Yes, Joan, you could do this!

can I ferment rolled oats, dry them, and them use in cookies, or meatloaf, or grind into flour for oat cakes or other baked goods ? I like overnight oats, but gag on cooked oat cereal. Can’t stand the gummy texture.

Thank you Alison!!! Best regards from Colombia

Hi Ad,

1/ Yes a cotton cover is fine. I use cotton or gauze.
2/ Fermentation is a sliding scale. The time depends on how much cider vinegar you use and what your ambient temperature is and you can adapt you recipe to suit those variables. And there’s no ‘perfect’ end goal – the result is, to some extent, a matter of taste. It will be more sour the longer you leave it, less the shorter. It’s up to you what you choose. If you want to eat it quickly, use a good quantity of vinegar and keep it warm.
3/ If there’s a problem with the ferment you will see and smell it. It will show mould on the top and will smell foul (not slightly vinegary/sweet as it should). I have never had a batch go bad. The starter is introducing so many good bacteria that they outcompete any bad.

Thank you and my best regards

Hi Glenda, I have never tried using just milk. If you used it (with a starter, like milk kefir or sourdough discard) as the soak liquid, it’d probably mean the milk plus the oats would ferment overnight and the resulting porridge might be too strong. Perhaps a better way would be to use minimal water with the starter when you ferment overnight and then, when you cook, add the milk.

Yes Rod. I say that everywhere else I mention fermentation but forgot here. I have amended the post, thank you.