All-purpose flour is a popular and commonly used wheat flour; it is extremely versatile and used in recipes like bread, pizza, cookies, biscuit, muffins, etc. This flour is called for in many recipes, but it is not the best option for some persons due to dietary or personal preferences.
Many persons opt for a better replacement. One commonly used replacement for all-purpose flour is the oat flour; it is keto-friendly and gluten-free (when made with natural, gluten-free oats) and pairs well in recipes like waffles, muffins, cookies, brownies, etc.
So, in this article, I’ll be showing you how you can conveniently use this substitute in your recipe, including the right measurements to use to get the best results, but first, let’s see what the oat flour is all about.
Oat Flour Nutrition Facts
What is Oat Flour?
Oat flour is a well-known whole grain flour made by grinding oats, whether whole oat groats, steel-cut oats, or old-fashioned rolled oats. It is naturally gluten-free when made from oats that haven’t been cross-contaminated; it is keto-friendly, full of flavor, and healthy.
Oat flour has a fine texture like that of silk and a mild nutty flavor; incorporating organic oat flour into your diet would be beneficial to your health because it carries so many health benefits like normalizing blood pressure, lowering blood cholesterol, reducing the risk of diabetes, reducing the risk of heart diseases, etc.
Oat Flour
Oat Flour Uses in Recipes
Oat flour has a lot of benefits when baking; it adds moisture, helps in reducing the heavy texture of baked goods like the bean muffin or carrot cake, and adds fluffiness to many baked goods like pancakes, cornbread, shortbread, etc.
Oat flour’s subtly sweet, nutty, and toasty flavor with hints of caramel pairs well in many recipes, especially cookies; the oatmeal raisin cookies wouldn’t be the same without it; all these amazing qualities of oat flour are what makes it a staple in many baked goods and even soup recipes where it acts as a thickener.
Some traditional baking recipes also use oat flour; it helps keep the dough from sticking without making it tough. Below are some recipes that use oat flour;
- Gingerbread Oatmeal Pancakes
- Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake With Oat Flour
- Honey and Olive Oil Oat Flour Cake
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Sweet Cornbread Waffles
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Healthy Banana Bread Muffins
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
- Oat Flour Bread
- Lemon Poppy Seed Oatmeal Pancakes
- Strawberry Cornbread Cake
- Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Substituting Oat Flour for All-Purpose Flour
All-Purpose Flour
Oat flour has been known and used as a healthier, gluten-free alternative for all-purpose flour, it is not only healthy, but it has some extra benefits it adds to baked goods like giving it a sweet and nutty flavor and leaving you pleasantly satisfied after eating it.
Oat flour can substitute all-purpose flour easily in many recipes, from baked ones to cooked ones where it is needed as a thickener. The best part about oat flour is that it can be easily made at home from any raw oat of your choice. All you’ll need is just your raw oats and a food processor or a good blender. Below is the recipe oats are used for and its benefit to these recipes.
Baking
Baking is the most popular way of using oat flour; adding oat flour to baked goods makes it fluffier, chewy, and tastier. Oat flour is used in making delicious banana bread, pancakes, muffins, waffles, cookies, pie crust, etc.
A thing to note when using oat flour in recipes requiring all-purpose flour is adding extra binding ingredients like eggs, flax egg, arrowroot powder, applesauce, bananas, and xanthan gum to make up for the gluten that is absent in oat flour.
It is also worthy to note that since oat flour lacks gluten, it wouldn’t pair well in recipes that use yeast like bread, cinnamon rolls, etc. The gluten is not present to activate with yeast so that the baked good can rise.
Soups and Sauces
Oat flour can be used in soup, sauces, and gravies just like all-purpose flour; when oat flour is added to a liquid recipe as a thickener or roux, it makes the recipe rich and creamy, in gravies even when you use low-fat milk, the result is still rich, tasty, and creamy.
Oat flour, just like all-purpose flour, would thicken soups, sauces, and gravies well but would be silkier and creamier in texture thanks to the beta-glucan fiber in oats.
The beta-glucan fiber not only helps with the oat’s creamy texture but may also help the body with reducing high cholesterol and improving skin conditions such as eczema, bedsores, wounds, and radiation therapy burns.
Fried Foods
Coating cooked fresh foods in flour before frying is a great way to get a crisp, extremely delicious texture.
Oat flour can be used in recipes such as fried chicken, a batter made from oat flour, and other spices like garlic, salt, chili, etc. are used to coat the fresh food after it has been dipped in a mixture of milk and eggs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How can I properly store oat flour?
Store unused oat flour in the refrigerator or freezer because oat flour could go rancid because of its fat content; remember to bring it to room temperature when you plan to use it.
Is oat flour gluten-free?
Always make sure the oat flour you’re buying or blending is certified gluten-free oats because oat flour could be cross-contaminated with other grains growing close to it or in the factories where they are produced.
Can oat flour help with weight loss?
Yes, it can. Oat flour contains fiber which makes you feel full for longer and makes you eat less; it also contains other nutrients good for health.
Conclusion
As the name implies, all-purpose flour can be used for almost everything culinary, from baking to cooking soups and sauces. When you can’t use all-purpose flour, and oat flour is all you have, go right ahead and use it because it is healthy and tasty.