Substitute for flaked oats?

[aekdbbop]

Making a 5gal batch of stout..

don't have flaked oats (calls for 2lbs.)

read somewhere that quick oats "oatmeal" will work as a substitute.. anyone have any thoughts on this..?

 

[bradsul]

I just use the regular flaked oats from the local convenience store. You can safely use any 'quick oats' as long as they don't have any additives. In a pinch you can use whole oats, you will just need to cook them first (just make oatmeal basically).

 

[Bob]

+1. Instant oats are bad; full of non-oaty substances. Avoid them. Steel-cut or whole oats are good, though - as Bradsul says, cook them. You can simply follow the package's cooking instructions. If they're cooked enough for human enzymes to work on, they're cooked enough for malt amylases to get at them. Alternately, the Rule of Thumb is to boil an hour.

For an added flavor, toast a pound of your flaked oats before mashing until they turn slightly brown. Adds a subtle nutty flavor to the stout.

Bob

 

[78kombi]

For an added flavor, toast a pound of your flaked oats before mashing until they turn slightly brown. Adds a subtle nutty flavor to the stout.

Bob

ooh i like that.. gotta try it

 

[iXanadu]

I buy old fashioned quaker oats (the kind you have to cook for 5min) and cook them before adding to the mash. I find its about 1/4th the cost of flaked oats from the LHBS and I can't tell the difference.

 

[aekdbbop]

ok, I have "rolled oats" in the pantry..

that is the only ingredient... 100% rolled oats..

so is this a substitute? What do you mean by cooking them? do you bake them?

 

[ChshreCat]

ok, I have "rolled oats" in the pantry..

that is the only ingredient... 100% rolled oats..

so is this a substitute? What do you mean by cooking them? do you bake them?

Just cook them like you would if you were going to eat a bowl of oatmeal.

So... if I were to use the quick kind... should I use the maple and brown sugar or the apple and cinnamon?

 

[Bob]

You don't have to cook flaked oats, not even for five minutes. The process of making them into flakes generates considerable heat and pressure, enough to liberate starches from the protein matrix - the same end effect as boiling. All you have to do is add them to the mash. The five-minute cooking time isn't to cook them; it's to rehydrate them for human consumption (logically). If you can't make up your mind what they are, open the package and look at them.* If they're pellet-like things or mostly-whole grains, you're looking at whole oats that need an hour's boiling. If they're flakes, yay! You're set. If they're flakes, there's a crapton of white powder and the package says "Instant", put them back on the shelf.

Avoid flavored instant oats (if I'm going to add maple and brown sugar, I'll do it myself, just so I can avoid stuff like potassium sorbateithenuguarional or whatever ), and don't forget to cook rolled oats.

Bob

 

[david_42]

About the only thing left to mention is oat groats. These aren't much more than cracked oats with the hulls removed. They require soaking and a long pre-cooking.