h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Gosho

Here's some comments on Oats It looks more than 3/4 finished to me...

Anyway: here's my tuppence ...

I have to take you up on the bit about gluten only developing when you knead. It develops as a result of the action of yeast growing in the dough when hot water is added. Therefore, gluten develops if you make a wet dough mix and don't knead at all. Ach, you *knew* I'd comment on that, didn't you?!

The list of different types of oats is a bit confusing...
Oat groats - no problems,
Rolled oats - no problems, although it might be worth saying something about the fact that all rolled oats are produced using mechanical rollers - ie. it's not possible to do them stone-ground.
Instant oats - no problems,
*Oatflour* should be headed Oatmeal. Oats are not made into flour. And this is a UK site after all ! so your footnote about oatmeal/porridge should probably be rejigged to be UK-centric shouldn't it?

And then the confusion really starts, cos oatmeal comes in three grades:

Pinhead, or Rough oats, which is exactly as you describe. Except it's not always produced using steel cutters: it can be milled on a stone (somehow - don't know the technicalities). I think this is the same as the 'coarse oatmeal' you refer to under *Oat flour*.

Medium, or Middle oats, which are what some people add to wheat flour to make an oaten loaf - adds flavour and fat to the bread. Also used for oatcakes.

Fine, or Small oats, which are made into oatcakes, bannocks etc. Oh, and on that: bannocks and oatcakes are not just Scottish - and they're traditionally cooked on a *bakestone* : a slab of slate or iron, which is set over a brick-built hearth. The modern equivalent is a griddle.

Recipes coming up btw!

A couple of additional little historical bits for you:

"Oats and Oatmeal are not only meat for beasts, but also for fair and strong men and women of all callings and complexions" Dr Thomas Muffett in Health's Improvement, 1655.

Until the late 18th Century, in all of northern England and Scotland, as well as Ireland and Wales, oatmeal bakestone breads and cakes were the daily bread of the agricultural population. Wheat bread was for Sundays, or for the wealthy.

Irish Oatcakes
Medium oatmeal 1/2lb or 250g
Salt 1 tspn
Butter 1oz or 30g
Boiling water 1/3 pint or 150ml

Put butter and salt into a jug and add the boiling water. Stir until dissolved.

Put oatmeal into a bowl and pour the water mixture over it. Mix the oatmeal thoroughly. It should resemble the consistency of mud pie.

Leave it for a few hours or overnight, until it is dry enough to press out, thin and flat, into an ungreased baking tin.

A tin measuring approx. 10ins X 7ins will do.

Before baking the oatcake, leave it to dry out for another hour or two. Press it once more and even out the top with a palette knife.

Put the tin into the bottom of the lowest possible oven - 265F, 130C or Gas Mark 1/2 and cook for a minimum of 3 hours. Longer if it is convenient. The trick is to dry out the oatcake rather than to really cook it.

Break the oatcake into wedges while it's still warm and eat it with creamy butter or cheese.

Oatcake keeps well in an airtight container and can be reheated - always at a minimum temperature - as often as you like.


I've just done half of this recipe: I'm up to the point of letting it dry out in the baking tin. I'll let you know how it turns out

If you want any more recipes, let me know. I have heaps of them for bread (oats added to wheat flour), Welsh pancakes, bannocks etc. Elizabeth David is a mine of information.

Finally, have you made that Parkin? Does it work? I ask because the only Parkin recipe I can find using oatmeal rather than rolled oats, has the oatmeal soaked in cold water overnight - to soften it I guess?


Fb

Well now.

I've got to know where this information of yours about gluten comes from. Just about every single bread recipe, every bread book, every piece I've ever read about wheat or bread, even recipes which are *not* for bread, have said that gluten develops when you knead bread dough. That's what bakers have been doing for centuries. You might have heard me talk about a bloke called Alton Brown and his show Good Eats. He often advises against stirring certain recipes containing wheat too much (usually batters) because it gets the gluten going and makes the result tough and rubbery. American pancakes (Aunt Jemima etc) instructions say that you shouldn't overmix the batter, so I'm inclined to believe him. Not just because it's on the side of a packet of pancake mix, but because AB is a man who knows his onions. No pun intended

Before we go any further, let's agree on some nomenclature - oatmeal is oat flour, oats is everything else.

There is the footnote explaining that oatmeal is porridge in America and flour in the UK, and I would prefer to keep the section itself called 'oat flour', since technically speaking it is flour, but I could make more of it being called oatmeal, and I'll add something about mechanical rollers

"oatmeal comes in three grades"
So pinhead oats aren't oats, but oatmeal?

I've mentioned the two other grades of oatmeal, but I can improve it with your info

I haven't tried the parkin recipe... I'm not sure I can even remember where I got it... I usually bookmark all the pages I use for an entry and keep them bookmarked until it reaches the front page, but I can't find the recipe Do you have a good one? I'm looking for some more cosmetics recipes too.

I wish I hadn't got rid of my copy of English Bread and Yeast Cookery... mind you, I think I used it maybe three times in 15 years

Thanks for taking a look at this

I agree: just about every bread book and recipe I've read too talks about gluten developing when you knead. But Alton's point is similar to mine: if you make a wet dough and mix it (not kneading, not stirring, but a gentle cross between the two ), the gluten gets moving. My main source of this info is Ana Jones at the Little Salkeld water mill in Cumbria, who - as far as I know - hasn't written any of it down. She was the one who 'taught' my brother and I about bread making one weekend last Sept. and it was she who talked about the action of hot water in a wet dough on the gluten.

Am I being pedantic here? Perhaps I am. I get wound up that people think that they *have* to knead bread dough to get it working. Feel free to completely ignore me

I raised the oat flour vs oatmeal thing, cos if you go into a shop in UK and ask for oat flour, they wouldn't know what you're talking about But if you want to be American about it

According to Delia and Eliz. David pinhead oats are indeed oatmeal - the roughest grade

My most successful parkin recipe uses rolled oats. The one with oatmeal in it I've never tried. I'll let you have the rolled oats one if you want it?

I'm not sure about cosmetic recipes - perhaps in some back issues of Earth Garden which are lurking in the spare room. Soap recipe with oatmeal springs to mind... I'll look later.

>Thanks for taking a look at this< - says he through gritted teeth! I must have been in a particularly picky mood when I made my comments!

It's a great entry Gosho And really none of my comments are substantive: it's all there already


Fb

Hello Gosho

Here's some stuff 'bout costmetics using oatmeal:

Oatmeal Soap Balls
1 cup instant Quaker oatmeal
1 bar mild soap, such as Ivory
1/4 cup water
Food coloring (optional)
Grate oatmeal or use a mini-processor oatmeal. Put into a bowl. Do the same with the soap.
Add the water and blend well. If adding food coloring, add it to the water for even consistency. Shape into balls and put on wax paper to dry.
Balls can be put into containers or wrapped with plastic wrap and tied with raffia. A gift tag can be attached to the raffia.

Oatmeal Soap
10oz Palm Oil
4oz Coconut Oil
2oz Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Oatmeal (run through the blender)
2 oz Lye
1 Cup Water
Essential Oils (optional)

Mix lye and water and set aside to cool. Melt palm oil and coconut oil together and set aside to cool. In a blender or food processor, mix the olive oil and oatmeal. When the lye reaches 100° F and the fats are 120° F, pour the lye into the fats and stir until it traces. Add the oatmeal, and essential oil (if desired), stir until well mixed. Pour the soap into molds. Allow to sit for 24-48 hours. Unmold and cut if needed. Allow to age for three weeks. This makes a nice hard bar.


Cornmeal/Oatmeal Facial Scrub

1/4 Cup Oatmeal (fine)
1/4 Cup Cornmeal
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Milk

Note: Substitute finely ground almond meal for the cornmeal if you have super sensitive skin. Make paste out of all ingredients. Use gentle circular motions to apply mixture to face, avoiding eye area. Leave on up to 10 minutes. Rinse off with water. Loosens dead skin cells, removes dirt, prevents blackheads and smoothes skin.


Oatmeal-Citrus Scrubbing Grains
1 cup dried orange and lemon peel
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 cup blanched almonds
Place peels, oats, and almonds in a blender and whirl until the mixture is a fine powder. Store powder in an attractive container in the bathroom.
To use, place a bit of the grains in the palm of your hand and moisten with a few drops of warm tap water. Rub the paste onto your face with a gentle circular and upward motion. Rinse off with tepid water and pat dry. You can finish your cleansing by rinsing your face with one of the facial rinsing lotions or smoothing on a facial cream.

Oatmeal-Tomato Mask
For blemished skin.
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon instant oatmeal or old-fashioned rolled oats
Blend ingredients in a blender until just combined. Apply to skin, making sure the mixture is thick enough to stay on blemished areas. Add a bit more oatmeal to thicken the mask, if necessary. Leave the mask on for 10 minutes, then scrub off with a clean washcloth dipped in warm water.

Oatmeal-Honey Scrubbing Cream
1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground almonds
Combine all ingredients in a glass or enamel bowl.
To use, wet a clean washcloth with very warm water and lay it on your face for a minute OR first steam your face with an herbal vinegar. Apply the oatmeal mixture to your face, being careful to avoid the sensitive area around your eyes. Let mixture dry on your skin completely.
If your skin is young and firm, you can gently rub the dried mixture off with a clean terry washcloth or towel. Lean over the sink and rub your face in brisk, but gentle, circles with the cloth. Rinse with warm water, pat dry, and apply a fresh facial cream.

Enough?
Any good?

Did you pick up on the discussion about slugs on my PS? Using oatmeal round plants to 'dessicate' slugs but awful effective.

Later...


Fb

Dang, I somehow managed to miss your reply, and then forget all about this thread I'm just about to head off out to work, so I'll come back to it if I get some free time there, or maybe later this evening <ok

Someone ate my canteloupe

No canteloupe? I hope you had some brekkers?

You got mail of course

Don't work too hard


Fb