Hmmm...slow cooking grains in crockpot vs. soaking?

[nukuspot]

I just did steel cut oats overnight in the crockpot. It came out divine the next morning. However, I did not pre-soak the oats like I normally do because it was a spur of the minute thing. Then I wondered---If the oats are slow cooking in a crock on low all night with the yogurt, isn't that going to do the same thing as soaking them overnight in a warm place?

Your thoughts?

[PoetryMom]

My intuition tells me yes. Besides, if they turned out divine, that's all that matters.

[Magelet]

i would say no. soaking them overnight is actually fermenting them, which predigests them. If your only soaking one night admitedly, it's minor fermentation, but fermentation none the less.

I don't think cooking them breaks them down that much.

I'd say the best thing to do would be to soak and then cook slow, if you can. (also adding a little spoonful of ww flour is supposed to help break down the phytates. I think because the majority of oats are steamed, they don't contain much in the way of phytase, the enzyme that breaks down phytates.)