Creamy & Smooth Oat Milk

 This recipe is a variation on ones I found online.  I think it has a much nicer mouthfeel compared to other recipes, because in addition to the oats it contains fat of some kind, like butter or coconut oil (I actually like the coconut oil better).  It also is cooked slightly.  My recipe also adds a small amount of salt and sugar, but they are optional (but recommended).

Creamy Oat Milk

Makes approximately 1 quart of oat milk

2/3C rolled oats.  Not quick (pre-cooked) oats.

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2T butter or coconut oil.  They don't have to be in liquid form.

4C water, divided

Optional flavorings:  vanilla or almond extract.  I haven't tried cocoa powder, it probably would require more sugar to balance the bitterness contributed by the cocoa.  Dutch Process cocoa would be less bitter.  These flavors should be added after the oat puree is strained.

1.  Put the oats in a blender.  Add 2 cups water at room temperature, cover with the blender lid and allow to soak for 30 minutes.

2.  Blend on high for 30-60 seconds.  Strain into a bowl with a fine-mesh strainer, using the back of a large spoon to gently press down on the pulp.

3.  Add the remaining water, salt, sugar and fat to the bowl.

4.  Heat on High in a microwave oven, long enough to raise the temperature of the oat milk to 140F.  See Note below.  This step gelatinizes the starch, which gets rid of the gritty mouthfeel.

5.  Use a whisk to blend in the now-liquid fat.  The idea here is that the fat will form something like a roux where the fat globules are surrounded by starch so they will form a relatively stable emulsion.

Higher cooking temperature and more fat might make something closer to cream rather than milk, but if you over-do it you will likely end up with something that is more like pudding instead of milk.

Pour into a 1 quart jar and store in your refrigerator until ready to use.  Shake well before using.  Keeps for about 1 week.

NOTE  Our microwave oven takes about 5 minutes to heat the oat milk to 140F, but ours is an older, lower-powered one.  To check your microwave, place 4 cups of tap water in a bowl and "nuke" it for 4 minutes.  Stir to equalize the temperature and measure the temperature of the water.  If the temperature is higher than 145F, decrease the time by 30 seconds and try again.  If lower than 140F, increase the time by 30 seconds and evaluate the result.  You want to run enough room-temperature water in the bowl so it doesn't affect the result for each trial run.  The final test is to measure the temperature of a batch of your oat milk, since the actual volume of water will be slightly less than 4 cups.

Once you get the temperature to 140-145F you have characterized your microwave.  Make note of the time for the next time you make this recipe.