How to Make Oat Flour in 2 Easy Steps

Eating healthy begins with understanding that the food you may eat at home regularly may not be the healthiest for you. This doesn't mean your home food isn't good for you, but maybe the components of your meals aren’t contributing as much as they should for completing your dietary needs when we look for healthier alternatives, especially in cereals and flour, one alternative that is more famous than most is oats flour. In this article, we shall understand what is oat flour, and how to make oat flour in just 2 easy steps! We shall also note down some healthy and fun oat flour recipes we can use to incorporate this healthy flour into our diet seamlessly.

What is Oat Flour?

Oats flour is just ground-up oats, that have been ground until it is a semi-fine powder. Yes, it’s that simple! Oats and oats flour can almost be classified as a superfood due to its variety of nutritional benefits. This healthy flour is very high in soluble dietary fiber (beta-glucan), high in good plant-based protein, and contains a host of micronutrients like essential vitamins and minerals. These benefits of oat flour make it the perfect alternative to wheat flour, as who would say no to all these pros, especially when it’s found in one simple ingredient?

What Type of Oats Can Be Used to Make Oat Flour?

Before we understand how to make oat flour from oats, let us understand the types of oats that are found in the market. We have steel-cut oats, which are oats groats that got broken into small pieces after harvesting in a spinning machine. Old-fashioned oats are the large oat groats of steel-cut oats that remained after sifting and then rolled between large pins and flattened. Rolled oats are old-fashioned oats that have been lightly toasted and steamed to make them easier to cook. Furthermore, quick oats are simply a smaller version of rolled oats, as they are cut into smaller pieces before being rolled and toasted. And finally, probably the most famous form of oats is instant oatmeal, which is simply oats that have been pre-cooked with flavorings and sweeteners before being dried and packaged.

How to Make Oat Flour

Now that we understand what kinds of oats we can use while making oat flour, let us understand this simple 2-step process, which lets you whip up your favorite flour anytime you want! The quantities for the same are according to your requirements, but a general rule of thumb is that one cup of rolled oats will give you roughly one cup with 2 tablespoons removed, or about 0.9 cups of oats flour, while one cup of steel-cut oats will give you about 2 cups of flour.

Step 1- Blend the Oats: Add your choice of oats into a food processor or blender. Turn the blender on the lowest speed until the oats have been roughly chopped (for about 20-30 seconds). Blitz the oats some more to get an even finer texture for your flour, as finer flour is easier to use and substitute in various recipes.

Step 2- Store the Flour: Voila! Your homemade oat flour is ready! You can remove it from the food processor and let it cool in a baking tray for some time if you wish to use it later. Or you can directly use it, or store it in a resealable airtight container and use it for up to 3 months.

Oat Flour Recipes

Now that we have understood how to make oat flour at home, let's explore how we can use this delicious, nutritious super flour and put it to good use! There are several recipes with oat flour available online, and we here at Rotimatic have listed down some ideas for delicious ways to incorporate oat flour into your diet.

1. Recipes That Require Rising:

For recipes that require rising due to gluten development, like bread, rolls, or biscuits, you cannot use oat flour entirely but you can substitute up to half of the amount of wheat/all-purpose flour in the recipe with your homemade oat flour, without impacting the result. You will get a slightly denser but equally tasty outcome!

2. Denser Bakes:

Denser bakery items like cookies and brownies, that do not require rising as much, have recipes that can handle a larger or complete substitution of all-purpose flour with oats flour. The more oat flour in the recipe, the chewier the product, so substituting half the flour requirement with oat flour is the most ideal for a more nutritious but still texturally sound product.

3. Cakes or Pastries:

When making cakes but you want to make them healthier with an oat flour recipe, replace up to ¼ of the flour requirement with oat flour. Adding more will lead to a very sense and chewy cake, which will impact the end product.

4. Gluten-free Recipes:

When making gluten-free recipes, feel free to use oat flour as 100% of the flour requirement. You may need to add extra leavening agents like baking soda or an extra egg to help in binding and increasing moistness. The flour will absorb moisture while it is being heated while cooking/baking, so more moisture-rich ingredients are key to getting a dense but soft and delicious product.

5. In Smoothies or Smoothie Bowls:

You can sprinkle or add a few tablespoons of oats flour to your smoothie bowls or protein smoothies to give them a delicious and nutritious boost! You can even toast the flour and add it on top as a garnish and as an extra element to elevate your morning pick-me-up.

6. Flatbreads:

You can even use oat flour to make flatbreads like tortillas, or even oats roti! These flatbreads pair well with most Indian curries or continental meat preparations or can be used as a base for homemade quesadillas, shawarmas, rolls, or pizzas. With Rotimatic, you can use several gluten-free healthy flour alternatives like oat flour to make a variety of Indian and continental flatbreads.

Storage Instructions

You can store homemade oat flour in an airtight container for up to 3 months if stored at room temperature. If you are planning to freeze your flour, then store it in airtight containers in a freezer for up to 6 months.

Expert Tips & Tricks

As mentioned above, oat flour doesn't have gluten, so other additives may need to be added like baking soda, baking powder, or extra eggs, to help create a light and fluffy texture in your baked products that require raising. If you are making a strictly gluten-free recipe for someone with gluten intolerance or celiac disease, be sure to only use certified gluten-free oats to make your flour. If you are using old-fashioned oats, the amount of flour you will get will be a touch less than the amount of oats used, while if you use steel-cut oats, the amount of flour you get will be double the amount of oats used.

FAQs

1. Is oat flour just ground-up oats?

Yes, oat flour is simply made from oats that have been ground into a powder in the blender or food processor.

2. How to make oat flour from whole oats?

You can make your homemade oats flour by blending old-fashioned oats or steel-cut oats in a blender for about 60 seconds until it has become a fine powder. Just remove and store, or use!

3. What is special about oat flour recipes?

Oat flour recipes are very special because of their high nutritional value! Oat flour is known to be high in fiber, protein, good fats, and carbohydrates, along with having a high number of essential micronutrients, which makes any oat flour recipe a power-packed super food for your body.

4. How much oat flour does 1 cup of oats equal?

After grinding into oat flour, 1 cup of oats equals about 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons of oat flour, if you are using instant or rolled oats.