Freshly flaked oats have become such a staple at my house. I have been eating yougurt and granola for lunch for years. Today I make my own yougurt and granola.
Exploring some aged information from 1987 The New Laurel's Kitchen and another source from 1947 Let's Cook It Right, on heat's effects on oats, both talk about losing B vitamins and other nutrients too! Additionally, reheating of oats causes more B vitamin loss. Quick search of current info confirms this, we just don't find nutrition focus very often in cookbooks or recipe info today.
So the take-aways for keeping the most nutrition in your oats from these aged sources? Toasting oats for granola at a low temp, 300ºF and just till they are slightly golden. I tossed mine in 1/2C warmed honey and mixed in 1/4C Extra Virgin Olive Oil to sweeten before going in the oven. This also adds a crunch factor; took about an hour, tossing every 15 minutes. They turned out crunchy and delicious!
How to cook oatmeal was also covered! Not like oatmeal is hard to turn out edible but predictably the same would be nice. I knew putting the oats in the cold water caused gooky oatmeal. Now I know why.
First, cook in milk when possible. Scald the milk, then add your oats. If cooking with water, bring to a rolling boil, salted water and add oats slowly so the boil does not stop. Here is the ah-ha; cereals with high starch content like oats and rice do not become gummy when added slowly to boiling liquid (milk or water). Why? Because the starch on and near the surface is cooked before it can dissolve and disperse into the cooking water, causing thick paste-like matter, aka "gook."
Oatmeal-cook per above:
1C milk or water
1/2C flaked oats
1/2tsp salt
Granola - 300ºF oven:
4C flaked oats
1/2C warmed honey (this will be very lightly sweet, try 3/4C for sweeter taste)
1/4C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1-1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
Heat honey just till runny enough to be able to blend with the oil and extract and toss to coat the oats. Bake around 1 hour, tossing every 15 minutes to prevent burning. Stop when lightly golden and oat scents are present.
While oats are toasting you can toast up coconut and nuts to toss together when the oats are ready. Doing these additions separately lets you keep a close eye so they don't burn, which can happen in a quick minute!
1/2C chipped coconut - toasted on a separate pan, in the same 300º oven as oats, for about 15-20 minutes (shredded would be much shorter)
1/2C sliced almonds - toasted on a separate pan, in the same 300º oven as oats for about 12-15 minutes.
1/2C cut up dried cherries, raisins or any dried fruit.
Let the oats cool, maybe 15 minutes, then toss in additions and let cool completely.
I store my granola in mason jars on the shelf and have no issues.
The Simply Filled Pantry offers both oat groats and flaked oats or you can purchase your own oat flaker, The Flake Lovers Flaker (electric). Check those options out here!