I have a Kitchenaid Mockmill that I use for all my bread baking. I would like to grind oat groats to make oatmeal for my breakfast. I have read that the Mockmill does a great job with oats on a coarse setting. Do I even need a flaker if I can use my Mockmill? Thanks!
Porridge oats are not oat groats simply flaked or coarsely ground. They’re actually steamed. That is why they can be added to smoothies as they are or made with cold milk and soaked overnight. Coarsely grinding them and then cooking them the same way might not produce exactly the same results.
I think you need a flaker for Rolled oats. Steel cut style oats might be achievable with a Mockmill. @Abe I wasn’t aware of the steaming thing, so I just did a little reading. The steaming makes rolled oats more shelf stable and cook faster. I agree that the results would probably not be the same for smoothies and overnight oats, but oatmeal would probably be fine just requiring more cooking time. And the granola I make using rolled oats that are only baked about 20 minutes after stirring in oil and honey – I don’t know if that would need a shift in method too. (salt, vanilla extract too; and flaxmeal and nuts halfway thru the bake)
Only thing for it Melissa. Experiment time 
No harm in Mark trying 50g for one bowl of porridge. Will be good to know either way. I suppose even if not identical but it’s edible, tasty and a porridge then why not?
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Well, I have an order of oat groats on the way! I will grind and report back!
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On the back of the packet the cooking instructions for oat groats are… Soak for 12 hours and cook for 8 minutes.
I’m thinking simply coarsely grinding and cooking won’t make a very palatable porridge judging by these instructions.
May I suggest (and would you agree?) it might be best to coarsely grind them the night before. Then add the milk and soak overnight in the fridge. Cook the next morning.
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I think that would work, and I also think a longer cook time like with steel cut oats would work too. They cook for about 25 minutes at a simmer if I recall correctly. My personal issue with overnight oats is that when I have made them, the oatmeal is so soft. I like a little chew and feel I can control that better on the stove. That’s just me having tried overnight oats all of one time though 
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I have Bob’s Red Mill oats every morning, either extra thick rolled oats or steel cut oats. I simmer both for about 20". They have a somewhat different flavor, and I don’t necessarily favor one over the other. Reportedly steel cut oats take longer to digest and therefore have a lower glycemic index and I’m not hungry for a good six hours later. Hopefully, the Mockmill will produce something similar to steel cut oats. I know someone who partially cooks them the night before, so that it only takes 5 or 10 minutes in the morning, but they are too soft for me as I like a little crunch with steel cut oatmeal.
Richard
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I buy oat groats in 50-lb bags.
“Groats” are any coarsely milled cereal grain. Basically, chunks of what was once a whole seed. Groats can be wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc. Steel cut oats, Irish oats, groat oats, pin oats … they are all the same thing … oat groats. There is no standard size for groats - different mills will produce different size chunks of the grain, doesn’t matter, they are all “groats”. The only time I have seem oat groats used in bread recipes is when the groats are more finely ground, not big chunks like for breakfast cereal, and included in multi-grain breads.
Abe provided an explanation above for rolled oats, here it is again … they are (whole) oats that are steamed to soften them, and consequently partially cooking them, before rolling to flatten. Because rolled oats are partially cooked when steamed, they cook faster on the stove top, and they are perfectly acceptable to use as is in smoothies. Rolled oats are also used in bread recipes, they will finish cooking as the dough bakes.
Rolled oats take about 5 minutes, and groats take about 40 minutes to cook on a stove top, more or less depending on preferred consistency. Some folks like to soak or par cook groats the night before to reduce cooking time in the morning by about half – 20 minutes. I’ve not discerned any noticeable difference between soaking or par cooking. Keep in mind the suggestion either soaking or par cooking necessitates refrigeration overnight for food safety concerns.
I agree with Richard, rolled oats and groats have different flavors. I prefer groats for my hot cereal.
Can’t think of a reason to mill oat groats finer except to make oat flour.
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I’m in agreement with @Otis. To my taste, virtually any form of oats tastes better than the (previously steamed) rolled oats that have become standard (at least in the U.S.). Steel cut oats, the “scottish oats” that Bob’s Red Mill makes (stone ground, finer than steel cut, probably equivalent to coarse grinding in the Mockmill), even whole oats, make better porridge than those rolled oats, with cooking time adjusted for the coarseness level.
A few years ago I got a flaker and started “flaking” my own oats for porridge, and though they are sort of squashed flat like rolled oats, they really aren’t quite the same since not having been steamed they break apart / crumble more (if you hydrate them a little, less so, but still really not the same). They fall into the same taste category as the Bob’s Red Mill variations. Possibly one could steam one’s own oats and duplicate the rolled effect somehow, and I’ll bet those would taste better. My guess is the blandness of commercial rolled oats is caused by post-steaming-and-rolling shelf life.
BTW I’ve experimented with various long soak methods, and it’s never made a flavor improvement to my taste, and it’s easy for them to end up too soft (like @evnpar and @Fermentada noted), but that may be a matter of taste. My preference is to flake them right before using them and then cook as low as possible for 20 minutes, 1 part oats to 3 parts water.