To make oat bran from oatmeal at home, you'll essentially be separating the bran from the rest of the oat kernel using a food processor and sifting. Here's how:
Steps to Make Oat Bran from Oatmeal:
-
Choose Your Oatmeal: You can use either quick oats or rolled oats for this process. If you only have whole grain oats, that's fine too, but it will require a bit more sifting effort later.
-
Process the Oatmeal: Place the oatmeal in a food processor. Pulse it several times until it is finely ground. Avoid over-processing into flour. You want a coarser texture where the bran is separated but not pulverized beyond recognition.
-
Sift the Processed Oats: Use a fine-mesh sieve or sifter. Sift the ground oatmeal. The finer powder that passes through is mostly the oat endosperm (the starchy part). The coarser material remaining in the sieve is primarily the oat bran.
-
Repeat Sifting (If Necessary): If you started with whole grain oats, you might need to repeat the sifting process a few times to ensure a purer oat bran product. Remove any larger pieces of the oat kernel that haven't been properly separated.
-
Store Properly: Once you've collected your oat bran, store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place to maintain its freshness and prevent it from becoming rancid.
In summary, creating oat bran from oatmeal involves grinding the oats to separate the bran and then sifting to isolate the bran from the finer particles.
