I decided to try a twist on the bread that I’ve made a few times – I added oatmeal! I used half oatmeal, half flour, but it would work with all flour as well.
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 teaspoons melted butter
- 2.5 – 3 cups of whole wheat flour/oatmeal mix
- Corn starch or nonstick cooking spray
Directions
- Prepare the yeast: heat up the water (about 120F – as hot as you can touch) and mix with the yeast until there are no lumps. Add 1 teaspoon of honey, mix, and let sit for a minute or two.
- Add the butter, milk, sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix gently until the color is consistent.
- Add two cups of flour/oatmeal mix and stir with a spoon. Add more flour/oatmeal until the dough is dry enough that it leaves a little bit of flour on the sides of the bowl.
- Put some flour between your hands and rub them over a clean area of the counter. This is for kneading.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Squeeze it back and forth between your hands and mash it on the floured counter. Shape into a ball.
- Spray the inside of a bowl with nonstick cooking spray or dust with corn starch. Place the ball of dough inside, put a towel overtop, and keep in a warm place (near a lamp or on the warming area of a stove both work well) for about an hour. The dough should rise.
- Take the dough and punch/shape it into a rectangular, then roll it up – it should be about the size and shape of a bread pan. This is easily done in the same area that you did the kneading; you may even want to dust some more flour on the ball before you start shaping.
- Put the dough back in the bowl (or in a bread pan coated with cooking spray), cover with a towel again, and return to the warming area for another hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake the roll in the bread pan or on a baking sheet sprayed with the cooking spray for 30 minutes. Remove from pan to cool.
- Enjoy!
This whole wheat oatmeal bread is delicious warm, straight from the oven, with a pat of butter. It also goes well with the apple dip I posted earlier. You can store the loaf in a Ziploc bag to preserve freshness. Be sure to put it in the fridge after a day or so – otherwise it will get moldy. Whole wheat bread goes moldy quickly because it has a lot of nutrients, which mold likes. Mold can tell the difference between homemade and processed, unlike people.
Be creative – you can use different flours and add flavors (cinnamon, raisins, dates, etc…) to fit the occasion.
Here is an excellent website for a kneading description: Kneading e-How.