How to Process Oat

Process your own oats for a delicious breakfast.

Oats can be used in many ways and in various forms. If you have your own oats fresh from the harvest or have purchased unprocessed oats from a feed store or bulk wholesaler, you might be wondering how to get them ready for eating. Oats can be fed to livestock, ground for use as flour in baking and eaten whole or rolled as a hearty breakfast. Use one of several methods to prepare your oats for human consumption.

Things You'll Need

• Oats
• Cookie sheet
• Oven
• Flaker mill

Instructions

1. Separate any debris, such as stones and sticks, from the oats. This can be done by hand or with the use of specialized machinery designed specifically for screening unwanted material.

2. Hull the oats and discard the hulls. This is generally done with specialized equipment rather than at home. Moving air readily separates the hulls. Commercial operations use aspirators, while a small fan or gentle breeze outdoors can be used at home.

3. Spread the oats on a cookie sheet and toast them in an oven at about 215 degrees Fahrenheit. This will make the oats more palatable and give them a richer flavor. If you were unable to hull the oats previously, the hulls will puff up at this stage and be easily removable with a roller mill.

4. Run the oats through a flaker mill to make home-rolled oats for a more palatable oat. Unrefined oat kernels, known as groats, require a long soaking period before cooking and are much chewier than oats that have been flaked.

5. Grind your hulled oats to make oat flour, which can be used for baking. Oats can be ground in a food processor or blender, though it may take some time to achieve a powder that is fine enough.

Tips & Warnings

• Oats are usually considered safe for most people with celiac disease and those following gluten-free diets, though wheat contamination can cause problems.

References

• North American Millers' Association: Oat Milling
• Celiac.com: The Celiac Disease Oat Conundrum
• The Cook's Thesaurus: Oats