Raw Vegan Oatmeal Yoghurt or 'Oatghurt' recipe ~ Vegan Haver-yoghurt recept

This recipe will be one of the more complex ones on this blog, 
most of all because it will cost you some patience before you get to 
enjoy the result. But I can promise you, if you are a (raw)food-lover and willing to experiment a little, then you will probably have as much fun in the making and the anticipating
as you will find in enjoying your very first bowl of home-made oatghurt :)
I found the recipe-idea for it (in a slightly different form) on a Swedish blog, and was intrigued by it from the start - by now, I have made it several times and feel secure enough to share it with you :)
 

Oatghurt is a dairy-free (RAW-Vegan) grain-based fermented product that will result in a yoghurt-ish substance that tastes somewhat like oatmeal mixed with something slightly soury, fresh and even bubbly - let's say, a good champagne for instance ;)) This may sound like a superweird taste-experience but personally I love it, and I think it is especially good with forestfruits and maple sirop! On top of that the natural probiotics (good bacteria) in this 'yoghurt' will provide your gut with all it needs. The word Pro-biotic comes from the Greek, and means pro-life. These good bacteria (like for example the famous Lactobacillus en Bifidobacterium promoted in many yoghurts) literarily provide you with live, by boosting your immune system :)

In this recipe we will 'ferment' oats. The age-old proces of fermentation has been considered one of 'white magic' in some cultures because people understood the live-giving and healing properties of foods that were prepared this way. On long journeys oversees in the 14th hunderds for instance, one used to bring fermented saurkraut along (one of the best known fermented products in the west) as a supply of fresh and active vitamin C, thus preventing the boatsmen from getting sick due to lack of minerals or vitamins. The wooden vessels with saurkraut stayed fresh for months and months, no refrigerator needed ;) Also in the ancient Egypt, many kinds of food were being fermented. Because the health benefits of the fermenting process are so incredibly interesting, I have gathered some more info on it - so if you would like to learn more about fermenting in general - please check my seperate post on fermenting :) (soon to be 'released' ;))

Oatghurt - before you start:

How long before it will be done? 

The more tangy/sour you would like your oatghurt to be, the longer it will take. 

Usually it should not take you any longer then 2 to 4 days. The fermentation process will be different every time you make it, depending on factors like what ingredients you use and for instance the temperature of your room. Your own nose and tastebuds will tell you when it is ready, just trust your instincts :) You will notice the flavor getting stronger and tastier with every passing hour. For those of you who have fermented anything themselves before, you will understand right away what I mean, for the others; prepare yourselves for a new journey all together ;)) Any fermenting process is like a really interesting roadtrip with lots of fun stuff to learn ;).

Use wooden or plastic utensils

While working with very sensitive live bacteria / probiotics, metal could interfere with the fermenting-process, so best use wooden utensils and ceramic or glass bowls/containers when you make or stir your oatghurt.

Find a good spot to put your oatghurt
While fermenting, it is best to keep the jar or pintcher of fermenting oatghurt in a undisturbed and draft-free spot that is a warm and 'cosy'. If you want to kick-start the process, warmth will help; place the pitcher in a big pan with hot water about half way up (not boiling hot but about 60 degrees - you can still put your hand in but might want to bite your lip ;)) place the lid on it and wrap the whole pan into a big scarf or blanket - leave it like that for the first 12 to 24 hours :) In summer I just wrap a scarf around the pitcher directly (against any draft) without the whole 'pan-trick' and it works fine in my (now 19 degrees celcius) house.

 

Keep a little bit of the finished oatghurt to start a new one

Once your happy with the flavor of your first batc, you can add 1/3 cup of that to the mixture of your new one. It will speed up the fermentation process of your new batch, since this little bit is already packed with good bacteria.

To make your own oatghurt you need 

- A big glass mason jar or waterpitcher (approx 1 liter) to make it in
- wooden or plastic utencils (spoon or something else) to stir it with.
- a piece of clean cloth / handkerchief and a rubber band
- a blender
- some patience and at least a good pinch of curiousity ;)

Ingredients

 - 1,5 cups whole or steel cut oats*

 - 1,5 cups rolled oats (these are the ones commenly used for oatmeal) 

or any variation to these proportions as long as they end up in 3 cups dry oats together;

more whole (or steel cut) oats will give you a more nutricional result - the more rolled oats you use - the more this will give you a mild flavour.

- 1 tablespoon of spelt, rye or buckwheat-flour. (Dutch: spelt-rogge- of boekweit meel).  
   You can pick any one of these you need only one tablespoon.
  

The adding of  this 'other' flour will help neutralize the phytic acid that naturally occurs in oatmeal and other grains. 'Phytic acid inhibits your absorption of minerals (calcium, zinc, iron, and magnesium to name a few) - and soaking grains helps breaking it down. During soaking / fermentation, the phytic acid disappears like a traditional foods miracle and you will get more minerals out of your food' - source.

 

- 1 tablespoon of maplesirop or other liquid natural sweetener or 

   one tablespoon of coconut(blossom)sugar or a pinch of green stevia

- 3 cups of water / or exactely enough to soak the whole completely.

- one tablespoon of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (Dutch: biologische natuurtroebele appelazijn)

Optional:

- A pinch of vanilla

* For those who do not yet know the difference between oatmeal and whole oats or steel-cut-oats; whole oats is what you see on the right below here, and oatmeal (or rolled oats) is what you see on the left. There are even more variaties but for this recipe we use just these two kinds / or steel-cut oats instead of whole oats; these look just like whole oats only they are cut in half or smaller, but still hard to eat chew, unlike roalled oats that you could eat right away. In The Netherlands I haven't been able to find any organic steel cut oats anywhere so far -  so I recomment using the whole ones from the organic foodstore.

 How to begin:

Day 1

- Put all oats and the tablespoon of flour into the big masonjar or water pitcher - then add the water and stir it all up. Your jar/pitcher should now be filled up maximum 2/3rd and no further! If you have too much, divide the rest of the mixture over another jar, so neither one of them will be filled up too far. Put a lid on it loosely (do not close it tight, air needs to be able to escape) and set aside.

Now for the first night you can just put it anywhere you like - at roomtemperature.

The next day it may look like this:

Day 2

In the morning poor all of it into your blender and add the tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, mix at high speed until smooth as possible. It will be a watery substance now but it will firm up more later. Put the smooth mixture back into the pitcher/jar and either put a lid on it loosely again OR cover with a damp cloth / or kitchentowel. Then put it in the save place you had in mind for the fermenting process, either keeping it warm inside a pan with warm water or protecting it against draft in a scarf or just putting it in a kabinet that has room for it / or into your (empty) oven over night.                                                                           
                                                                      Day 3

OMG - what's happening? That's right, the fermentation process has now kicked in and your oatghurt is 'growing' :) Congratulations!  Air, moving bubbles, water-seperations on top or below; all kinds of awkward things will start to happen to it. Fun, fun, fun! :D
 

After one night of fermenting - before stirring

Now most of us in the west have been raised to think - when we see a thing like this happening, with such a 'mind of its own', that whatever it is; this can't possibly be right - and should be thrown out NOW before it kills us. Don't do that - just gently stir it around a few times with your wooden or plastic spoon and see how it returns to 'looking normal' again. Then have a first taste of your 'one-day-oatghurt' to test the sour-ness of it - and just enjoy the process :) If you used a damp cloth on top of it, hold the cloth under the tap to wet it up so it will be damp for another day and repeat the process of the day before, just letting it sit in its draft-free little corner or on the shelf, in the cabinet- where ever you have chosen to put it :)

After fermenting for one night - after stirring it gently

 After day 3: 

 
Every day stir once or twice and keep mkaing sure the lid is kept on loosly so air can move freely out of the pitcher/jar and no pressure will built up inside or keep checking if the cloth you are using is still damp. It usually takes me 3 days of fermenting until I am happy with the sourness of the oatghurt. In summer it goes faster and only takes me 2 days.

When you like the sourness of your own oatghurt, first of all; seperate the starter for your next batch (if you want to make another one right away) - then poor the rest in the blender, to blend it shortly once more, this time adding the tablespoon of natural sweetener of your choice and the (optional) pinch of vanilla. If your oatghurt seems too thick just add some water. Keep in the refrigerator, it will stay fine for about 5 days. Any (ongoing) water seperation is normal, just stir lightly every time before using.

Neutral oatghurt with forest fruits, great with maple-sirop

Oatghurt - partly blended with some raw-cacoa + raw-cacoa-nibs and a pinch of lavender on top

2 mason jars and a bowl of ready-to-eat oatghurt
one mixed with raw-cacao - the other neutral/vanille

Oatghurt makes for a delicious and exquisite breakfast or lunch. The more you try it - the more you will appriciate the taste of it. Also try and experiment with different toppings, I would love to hear your own discoveries on this one since I am also still exploring new combinations :) Feel free to leave them in the comments box below (just click 'no comments' if you are the first ;) :))

Love peace & harmony (for you and all probiotics in your darling belly ;))



Wieteke