For bread baking, choose organic oat flakes that you can grind yourself as directed by the recipe, or organic oat flour if you want to skip that step. Don’t automatically use instant oats as a substitute: the fact that they cook quickly as porridge tells you nothing about how they’ll work in bread. According to PuurGezond, oat bread is less light and airy than wheat bread. If you have coeliac disease, you’ll also need to check separately that the oats are gluten-free.
Want to bake bread or breakfast bread with oats, and happy with a compact crumb? You can grind plain oat flakes yourself as directed by the recipe. PuurGezond explains that oat bread is less light and airy than wheat bread.
If you have coeliac disease, an organic label isn’t enough. The Voedingscentrum warns that oat products may be contaminated with gluten and recommends checking the packaging for the official Crossed Grain symbol. You’ll also need a gluten-free bread recipe with ingredients that provide structure.
A product that quickly turns into porridge isn’t automatically suitable for a bread recipe. Check the type of product and the ingredients required before using instant oats instead of flakes or flour.
Start with the form of oats your bread recipe calls for. Then check separately for an organic label and, if needed, a gluten-free label.
| What to look for | What to check before buying | Who is this most important to? |
|---|---|---|
| Organic and plain | Check the EU organic logo, the control code and the ingredients list. The European Commission links use of the organic logo to certification. | I want to choose what goes into my bread and am looking for a certified organic basic ingredient. This combination is a priority for around 36% of consumers. |
| Product form and crumb | Choose flakes if the recipe allows you to grind them, or oat flour if the recipe specifies flour. PuurGezond describes oat bread as less light and airy than wheat bread. | If the crumb I want is the deciding factor, the form of oats needs to suit my recipe. This is the most important consideration for around 36% of consumers. |
| Gluten-free | If you have coeliac disease, check the packaging for the official Crossed Grain symbol and avoid cross-contamination while baking, as advised by the Voedingscentrum. | I need to be able to use oats in a gluten-free baking recipe; an organic logo doesn’t answer that question. That’s why around 21% of consumers prioritise gluten-free products. |
| Instant or regular oats | Check whether the recipe calls for instant oats and read the ingredients of any flavoured variety. A short cooking time for porridge doesn’t tell you how to use it in baking. | If convenience is my main consideration, I want a product that’s quick to use without losing sight of the form required by the recipe. Convenience matters most to around 7% of consumers. |
An organic certification mark says nothing about possible gluten contamination in oats. This means regular organic oats aren’t automatically suitable if you have coeliac disease, according to the Voedingscentrum.
Check the packaging for the Crossed Grain symbol every time you buy, and take care to avoid cross-contamination while baking.
According to PuurGezond, oat bread is less light and airy than wheat bread. Simply replacing flakes with oat flour won’t change that.
Choose a recipe that gives you the crumb you want. For a gluten-free loaf with more structure, a Voedingscentrum recipe uses psyllium husk fibre and other types of flour alongside oat flour.
Quaker says Express Oats cook quickly as porridge, but that doesn’t tell you whether they’re suitable for bread dough.
Check whether the recipe calls for instant oats, flakes or flour. If you’re using a flavoured variety, read the ingredients before adding it to a plain bread recipe.
Jumbo Organic Wholegrain Oats 500 g are oat flakes for recipes that use oats or allow you to grind them yourself.
Albert Heijn offers organic wholegrain oats in fine and coarse varieties. Choose the flake size your recipe calls for, or grind the flakes as directed.
Lidl lists Crownfield Organic Oats in a 500 g pack as an in-store product.
According to the Joybuy product information, Zonnatura Organic Wholegrain Oats 500 g contains fine wholegrain oat flakes from organic farming.
Joybuy product information describes Leev Dutch Oats 450 g as organic and gluten-free.
This is an organic oat flake option for bread recipes that call for oats or allow you to grind the flakes yourself; it isn’t a confirmed instant or gluten-free variety.
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An option for recipes that use oat flakes or flakes that you grind yourself.
According to the product information, this variety contains fine wholegrain oat flakes from organic farming. The product contains oats and may contain traces of soya, milk, nuts and sesame. Check the current packaging if allergens are important to your choice.
No. Organic and gluten-free are two different labels. The Voedingscentrum warns that oat products may be contaminated with gluten and advises people with coeliac disease to choose oats bearing the official Crossed Grain symbol on the packaging.
You can, if you follow a suitable oat bread recipe, but don’t expect it to be as light and airy as wheat bread, according to PuurGezond. For a gluten-free loaf with more structure, a Voedingscentrum recipe combines oat flour with other types of flour and psyllium husk fibre.
Check the EU organic logo, the control code and the ingredients of the product you choose. According to the European Commission, the organic logo may only be used on products certified as organic.
Not without checking your bread recipe. The quick preparation time Quaker gives for Express Oats refers to porridge and doesn’t prove that instant oats work like oat flour. Follow the product form and preparation steps specified by the recipe.
