March 18, 2014

Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread

Pssst: there's a recipe for whipped honey butter at the end of all this 


I've already made two loaves of this bread this week. My husband has deemed it "the best bread you've ever made" - hence the constant stream of this bread. We're almost done with our second loaf and he's already chomping at the bit for me to make another one.


It really is fantastic. It's got an amazing depth of flavor: slightly sweet but wheat-y (not a word...) at the same time. I made the original recipe into half-wheat and instead of soaking the oats in water, I soaked them in milk.



The texture is that of a soft sandwich bread. We've been eating it toasted in the morning with a healthy slab of honey butter and it is close-your-eyes-and-get-lost-in-the-flavors-good.


Okay fine, here's a close-up shot. 

Sometimes I think I might have a problem given how much I love how pretty food is. But then, I get over it. 

Honey Oatmeal Bread
Adapted from allrecipes
Makes 1 9x5 inch loaf (you can easily double this for 2 loaves!)

1 cup boiling milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 F)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour (+ more for dusting)

For the topping
1 tablespoon oats
1 tablespoon honey 

Throw in your oats, honey, butter, and salt into your boiling milk. Turn off the heat and let sit for 1 hour to get some good honey oats flavor into this bread.

In a large bowl, mix your warm water and yeast and let sit for about 10 minutes or until slightly frothy. Add in your milk mixture, your wheat flour, and bread flour. Form into a rough ball and turn onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth ball of dough (about 10 minutes).

Move your dough into an oiled bowl and turn to coat your dough with oil. Cover and place in a warm area for 1.5-2 hours or until doubled in size. 

Once doubled, deflate your dough and plop it into your ready loaf pan (lined with parchment paper or buttered). Roughly shape with your hands so that the dough fills the pan evenly. Cover again and let rise about another hour or until nice and puffy. 

Note: it's important to get a good rise here, otherwise you won't get a good fluffy loaf, and you might end up with a denser one so go ahead and let rise!

Preheat your oven to 350F and when your rise is done, bake for about 30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped on. 

While your loaf is still warm, drizzle on your honey and sprinkle your remaining oats to get that beautiful look!

Enjoy!

Oh wait - Honey Butter
Makes about 4 tablespoons
Disclaimer: these are estimates, I didn't measure...add more honey if you want sweeter, less if you want less sweet!

4 tablespoons soft, room temperature butter
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Store in the refrigerator. 
Whip it all together! I have to tell you though, this is sooooo worth making and adding to your slices. 

I'm off to eat the last slice!
Sam


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