You should only have to go over these once or twice to grasp some of the nuances of this recipe. Hopefully these notes will help you to be successful on the first kick at the can. If you are having problems please contact me through the contact page so we can work this through together and hopefully reach a satisfactory conclusion.
The items below coincide with the steps in the recipe:
1. Start the burner on the stove before you add the oats to the saucepan. Open up the capsules and spread the powder on top of the oats. Mix lightly. (On my stove which is electric I set the burner to 4.5 where medium is about 5.) Add 2 cups of water to the oats and then put the saucepan on the burner. Stir it until it turns milky white. Then set the timer for 3-1/2 minutes. Stir it occasionally during this time. When the timer goes off stir the mixture and start to check for very light, almost invisible, wisps of steam. If you see these then turn the burner off. Continue stirring from time to time for about the next 20 minutes.
If you do not see wisps of steam after 3-1/2 minutes set the timer for 30 seconds. (Note: you will see the wisps of steam when you stir the mixture.) Continue to test at 30 second intervals while stirring regularly.
If you do not see the steam by 6 minutes your heat is probably too low. Put it up a bit, but be careful. You do not want this to come close to boiling.
(Note: If you are still having problems send me a note through the contact form and I will try to help you out.)
Taste the mixture from time to time after you have turned off the burner by dipping in a scrupulously clean finger and tasting it. If you prefer, use a spoon but using you finger has another advantage; you can tell how warm the mixture is. If it is too hot to dip your finger in then you have to get it off the burner right away.
The oat mixture will be ready for the next step when the taste has overtones of sweetness with just the slightest hint of water.
2. I found putting a funnel in the top hole of the blender minimized the amount of splatter. Pouring it over a spatula minimized it further. Put the cap in the hole and turn on the blender.
3. It is best to use a jug that you can spread the nut milk bag over the mouth completely and pull it down the sides. (Note: For cleaning the nut milk bag it is best to use it with the seam side out.) It is easy to hold it in place while you pour the blended mixture through the bag. The jug should be able to hold 4 plus cups.
It is important to squeeze as much of the liquid out as possible.
(Note: This is the liquid that other recipes identify as "slime". It is slime because it is essentially starch. The enzymes in the capsules changed the starch to sugar during step 1. In this recipe that slime becomes the essential ingredient providing the richness to this oat milk.)
4, The soy lecithin is sticky stuff and it takes the blender some time to process it. When the blender sound becomes consistent you are ready for the next step.
5. It is important to drip in the 1st tsp of canola oil. I add the rest 1 tsp at a time but it can be added slowly in a steady stream if you wish. Add the xanthan gum slowly to avoid it going in as a clump. My blender handles it better this way.
6. The reason I take the blender up to high at this point is that I like the milk to be a bit foamy. It is not necessary to do this.
This process is more complex than many of the oatmeal to recipes out there but it is worth it.
It works well as a barista oat milk.
It stays emulsified.
It foams well for lattes.
It works well in baking.
It is very pleasant to drink cold.
Nothing more needs to be added. It has its own sweetness.
Some more notes:
It is important to get step 1 to reach the sweetness stage. This makes this oat milk work.
If you want a slightly less rich oat milk then add an additional cup of water at step 2. If you want something akin to regular oat milk add another cup of water at step 2 for a total of 4 cups.
As I understand it, all oats are gluten free (GF) but oats that have come in contact with gluten grains lose their GF status.
Please check the Links, Sources & Miscellanea page for information on the ingredients, sources and equipment that I use.