Great info.


thanks


"Randall Nortman" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> I'm probably not the right guy to respond to this, but nobody else has
> stepped up, so I'll tell you what I know (or rather, what I think I
> know).
>
> On 2005-08-26, Xanadu <> wrote:
>> I like cooking with oats, sometimes just porridge oats, sometimes big
>> rolled
>> oats, and I tend to make big oat cakes with lots of fruit and honey.
>>
>> Two questions.
>>
>> How can I get octaves to be moist inside, they can be a bit hard. I do
>> add
>> oil and sometimes butter, and use eggs.
>
> I'm afraid I have no idea what an octave is in this context. I'm
> going to guess you mean the oat cakes. Sugar is a good way to
> increase moistness in cakes; too much egg will tend to make it drier.
>
>
>> Is it possible to make oats rise, like wheat, or to make a lighter, more
>> aerated oat loaf. I like to use little to no wheat, and have added baking
>> soda.
>
> Oats do not contain the right proteins to form gluten, which is what
> makes wheat doughs capable of rising. If you use enough eggs and
> incorporate gas either through vigorous mixing or baking soda, you
> might be able to lighten the oats up a bit. I assume you're using an
> oat flour of some sort? If you're just using cracked or rolled oats,
> the texture is probably going to be too coarse to hold much air,
> unless you make it primarly whipped eggs and fold in the oats. (And
> in that case, what you've got is an oatmeal soufflé, which is probably
> not what you're looking for.)
>
> There are some substitutes for gluten that are commonly used by those
> with gluten allergies. Xantham gum and guar gum are recommended
> pretty frequently, and you can probably find them in health food
> stores. You can also find gluten-free baking mixes that already
> contain them or another gluten substitute. I've never tried any of
> that stuff, so I can't really tell you how well it works.
>
> --
> Randall