In the latest Cook's Illustrated (Sept.-Oct. 2014) there is a wonderful article on making "Authentic Baguettes" at home! The crumb and crust are just beautiful. They use a product called diastatic malt powder and now I feed the need to hunt the web and buy some. The reason for using it is that "during the long proofing time, nearly all the sugars in the dough are consumed by the yeast. Since sugars are responsible for browning and caramelization, this will leave the crust pale and dull tasting. Adding diastatic malt powder, derived from a naturally occurring enzyme that converts the starchs in flour into sugar, guarantees a supply of sugar at baking time and thus a crust that browns and caramelizes."
Has anyone out there used this product? I have experienced the pale crust that they describe and thought it must be a home oven vs. pro equipment.