Introduction: Oatmeal Pancake!
Oats!
My favourite breakfast! :-) And from the frequency with which I eat them (and love them) quite possibly my favourite food of all. Having favoured convenience food during my teen years I rediscovered the joy of a oats for breakfast around five years ago and have eaten them almost every day since!
Oats are a pretty versatile medium when it comes to toppings; honey, jam, peanut butter, raisins, banana!, apple, nuts, seeds, spices (cinnamon), mix it up! Whatever you like works. Even savoury! But when it comes to cooking them you can become trapped with a limited choice of texture; runny or stodgy. Not very exciting.
Enter: The Oatmeal Pancake!
100% oats. Awesomely healthy!
Lets get rocking!
Materials:
Non-stick frying pan (with a good non-stick coating)
Spoon or Spatula
Jar
Measuring cups (not essential)
Funnel (also not essential)
Plate
Knife and fork! (alternatively, eat with your fingers, way more fun)
Ingredients:
Oats
Water
Toppings:
Whatever takes your fancy! Just make sure its edible...
(I chose banana, honey, cinnamon and sunflower seeds)
On to step one.....
Step 1: Soaking the Oats.
This is a fairly hassle free breakfast but it does require 2 minutes prep the night before.
In order for the oats to cook up properly and in a decent amount of time you'll want to soak them for a good few hours before.
Place your oats into the jar with the desired amount of water for cooking and give them a little stir.
Here I use a 2:1 ratio. So, 2/3 cup water - 1/3 cup oats. (adjust as necessary-eg, 1/2cup Oats - 1cup water)
Place the jar into the fridge and forget about it until the morning.
Background on soaking grains.
Soaking the oats is actually a pretty important step for health reasons too! The hulls (skin) of grains contain phytic acid which if consumed can combine with vitamins and minerals in the gut preventing their absorption. Soaking the oats for a good 7hours before consumption will help break down the phytic acid. This process will work best in a lactic acid solution, so stirring a teaspoon of bio-active yoghurt into the oats (or grains) the night before will enhance the process.
An added bonus of soaking not just oats but all dry grains is that it will boost their nutrient content by fooling them into beginning their germination process. So, its good to get into the habit!
Follow links for more info. Also, if you're interested do your own research, you'll find out way more information than what's contained in these few links.
Saoking oats - health benifits - short anecdotal article
Phytic Acid - Wikipedia - check the food science entry
Step 2: Cooking!
Morning!
So, over night the oats will have absorbed a decent amount of water and plumped up ready for cooking. You'll also notice that the water will have become slightly cloudy, this is a good sign.
Empty the oats into a cold pan ensuring you include all of the water from the jar.
Place the pan onto a medium/high-high heat and let the oats begin to cook. You'll notice the oats swelling up even more and bubbles will begin forming from the centre.
Once the bubbles have almost engulfed the entire pan give the oats a stir, this will help the gluten from the oats mix with the water and form a nice gooey texture.
Be sure not to over stir! You'll kinda get the feel for it, but when the bubbles begin to die down and the oats become tacky just let them cook off. This is the point where the pancake magic happens! :-)
Step 3: Coffee...
While you're waiting for the pancake to do its thing be sure not to neglect your morning coffee.
There's always time for coffee :-)
Also, use this time to grab your toppings. Today I've chosen banana, sunflower seeds, honey and cinnamon. Delicious!
Step 4: Ckeck!
By now the oats should be firming up nicely.
Pushing in from the edges, much like an omelet, will give you a good indication of how its doing.
When you think its firm enough give the underside a little check by lifting up with a fork.
Step 5: Plate Up!
When you've reached you're desired pancakie texture its time to plate up!
As there's no oil involved in the cooking process this is where a good non-stick pan will come in handy (thanks Mum!).
Just slide the pancake onto your plate and load up with your favourite toppings.
Step 6: Enjoy! :-)
This is about the time you're gonna want to pour another cup of coffee and get ready to savour the fruits of your (minimal) labour.
Enjoy! :-)
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45 Comments
7 years ago
Can you use steel cut oats?
9 years ago
Great work, thanks!!
9 years ago
Just made these bad boys now- Awesome recipe! Topped them off with granola, yogurt, syrup and Nutella. Breakfast like a boss.
11 years ago on Step 5
Thanks for this idea! I tried it out this morning - my nonstick pan is not so nonstick so it was a bit difficult at the end but it worked and I had a lovely breakfast. I might try flipping it or a different pan next time.
Again thanks much!
12 years ago on Introduction
By the way, have you had any results with the blender method since you posted this? (Blender meaning just blendering the oats after they've soaked). Thanks, just wondering.
12 years ago on Introduction
One thing. metal fork on nonstick pan :O.
This is a bad policy.
I *really* want to try your recipe, but I think I will wait until I have more access to a kitchen / grocery store.
12 years ago on Introduction
I just tried making one and there are a few things that went wrong, and I'm not quite sure why:
1. Didn't seem like enough oats to fill the pan; I did 1/3 cup with 2/3 cup water.
2. It didn't get super bubbly like your picture did, just started to boil around the edges and not in the center.
3. After stirring, it didn't ever cook until I could pick it up like a pancake/omelet, just started to fall apart as I brought it off the burner.
It seems like more oats could possibly solve these problems, however, I'd rather have input from the master, so any help would be appreciated. Otherwise, fantastic idea because I got bored with oatmeal glop a long time ago.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Hi milothefultz!
Ah, You're totally right, looks like I've put in a pretty small measurement by mistake! Changed it to 1/3cup measurements with adjustments. Thanks! :)
It gets a little tricky on the other points. First off, if its bubbling around the edges it sounds like you may have the burner up a little too high, ie, water heating around the edges faster than the centre. But thats totally a guess, experimentation is your best bet. (or maybe a smaller burner?)
As for the falling apart, it sounds like it might need a little more time to cook. The goal is to cook up the oats and then slowly dry them out to form the pancake, so once again I think you might want a lower heat.
If you give it another shot good luck! :)
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Do you refrigerate your oats overnight? Or just leave them out on the counter?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
If you're soaking them over night its best to refrigerate them. If not, if you soak them at room temp for half an hour - one hour in the morning they'll be great!
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Mm No, you should soak them overnight (12-24 hours) to break down the phytic acid. Less than that and it won't be gone. You can leave them on the counter. It won't hurt them to sit on the counter... or you!
12 years ago on Introduction
That looks really good. I'll have to give it a try.
12 years ago on Introduction
omg than you thank you thank you!! :D ive been trying to find a healthy pancake recipe so i can feel not so guilty of eating them with nutella ahah
12 years ago on Introduction
AWESOME!!!!!! im soo doing this tommowor!!! THANKS!
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Sweet! :D Hope you like it!
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
i did! i ate it for 3 breakfasts in a row!
12 years ago on Introduction
WOW! I tried this recipie because i was tired of eating gooey oatmeal. Let me tell you this unique way of making oatmeal is very tasty and not so gooey. Thanks alot Everlong
12 years ago on Introduction
Teflon is a rare and precious jewel here in Nepal where we live, so I tried just a little sunflower oil in a good ol' stainless steel sauce pan. It worked great! Not so much bubbling, just as much deliciousness.
Thanks for your contribution to the world!
12 years ago on Introduction
Ok so I've tried to do this for the past two days and failed. I've paid EXTRA close attention to the bubble levels so I stirred at the right time but it just sits there and bakes onto my pan! D: It might be my pan or I'm doing something wrong... How long do you stir once you see the bubbles covering it?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Hi fuzzjp! Sorry to hear your trials haven't been too successful. I managed to burn a load myself yesterday morning, left the heat on way too high while talking to a friend... it sounds like this could also be part of your problem so lowering the heat might help. The only thing to worry about with the stirring is firstly whether the oats are gooey enough (if not, more stirring will help), and secondly, once they are, stop stirring so it all gets a chance to set. Try cooking them up almost like a regular batch of oats but stop stirring just before the point you'd normally serve and let it slowly cook off. But most importantly, don't worry too much about timings and directions, if it feels like its going to go wrong just try something different! It'll probably be an improvement! :-p Good luck and let us know if you have any success! :)