Rolled Oats
Rolled oats are a staple in most houses. In my house, we use them for oatmeal, cookies, snack bars and so much more. But did you know that you can make your own rolled oats? You don’t even need expensive equipment to do it. In this post, I’ll show you how I roll my own oats and share some interesting information about it all.
Oat Groats
Oat groats are simply oat seeds. Just like wheat seeds have their own name (wheat berries), oat seeds are called groats. All rolled oats and steel cut oats start out as oat groats.
When looking to buy your own oat groats, there are a few places that will sell them. The first one, is Amazon. You can pretty much find anything on Amazon. That’s a great option for convenience, but I prefer to support local businesses and small online businesses whenever possible. For that reason, I recommend your local organic store.
Local stores that sell grains in bulk are wonderful for so many reasons. First of all, they support your local community. Second of all, they often have organic grains at close to the same price as what you see online. Finally, when you buy in bulk from a local store, you can often bring in your own jar or container. You simply have them weigh the jar before you fill it up and they take off that weight when you pay. This eliminates all packaging waste and keeps more plastic out of the landfill.
Finally, if you don’t want to shop at or don’t have a local organic market, Azure Standard has a wonderful selection of bulk grains. They deliver once a month and you can get a variety of organic food items in each delivery.
Rolled Oats VS Steel Cut Oats
The main difference between rolled oats and steel cut oats is simply how they are prepared. The method will change certain things about the oats, so it can be helpful to know the difference.
Rolled oats, when commercially produced, are steamed, then rolled flat. The steaming helps quickly soften the seeds so they can easily be flattened by rollers. The steaming process, however, reduces the nutrients in the seeds. Rolled oats have a creamier texture than steel cut oats and will take less time to cook. Most people prefer rolled oats for the more convenient characteristics like less cooking time.
Steel cut oats are whole oat seeds that are basically chopped up. They do not need to be steamed, so they retain nutrients much better when commercially processed. Steel cut oats are larger because they aren’t flattened by rollers, so they can take much longer to cook. They also result in a more chewy texture because they are thicker pieces of the grain. These are a great option when you want the highest nutrient count with a more hearty texture.
Homemade Rolled Oats
There are several advantages to making your own rolled oats. The first is great if you have some storage space. Whole grains will stay good for a very long time when stored properly. That means a cool, dry place free from pests and rodents. The recommended shelf life of properly stored oats is 8 years. Personally, I would store them for much, much longer with no concern as long as I saw no signs of spoilage.
When rolling your own oats, you don’t need to steam them, so you won’t be losing nutrients like commercially processed rolled oats.
Having the ability to choose the oats you use is another reason why homemade is better. I can choose the variety of oats I want to use and select only organic oats. That’s a big benefit for me. I don’t want to put a ton of pesticides in my body, so organic is what I’ll always choose.
How To Roll Oats
Soak The Oat Groats
While you don’t need to steam the oats, you do need to soak them. Fill a bowl with the oats you want to roll and make sure they are covered with at least 2 inches of water. Soak them overnight or for at least 8 hours. This will make them soft enough to roll out without crushing them like you would to make flour.
Roll The Oats
Using a pasta roller, feed the whole oats through the rollers and watch the magic happen. I set the dial to number 6 for the thickness, but feel free to play around with your settings to get the desired results. You could probably use a rolling pin for this in a pinch, but I would imagine it would me much more labor intensive. Using a pasta roller works well for the KitchenAid attachment variety and the hand crank variety.
Dry The Oats
Since you soaked the oats before rolling them, they’ll be wet. If you aren’t planning to use them right away, be sure to properly dry them before storing. I like to pop them in the dehydrator for about 30-45 minutes to make sure all the moisture is gone before pouring them into my oats jar.
Ways To Use Rolled Oats
No matter how you choose to use your rolled oats, once you make them yourself, you’ll be hooked. I never thought I’d be the mom who rolls her own oats (who does that?), but here I am! It takes very little time and when you can produce something at home that looks, tastes and feels exactly like what you see at the grocery store, it’s a good day. When that item is healthier and cheaper, even better.
Incorporating small things like this that can be make from scratch in your kitchen can make big difference in the health of your family. Small changes make big differences. Start now and you’ll see the rewards very soon.
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