Healthy Oat Biscuits a.k.a. Oatcakes
I was introduced to oatcakes while living in London. I've been hooked ever since. Oats are the healthiest of all the grains, according to The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth (that's grains only, not including the seeds such as quinoa and amaranth), so they have a lot more going for them than their beautiful, nutty flavor.
This recipe is wheat-free, vegan, low salt and contains no added sugar. They are great to snack on as is, delicious spread with honey, or would be great served with savory pates or herb kefir cheese and sprouts.
It's taken me years to get around to making my own, but they are so quick and easy to make I'll definitely be making more soon.
Ingredients
2 cups oat flour (put rolled oats in my coffee grinder and ground them into flour)
1 tablespoon extra virgin, cold-pressed olive or coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup hot water
Instructions
Put all the dry ingredients and oil into a mixing bowl, and mix well. Pour enough of the hot water into the dry ingredients to mix into a stiff dough. If you are using coconut oil and it's solid either rub it through the flour with your hands or pour the hot water on the ball of oil to melt it. Knead the dough until it's smooth. The hot water will soften and ‘cook' the oat flour, and the dough will become very smooth and pliable.
Making Oat Biscuits - in the foreground is the raw dough before ready to go into the frying pan/griddle, behind it are the finished oatcakes.
Divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces depending on the size of your frying pan or griddle. I was using a very small frying pan, about 5 inches diameter and I needed to divide the dough into 4 pieces for each round to fit. Roll each of the pieces of dough into a ball. Flatten the balls of dough by pressing them with the palm of your hand or using a rolling pin to form a flat, round shape about 6 mm (1/4 inch) thick.
Heat a heavy griddle or frying pan on medium heat, add just enough olive or coconut oil to coat the pan. Cut each round of dough into 4 quarter pieces and place them onto the hot griddle or frying pan.
Cook for 15-20 minutes until they start turning brown and crispy, then flip and cook for another 5-10 minutes on the other side.
They are great eaten while still warm, but let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Thank you for this great healthy recipe on Oat biscuits. Cannot wait to try it!
I followed the recipe and they came out pretty good. Eating them warm is almost a must. I actually did add some butter on them while they still were warm and it tastes great.
I do like them even after they have cooled, I love that nutty flavor of oats, but for sure there is nothing like baked goods still warm right out of the oven.
Do you think these could be baked on the oven instead of fried?
Hi Carissa, I do think you could bake them in the oven. Even though I made them in a frying pan, I used so little oil they were not fried but more like dry-roasted. But I absolutely think they would turn out well baked instead. If you do try it let us know the results and baking temperature and time if you don’t mind. That would help everyone else who is thinking of baking them instead. Thanks!
I tried both ways on two different evenings. I sprayed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with a little garlic salt, then baked them at 350 for about 10 minutes, until slightly browned and crispy. They were delightful. Then I fried them as the original recipe calls for, and they seem to be very much the same! Either way: a wonderful recipe–I loved them to bits and shall be making them over and over again! Thank you so much for sharing, and for enlightening me to the lovely world of oat flour.