Earl Grey Overnight Oats
And the thrills of very fresh oats, featuring a Q&A with Hayden Flour Mills
I couldn’t let February — the month of #28daysofoatmeal — pass without some invigorating oat content. Today I’m excited to highlight some very special, very fresh oats and learn a bit about them through a Q&A with Hayden Flour Mills, as well as share a brand new oatmeal recipe:
What’s the Deal with Fresh Oats?
Q&A with Debbie La Bell from Hayden Flour Mills
Recipe: Earl Grey Overnight Oats
Fresh-Pressed vs. Steam-Treated Oats
Let’s talk oats, one of my favorite topics. As we learned last year in our Q&A with food researcher
, one thing that makes oats so delicious is their high fat content. But a high fat content = high risk of rancidity. So in order to prolong the shelf life and prevent spoilage, most oats that you buy are steamed after harvest.By contrast, Hayden Flour Mills, based in Tempeh, Arizona, grows and processes Fresh Rolled Oats that aren’t heat-treated in any way. They’re the closest you can get to just-picked oats, a very rare thing for most of us to be able to try. Their buttery, nutty, delicate flavor is vibrant when you taste them.
I’ve had the pleasure of cooking with Hayden Flour Mills’ exquisite oats and other heritage grains over the years, and from the regenerative farming practices at the heart of the business, to the incredible care and labor that goes into ensuring freshness and top-notch deliciousness, they’re a business I’ve long enjoyed supporting.
Today, to provide some insight into what makes these fresh oats so delicious and special, Debbie La Belle of Hayden Flour Mills, a true ambassador of good grain, has graciously answered a few questions below.
Q&A with Debbie La Bell of Hayden Flour Mills
What exactly is a heritage grain? And are oats a heritage grain?
Heritage grains are defined as pre-dating the 1950s “Green Revolution.” At Hayden Flour Mills heritage grains are deep-rooted plants that are better for the soil with more flavor and nutrients than modern varieties. Our Raw Heritage Oats date back to the 18th century. Where grocery store oats are steam-treated to remove their natural oils and extend shelf life, our award-winning Raw Heritage Oats are harvested and milled to preserve those beautiful natural oils so their flavorful goodness remains intact.
Some people might be surprised to learn that oats can be grown in Arizona….
At Hayden Flour Mills, we are reviving forgotten desert grains — yes, more than cacti can grow and flourish in Arizona. Our deep-rooted heritage grain varieties are drought-tolerant, water-saving, require no chemical inputs, and revitalize our soil with vital nutrients by sequestering carbon out of the atmosphere, and drawing it to the earth through their deep root systems. All of this means our heritage crops leave behind healthier soil and our regenerative farming practices help conserve our precious water resources in the desert.
What makes your “Fresh Rolled Oats” different from standard rolled oats?
Our Fresh Rolled Oats are unlike anything you've had before. Rich and creamy with just the right amount of texture and grown only minutes from the mill. We use a European-style process to gently roll the raw oats in small batches, creating silky multi-textured flakes. Each pouch is then hand-packed, sealed, and stored in our refrigerator to guarantee that you experience the freshest flavor possible. While our Fresh Pressed Oats are shelf stable, we recommend you store them in your fridge to preserve the natural oils and extend product life for up to 6 months.
In honor of "oatmeal month," do you have any favorite oatmeal preparations?
We have many fun oat recipes on our website! Some of my favorites are…
Of course, there’s always simply boiling our fresh rolled oats in water, and adding a dollop of butter and brown sugar for a comforting, familiar treat. (The butter really takes it over the top!)
LV Note: For anyone interested in exploring baking with heritage grains, I highly recommend the Hayden Flour Mills cookbook, The Miller’s Daughter. It’s full of really wonderful, practical and unfussy recipes.
If you’d like to try out Hayden Flour Mills fresh oats, use code LUKASVOLGER to take 20% off any of their Heritage Oat products.
Terms: Enter promo code LUKASVOLGER at checkout to apply discount. Promo code can be used to apply 20% discount off regular sales price for the following items: Fresh Rolled Oats, Raw Cracked Oats, and Raw Whole Groat Oats. Offer can be combined with discounted shipping offer on orders totaling $99 or more, after discounts have been applied. Offer cannot be combined with other promo codes or volume discounts. Offer available for first time customers only. Limit one coupon code per customer. This promotion is subject to expiration without advance notice.
Embracing Overnight Oats at Last
I never thought I’d write the phrase “overnight oats” around here. I like my oats warm, creamy, and comforting, not cold, stiff, and stodgy. But as soon as I opened my mind to chia pudding (I like it!) I knew that overnight oats were something to reconsider.
There are hundreds of riffs on the basic, simple method of soaking oats overnight in in a flavored and/or enriched liquid base. This one includes a healthy dose of chia seeds, which helps them set and add some extra nutrition, and also involves a toasting step, which is necessary for raw oats but also a trick for imparting deeper, toastier, more oaty flavor in overnight oats.
I’ve come to love that overnight oats are so easy to fix and have ready for busy mornings, and as you probably know they’re also a great source of fiber as a whole grain.
But did you know that overnight oats are also a “particularly potent” prebiotic in the form of resistant starch? (I’m quoting
here, from whom I learned this bit of information.) They develop resistant starch as they chill, and consuming the oats cold is what makes it so accessible to our digestive systems. How about that!KEFIR OVERNIGHT OATS
[6/14/24 update] I’ve also been making a plain, kefir based version of these overnight oats with the following ingredients and measurements: 1 ¼ cups oats (150g), 1 cup just-boiled water (240g), 3 tablespoons chia (35g), 1 to 1 ¼ cups (240-300g) kefir (less for thick overnight oats, more for slightly looser), 1-2 tablespoons (14-28g) maple syrup, and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt. Use a scale and there’s just the bowl to clean afterwards! Sometimes I toast the oats first, and sometimes I don’t.
Earl Grey Overnight Oats
These take inspiration from my favorite black tea Earl Grey, which is flavored with the essential oil of bergamot, a citrus related to sour orange. It turns a little cup of overnight oats into a fragrant, perfect canvas for winter citrus, as you can see in the video above.
Hayden Flour Mills Fresh Pressed Oats are raw and fresh, meaning that they’re not heat treated (like most other oats on the market) which preserves their flavorful but delicate natural oils. They must be gently but thoroughly toasted first before consuming. You can use standard rolled oats instead and you don’t need to toast them, but toasting does have the advantage of awakening their flavor a bit.
Use coconut milk, or another thick and creamy nondairy milk, in place of the yogurt to change up the flavor. Omit the tea for simple, citrus-kissed version of overnight oats.
Yield 3 to 4 servings | Prep & cook time About 25 minutes, not including overnight rest
2 Earl Grey tea bags
2 cups just-boiled water
1 ¼ cups (150g) fresh rolled (raw) oats
1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey, to taste
Zest of 1 orange
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons (35g) chia seeds
½ cup (120g) plain yogurt, any kind
Toppings of choice: fresh fruit, jam or marmalade, dollops of yogurt, toasted nuts or seeds, a drizzle of extra honey, maple syrup, or good olive oil
1. In a 2-cup (or larger) capacity heat-safe measuring glass, combine the tea bags and water, and allow to steep for 8 to 10 minutes, until strongly brewed. Pick out the tea bags and squeeze out the liquid.
2. Meanwhile, set a dry skillet over medium-low heat and once hot, add the oats. Gently toast them until beautifully fragrant and darkened a shade, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring or swirling the pan often.
3. Transfer the oats to a mixing bowl and pour the tea over them. Stir in the maple syrup, orange zest, and salt, and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes to cool. Then stir in the chia seeds and yogurt. Once the mixture has cooled completely, divide between three jars, cover, and move to the fridge to set for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight.
4. Serve cold or at room temperature, topped as you please.
That's a great breakfast idea, Lukas. Next time, I'll mix oats with chia seeds. Thanks for sharing it.
I was also slow to warm up to the cold oat treatment. But now I love having batches put up for busy days. Thanks for this stellar recipe Lukas, and thanks for the mention!