Soaked Baked Oatmeal: A Roadmap
Sometimes I forget about a recipe for literally years. We tend to get into eating the same things for weeks or months at a time and then fall desperately off the bandwagon for whatever reason. This Soaked, Baked Molasses-Sweetened Oatmeal is one such example.
I started making this dish when it was just Stewart, the boys, and I in a little suburban duplex whose backyard held our very first garden. I baked it up and for days we’d have snacks and breakfast. Three more babies and two very big and hungry boys later, a meal and a snack is about all we get out of a pan.
Recently I’ve gotten back on the oat wagon and with plenty of milk and eggs around, it makes a pretty economical dish.I like to soak the oats at least overnight and up to 24 hours to get them good and fermented. Instead of added butter or coconut oil, I changed it up to use a bit of soured cream to the dairy mixture but you could just use all whole milk. And feel free to toss in whatever seasonal fruit or spices you like.
Serve it in a bowl with some kefir, milk, or cream and you are ready to start hauling in firewood and muck out the barn. The jury’s still out on whether this breakfast helps you make it through your morning long division, or so I am told.
Soaked, Baked Oatmeal
- 6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 3 cups dairy (about 2.5 cups milk + .5 cup sour cream or kefir)
- 8 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup sweetener (honey, molasses, sucanat, etc.)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1.5 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup add-ins (chopped fruit or nuts)
Directions
- Soak the oats: The morning before you want to make this for breakfast (~24 hours) combine the oats and dairy. Pat it down a little so that it is mostly one large “dough”. Let sit in a warm place until the next morning.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the bowl of soaking oats on top of the oven to warm up a bit while you grease a 9Ă—13″ baking pan.
- Add the eggs to the oatmeal ingredients and mix in thoroughly. You will have to use a wooden spoon to break up the oatmeal and evenly disburse the egg mixture. Add all remaining ingredients and blend well.
- Pour into the buttered pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve warm with milk or milk kefir.
I like your version with all the extra eggs. Mine is very similar but I use only kefir for the soaking, 4 eggs, and 1/2-1 cup of lard from a pastured pig. Great way to get a huge vitamin d boost. I’ve made it with apples, blueberries, strawberries, pears, pumpkin, plain, and even with summer squash seasoned like apples. We have it year round 3-4 times a month.
This sounds great! I was just soaking my oatmeal overnight in milk and then cooking it in the morning. Got tired of it, especially after the milk soured! This sounds much better. Going to try it tonight. Thanks.
Hi there! I’m pretty new to all of this so I’m going to ask a silly question… is it ok to leave the milk out of the refrigerator all night?? My household uses whole milk, sometimes raw, is that ok? Thank you! This looks delicious!
Ashley – Yes, especially if it is raw and there is some cultured dairy in there. I might be a little more leery of pasteurized milk, though, and you can certainly refrigerate it if you want.
Funny 🙂 I was thinking of you the other morning as I was making regular old blueberry oatmeal. Wondering with all your extra milk if you make it often. I tend to make a big pot for breakfast and reheat it for lunch. I’ll have to try soaking my oats next time. Blessings!
This sounds delicious! I will have to give it a try next week when we have proper oats, we only have quick oats at the moment.
I have a recipe that is very similar (not as many eggs) that puts the oatmeal in muffin tins. This works great for meals on the go or to have in the freezer for days when I don’t have time to cook breakfast.
Will I achieve a good ferment if it’s 24 hours in the refrigerator? I need to keep fat and this kind of carb separated and so would use almond milk, but I’m hesitant to leave it on the counter.
Hi Shannon! Thank you so much for posting this. I started soaking my oats yesterday and it’s in the oven now. It looks wonderful. I had a handful of raisins in the bottom of a bag as well as some walnut crumbs that weren’t really enough for anything but I didn’t want to throw them away either! I threw those in too, perfect! I love that this has some protein in it as I find that a breakfast of oatmeal doesn’t stick with my active farm children very long! I think this is going to become a staple in our home too!
Thanks for the reminder of this dish! I too had forgotten about it and the boys were just requesting something different for breakfast tomorrow 🙂 Instead of dairy (I don’t think it is a good idea unless it is raw), I use water with a couple tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar to get a good ferment. It works great for my girl with a severe dairy allergy.
Hello Shannon, I’ve been on my cultured and fermenting journey for almost 12 months now and have received your book in the post today(!) Traditionally Fermented Foods, very much looking forward to expanding my knowledge. I’m still learning, but does the fermenting process of this recipe lower the gluten content to minimal levels for those who are gluten intolerant? Thank you for your time answering my question.
Vicki P in Central Queensland, Australia.
Hi Shannon, this recipe looks yum, l have a question, l roll my own oats so can l soak them too or is it best to soak the groats first, then dry them and roll them and then follow the recipe and re- soak them.
Thanks Julie ( from Australia too)