extract or Horlicks? I have used Horlicks (the add milk type) and my mixture is more bread like than a batter.... let’s see what it looks like in the next hour.
Georgina says
Hi Leigh-Ann, malt extract is a liquid extract which you buy in a bottle and is pure malt rather than a powdered drink like Horlicks which has other stuff added to it as well. You can get malt extract at most big supermarkets in the UK. The one I used is Rayners Essentials Malt Extract 340g
. The recipe won't be the same using Horlicks, it will definitely be drier without such a deep intense flavour. Also you won't achieve the sticky surface on the loaf without brushing the malt extract on - but you can always substitute with honey.
Luke Hartley says
I'm so excited I nearly did a little clap of happiness at work. But crucially, didn't...so credibility still intact. 🙂