How to Make Grout Oatmeal Cakes

Oats are an especially nutritious grain.

Oats are a highly nutritious grain, but quick to spoil if not handled correctly. They contain an enzyme that acts on the oils in the grain, turning it rancid in as little as a few weeks. To prevent this, oats are given a gentle roasting at the beginning of the milling process. This par-cooking deactivates the enzyme and gives the oats a mild but pleasant nuttiness. The partially cooked oats are called groats, sometimes spelled grouts in older cookbooks. Finely milled groats, called "steel-cut" oatmeal here, can be used instead of rolled oats to bake oatcakes. Does this Spark an idea?

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1 1/2 cups fine steel-cut oats
Food processor
1/2 cup flour or whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Mixing bowl
1/4 cup melted butter or shortening
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
Wooden spoon
Round cookie cutter
Parchment-lined baking sheet

Instructions

- 1
  
  Place the oats in your food processor and pulse, repeatedly, until they are the texture of cornmeal. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the oats.
- 2
  
  Add the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda and pulse again until they're well mixed. Turn this mixture out into a mixing bowl and add the butter or shortening and the buttermilk. Begin with the smaller quantity of buttermilk and mix by hand or with a wooden spoon to make a stiff dough, adding extra buttermilk as necessary.
- 3
  
  Sprinkle your counter with the reserved oats and roll out the dough to one-quarter inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2- or 3-inch rounds, and arrange the oatcakes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine and re-roll the trim pieces until you've used up all the dough.
- 4
  
  Bake the oatcakes at 325 F for 20 to 25 minutes -- until lightly golden at the edges. They can be eaten warm or cold.

Tips & Warnings

If you are unable to find steel-cut oats, you can substitute the large-flake "old-fashioned" oats and follow the same method.
This recipe makes an oatcake that's only slightly sweet. You can double the sugar, if you wish, to make it sweeter.