If you don't have oat flour currently in your stockpile, check the healthy foods section of your local grocery store. You can also whip it up yourself if you have oats on hand (see below)! So the next time you bake that bread, cake or muffins, you might find yourself reaching for the bag of oat flour instead of all-purpose or whole-wheat flour. And it's not only a baking necessity. It's also a survival prepping necessity:

Oats are inexpensive and have a very long shelf life. When packaged in unopened #10 cans or sealed in Mylar bags and placed in a five-gallon food-grade bucket, oats can last 30 years or more.

The flavors of oat and wheat flour are similar, although you may discover that oat flour has a heartier and somewhat sweeter taste.

Oat flour is easy to make, and you do not need a special grinder. You can make your own oat flour by putting dried oats into your blender and using the pulse setting to chop the oats into a fine powder. One and one-fourth cups of rolled oats makes about one cup of oat flour. Grind small one- to two-cup batches at a time. Store unused flour in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Since oat flour does not contain gluten, you may need to adjust your rising ingredients slightly. For example, if your recipe calls for them, you may need to add extra yeast and/or extra baking powder with oat flour than with wheat flour.

Oat flour is higher in fiber than wheat flour, and your oat-based baked items will be more nutrient-dense.  Oats are a significant source of protein, vitamin E, B vitamins, calcium, iron and other minerals.

Let us know if you've worked with oat flour! Have you found any other ways to use it?

Article Source: Off The Grid News