2

Can I use an oven instead of a dehydrator for grains and pulses? Dehydrators are not so common in my neck of the woods.

winnend
  • 325
  • 1
  • 8

3 Answers3

2

From what I've heard you might be able to if your oven can be set on 170 degrees Fahrenheit and left propped open with a wooden spoon or something so the air escapes better

clurect
  • 233
  • 1
  • 7
  • Just tried making my own chile powder out of ripe Anaheims. Sliced them and tried drying in a 170°F oven. Too wet, they started cooking, and I even got some burning to bottom of pan. Had to finish the job with my much cooler dehydrator. The cooking and sticking is likely a common problem with the moister foods. JFYI, when dried and ground, I got *excellent* chile powder. – Wayfaring Stranger Nov 04 '16 at 02:52
  • Yeah there's still a problem using the oven, there's lack of good air flow and less options for lower temperatures. It's a really strange decision by oven makers to not allow you to cook at a lower temperature. I've seen people hack ovens before to make them cook at really hot temperatures, but not cooler. I wonder if there's a way? – clurect Nov 04 '16 at 13:47
  • I was baffled last time I bought an oven, that none of them seem to come with a dough-raising setting. – Wayfaring Stranger Nov 04 '16 at 14:45
  • I would love to use my oven as a proofer. If only :( – clurect Nov 04 '16 at 15:28
2

Using ovens as a dehydrator is pretty universal for any kind of food that can be dried.

Here is just one of many sites out there -

How to make sprouted grain flour

PoloHoleSet
  • 3,634
  • 17
  • 20
2

Thank you, Andrew for your reply and link. In the meanwhile I decided to try and see for myself. I put some buckwheat on a flat surface in the oven for about 30 min. I took the same amount of buckwheat and left it as is. Then I tried milling the two batches. The oven batch yielded flour much more quickly than the other, untreated batch. One other suggested solution I found, was, to cook the lentils, puree the mass and dehydrate before milling. I have yet to try this for myself. We'll see...

winnend
  • 325
  • 1
  • 8