Oatmeal Bread

Annie asked for my oatmeal bread recipe, so here it is, dug up from an old blog entry. I love this recipe because it is versatile (you can substitute in whole wheat flour, add extras like flax meal or wheat germ, and the bread seems to turn out just fine) and makes great toast and sandwich bread.

Anyway, here is this week's bread recipe, courtesy of More with Less*. I substitute in a little extra whole wheat flour for the white flour:

Oatmeal Bread
Makes 2 loaves
350 degrees
30-40 min

Combine in a large bowl:
1 c. quick oats
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. salt
2 T. butter

Pour over:
2 c. boiling water
Stir in to combine.

Dissolve:
1 pkg. (or 2 1/4 t.) yeast in
1/2 c. warm water

When batter is cooled to lukewarm, add yeast.
Stir in:
5 c. white flour
When dough is stiff enough to handle turn onto floured board and knead 5-10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again. Shape into 2 loaves (which, I learned from Irene, means: roll out into a long thin strip that's as wide as your bread pan and roll up from one short end to the other) and place in greased 9 by 5 by 3" pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool on rack, brushing loaves with butter for a soft crust.

Recipe by Ella Rohrer, Orrville, Ohio and Carol ann Maust, Upland, California.

Happy baking! May your loaves be like manna from heaven.

*Longacre, Doris Janzen. "More-with-less Cookbook." Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, 1976.