Oat Flour

We have often used oatmeal in our daily diet; but using oat flour is a rare case. This flour is made using whole oats which can be finely or coarsely grounded to make the flour. Whole oat flour is more nutritious as it contains all the nutritional qualities of oats. It is often used as a substitute for any of the gluten containing flour like wheat, rye, barley, etc. Although this flour does not exactly act as the wheat flour, it is a safer substitute. If you are not suffering from gluten allergy, you can mix wheat and oats together in your recipes. Apart from oatmeal, the following are the recipes that can be made using this flour.

Oat Flour Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/4 cups of oat flour
• 2 and 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of butter
• 1 and 1/2 cups of confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Add the sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until a creamy mixture is formed.
3. Now beat the egg into this mixture and add vanilla extract.
4. In another bowl, mix all the flours and add baking soda.
5. Add the mixture of flour to another mixture of butter and egg. Mix together until a homogeneous mixture is formed.
6. Keep this mixture in refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
7. Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Sprinkle some flour on the board and roll the dough on it. You can roll according to your desired thickness of cookies.
8. Cut the cookies in desired shapes, using a cookie cutter. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie tray/ sheet.
9. You can bake for 5-8 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.
10. When done, remove from the oven and cool for 20-30 minutes.
11. You can have the cookies right away or decorate with frosting!

Oat Flour Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups oat flour
• 1/4 cup of softened butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups of buttermilk
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method of Preparation

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking soda. Add the softened butter to it until a soft homogeneous mixture is formed.
2. Beat a single egg at a time in this mixture. Now add buttermilk and mix the flour again to form a smooth mixture.
3. If the mixture is very thick, add a bit of water for thinning. You can add water until you reach the desired consistency of the pancake flour. Now add the vanilla extract.
4. Keep the batter in refrigerator to set for 1-2 hours.
5. Now pour the pancake mixture on a hot girdle or a glazed frying pan to form a single pancake.
6. Fry for 1 minute or until the pancake is golden brown.
7. Your pancakes are ready to serve / eat!

Oat Flour Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups oat flour
• 2 and 1/4 cups of gluten flour
• 2 cups tepid water
• 2 cakes fresh yeast
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt

Method of Preparation

1. Add the yeast in the tepid water and add gluten flour into it. Mix it together.
2. Add the remaining ingredients (flour, salt and honey) to make a dough. Knead the dough to make it smooth.
3. Keep the dough aside for an hour for it to rise.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degree F
5. Divide the dough in half and shape it in the form of a loaf.
6. Keep the loaves on the baking sheet. Make small holes all over the loaves with the help of a fork.
7. Bake the bread in an oven for 25-30 minutes or until it turns golden brown.
8. After the prescribed time, take it out from the oven and place on the rack to cool.
9. The fresh bread is ready to eat!

I hope you loved reading these recipes. You can try out many different versions of these recipes, making alterations and using your creativity. Flour made from oats is a lot healthier and hence, these dishes are a good choice for healthy eating.