Peanuts are roasted either dark or light, depending on requirements. The oven timings and temperature are cruicial, as is the amount of peanuts in each ovenload. The more peanuts per load, the more the oven will cool down. The timings listed in here are for my home oven. For a different oven, the timings will be slightly different.

The peanuts tend to darken more as they cool down. The peanuts for the 'dark roast' version asrent' as dark as you might think upon first taking them out of the oven, but they'll darken surprisingly. (and when combined with dark caramel syrup for making Peanut Caramel, the result is quite dark.)

Notes


  • When moving to the production unit and using the Rational oven, I found that the peanuts were roasting way more effectively. I've reduced the temp of the oven to 175 and also the times.

Homemade Peanut Butter Recipe

Makes 12 kg

Ingredients

  • 12.5 kg blanched peanuts

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 175C. Using a ~1.5 litre bowl, scoop one bowlful of peanuts onto each oven tray and spread out evenly. Each tray should be the same size.

  2. For 'dark roast' peanut butter, roast for 15 mins, then stir each tray and return to the oven, turning the trays around as you do so. Also, rotate the trays around the vertical centre of the oven. For example, if there are 4 positions in the oven, swap 1 and 4, and also swap 2 and 3. This allows for the most even distribution of heat. Keep the oven door closed as much as possible during the stirring/turning to avoid it cooling down. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, then repeat the stirring/turning. Return to the oven for 8 minutes, then immediately transfer to large gastro trays (1/1 Gastronorm) to cool.

  3. For 'light roast' peanut butter, do the same as above, but for 6 minutes, followed by 6 minutes.

  4. In summary... 175C oven temp. DARK ROAST: 15m -> 10m -> 8m. LIGHT ROAST: 6m -> 6m.