Oats - How to Sprout

I use sprouted oats in the preparation of breads, crackers, cookies, cereal, cakes, etc. There is a lot of confusion with regard to raw oats in particular. I'm going to post the information I've found to be most helpful and hopefully save you some of the frustration I encountered.

Oats contain high levels of dietary fiber, complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, and minerals such as phosphorous, iron, selenium, manganese, magnesium, and calcium. Numerous studies showed that a diet high in beta-glucan from oats help to lower blood LDL cholesterol. Oats may also help stabilize blood glucose levels, and benefit people with diabetes

I prefer "hulless" oats for sprouting, as they have a longer shelf life, but you can use hulled oats, so long as they are alive. Hulless oats are grown without hulls and may be referred to as Naked Oats. Do an online search for suppliers that specify the oats are sproutable.  I've use hulless oats from Jaffe Brothers with great success, and a very high sprout rate, however, if you are gluten sensitive these may not work for you.  My preference is for gluten free hulless oats, however finding them raw and sproutable has been a challenge. See Resource list below.

Sprouted - Day 2-3 - Perfect

Unless specified, many oat groats have been steamed to lengthen shelf life,  and are not raw or sproutable. Steel Cut Oats  or rolled oats have been either chopped in pieces or processed, and more often than not, steamed in order to prevent rancidity. In a pinch, if your oats are not raw and sproutable, but you want to use them anyway, soak them overnight and use as the recipe directs, but please note these oats are not raw.



How to Sprout Oats
Rinse oats in a sieve or colander. Place in a large glass jar well covered with water and soak for 6-8 hours. (Oats will double or triple in size, so choose a large enough jar and make sure there is enough water).  

Rinse well, drain, and return to jar, covered with a sprouting lid, screen, paper towel, or cheese cloth.  Let sprout 24 hours or so until tails just barely start to burst. (see photo on left). Rinse and drain every 6-8 hours, making sure to drain well. (I place my jar in a dish drain at a 45   degree angle, or in a large bowl tilted down to     drainl).

Note: For raw oatmeal, soak  overnight, and don't sprout. Follow recipe HERE.

How to Prepare Sprouted Oat Flour
Spread sprouted oats on a non-stick dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 110 degrees until completely dry, stirring as needed to ensure all oats are dehydrated well. Place oats in a glass jar, and freeze them for a few hours, or store them there until you are ready to grind your flour.

I use a nut and spice grinder by Cuisinartto grind my flour, or a Vitamix dry blender. In the nut and spice grinder, use small amounts at a time (don't fill up the cup), stopping and starting the machine so you don't overheat it or the oats.  Store any leftover oat flour in a cool, dry place. I prefer the freezer or refrigerator. Remember, nuts, seeds and grains contain oil, and once ground can get rancid rather quickly. If not using in a short period of time...FREEZE.

I like to run flour thru a sieve or sifter. The oats that do not go through sifter, are great for oatmeal or fiber in cookies, cakes, puddings, etc.

Click HERE for additional Sprouting Tip

Resource List for Gluten Free Oats: Oats are inherently gluten-free, but are easily contaminated by wheat  and miscellaneous weeds during growing or processing. Bob's Red Mill, Cream Hill Estates, GF Harvest, Avena Foods and Legacy Valley offer gluten-free oats, but most of them will not sprout. Ask your physician if these oats are acceptable for you. 

Update - Montana Gluten Free Naked Oats definitely sprout and seem to be the winner! , Cavena Nuda is a little pricey, and seem to be sprouting for me, although I was a bit nervous at first.. I'm still working with them and talking to the company, who takes a lot of pride in their product. These are worth checking out. They do sprout very slowly compared to other oats I've worked with, and at first I thought they were not raw. I was ready to toss them, but left a handful in the jar, when I noticed spiny shoots coming out of the seeds. It took about 4 to 5 days and by then, they tasted very bitter.  The good news is, I don't sprout oats to that point, or they do get bitter. The test is only to show whether or not the batch is raw and alive. To test, soak and sprout about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of oats.

For food preparation I suggest only soaking them overnight, draining well, and sprouting for 1 day (not longer). You may not see any tails forming on the Cavena Nuda, but if they passed the original sprout test, they are fine and you are getting the added benefits of sprouting.

Note: Legacy Valley stopped selling their raw gluten free sproutable oats. If you find them online, and they still say sproutable, they are probably pretty old.