Oat Flour for pasta not rolling well?
I experimented by substituting all purpose flour with oat flour that I ground up myself from organic oatmeal for pasta intended for ravioli.
I used roughly 3 cups of oat flour : 4 eggs ratio, Kneeded it into dough, let it rest for 30 minutes before attempting to roll it in my pasta roller.
The problem is I couldn't get the texture right, plus the oat flour kept absorbing all the moisture and became dry, brittle and unrollable.
Adding more water made it too moist and sticky that I know it would get stuck in my pasta roller. Kneeding water or more flour into the dough made it eventually dry and brittle again.
The oat flour dough is like a weird sponge! I can't get the texture right.
What am I doing wrong?
I've made pasta from all purpose flour before and have not had this problem.
EDIT: Just experimenting because I had extra Oatmeal on hand. I don't have Gluten sensitivity.
Best Answer
Pasta relies on gluten development for its strength and structure. Only wheat and its close relatives have the necessary precursor proteins, glutenin and gliadin, from which gluten is formed.
You simply will not be able to make pasta from 100% oat flour using a recipe designed for wheat flour, as oats do not contain gluten (well, technically, its precursors).
If you desire a gluten free pasta, you should search for recipes specifically for that purpose. They are often bound together with xantham gum or other hydrocolloids.
If you are just looking for an interesting pasta as an alternative to the more traditional ones, you need to make sure you have enough gluten available to support the structure (and overcome the weakening that will come from using oat flour, which will physically interrupt the gluten strands). I would suggest making sure you are using high protein wheat flour (such as bread flour), and only substituting a portion (no more than say 25%, and you might want to start with smaller amounts to see how it works) with oat flour. I haven't tried this, so you will need to experiment to find a good balance between oat flavor, and the ability for the pasta to hold its shape and structure.
Pictures about "Oat Flour for pasta not rolling well?"
Why is my pasta so hard to roll out?
1) Too much flour or not enough Too much flour makes the pasta tough. Not enough will result in runny lumps that are impossible to roll through pasta maker.Why is my pasta dough not smooth?
If pasta dough is too dry, adding a small amount of water at a time to the dough will solve the problem of having dried dough. If the pasta has not formed a perfectly moist ball after adding a little water, then you can add a small amount of flour to the dough to help obtain your desired texture.Why does oat flour not rise?
Oat flour absorbs significantly more liquid than regular flour. Oat flour does not have the gluten make up of all-purpose or wheat flour so your baked goods WILL NOT rise in the same way.Can oat flour be substituted for all-purpose flour?
Can you substitute oat flour for other flour? Because oat flour is gluten-free, you can't substitute it for all the flour in baked goods that need the gluten help for slow rising, such as yeast breads.2 ways to adjust your pasta dough.
More answers regarding oat Flour for pasta not rolling well?
Answer 2
Pasta does not need glutein. In fact in east plenty of gluten free flours (rice, bean flours) have been used for making noodles without wheat. Oat is one of them, which is traditional for Inner Mongolia (part of China).
What I recommend is using enough water - and not necessary eggs att all. Oat has plenty of protein itself and like durum it does not need eggs to make pasta. On the other hand it tends to absorb more fluid than wheat, so if it seems to dry, just add water.
Answer 3
I would recommend not leaving the dough to rest. Roll it right away as it will harden if left.
Answer 4
I second SAJ14SAJ but have my disagreement on oat flour vs all purpose.
Oats do have gluten and in fact 14% gluten so unless you are using a gluten free oat flour you should use similar amounts as you would whole wheat flour because of similar percentages.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Klaus Nielsen, Klaus Nielsen, Klaus Nielsen, Andrea Piacquadio