Cracking Good Oats

BY MORRIS LEMIRE

Oats are growing in popularity for reasons that would have been difficult to foresee even fifteen years ago. At 20 ppm of gluten, they are naturally lower in gluten than many other grains. By law, this allows oats to be labeled gluten “free” on consumer labels. Added to that, coffee baristas like to use oat milk in vegan coffees because oat milk pairs well without overly interfering with coffee’s flavour. Oat milk in coffee meets the needs of those who are sensitive to gluten, vegans, and the lactose intolerant. In North America, Alberta oats are used in most gluten-free organic oat milk beverages. In a roundabout way, when you use oat milk, you’re using a local product.

The Scots have been cooking with oats since ancient times. In Scotland, oats (Avena sativa) were a more reliable grain to grow than either wheat or barley, as they are cold tolerant. Consequently, oats became a staple part of everyday diets, used in the making of porridge, breads, biscuits, and beers. Since early times, travelers, fishermen, and school children relied on oatcakes as a quick snack that could fit in a pocket or a lunchbox. Oatcakes travel well on car outings or mountain biking.

The Scots call these tasty creations oatcakes. Today they make and export oatcakes, but when they ship them across the Atlantic, they package them as “crackers”, for obvious reasons. Our cake is a very different beast.

So why bother to make our own? Well, as with any homemade item, you get to choose exactly what goes into the mix, starting with fat, salt, sugar, or nuts.

Control of the ingredients allows you to make food that suits your health needs and taste preference. Furthermore, Alberta farmers grow such high-quality oats, that when buying local oats you are supporting local agriculture - how’s that for a win-win?

The classic oat cracker here allows the texture and flavour of rolled oats to shine; savoury, slightly salty, dry-woodsy, nutty, with a whiff of burnt caramel. These crackers can be as simple as you like, or take on a bit more panache depending on your preferences and curiosity.

At our house we have experimented with different flavours, fennel for example, but we always come back to this basic recipe because the crackers pair so well with wine and cheese, or fresh fruit and dates, providing an ideal end to a meal.

Alberta oats can be grown organically with less intervention than in many other areas of the world. Mackenzie County, in the northwest corner of the province, has an advantageous habitat for growing organic oats. Their very cold winters kill off most pests, and their mild summers clock in at 19 hours of sunshine per day. Add to this, well drained soils, protective mountains on the BC border, forests to the north and south, and you can picture them sitting on an enclosed plain, bathed in sunshine. Who would have thought that oat farmers could claim to have a terroir, but that’s exactly what Mackenzie County has, a combination of natural phenomena that gives them economic leverage in a growing international market. Mackenzie County sells oats by the ton, literally truck loads.

Closer to our cities, smaller producers, with ideal habitat of their own, sell at local farmers’ markets and at specialty grocery stores. Gold Forest Grains in Sturgeon County are at Edmonton’s Strathcona Farmers’ Market every Saturday and are also sold at Earth’s General Store. Highwood Crossing, near High River, sells gluten-free oat products at the Calgary Farmers’ market and at Sunnyside Market.

Avena sativa is a very different plant than wheat, barley, or rye, more cousin than sibling. This uniqueness means a multi-step process to prepare raw oats for human consumption. Oats come in several commercial forms; groats (hulled kernels), steel-cut flour, bran, rolled-oats, and instant. Groats can sub for brown rice, and can be used as a savoury addition to soups and stews. Steel-cut (also called Scottish Oats) are usually used in porridge. They are delicious but best soaked in water overnight to reduce cooking time. The flour is used for breads, and the rolled oats, as in our recipe, is used for oatcakesexcuse me - crackers, muffins, smoothies, granola cereal, etc. Bran can be used as a cooked breakfast cereal, or added to smoothies for extra fibre. Instant oats are over-processed, trading nutrient value for a shorter cooking time.

And so to the recipe. The first time you make these little beauties, allow about 45 minutes for set-up, mixing, rolling, baking and washing-up.

Rolled Oat Crackers

Makes about 24 crackers

2 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup chopped walnuts or 1 cup whole walnuts, optional ¼ tsp baking soda

2/3 cup (160 mL) filtered water. Plus 1 Tbs (see step 3 below)

2 Tbs (30 mL) olive oil or butter

1 tsp salt

1. Preheat your oven (see step 5 below).

2. Using a food processor, mix all the ingredients together. You don’t have to use the machine, but this is a dry batter, making mixing by hand a real work-out. 3. Mix until the dough just begins to stick together. This will happen quickly. If the dough isn’t sticking, add one or two tablespoons of water.

4. Turn the dough out onto an oiled baking sheet, and using a little oil for your hands, form into a rough ball. Push the ball as flat as possible and then finish rolling it out with a rolling pin until it fits your oven pan and is 4 mm thick.

5. The total cooking time is about 20 minutes, depending on your oven. Convection oven: start at 375° F and when you put in the pan, turn your oven down to 350° F. Gas or electric ovens: start at 400° F and immediately turn it down to 375° F when you put in the dough.

6. Set timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take the oven sheet out and using a chef’s knife, score the crackers to the size you prefer: 8 cm x 5 cm will yield about two dozen crackers.

7. Quickly slip the pan back into the oven. Set your timer for the final 10 minutes, and keep an eye on the crackers until they are nicely brownish. Take them out and put them on a cooling rack. Yum!