Chewy Oatmeal Bread
Doesn't a slice of chewy moist oatmeal bread sound good? I've had oatmeal bread before, but never this good. When our friends served us slices of this bread for dinner, alongside wild rice soup, I knew I needed to recreate it. You can make the bread with brown sugar, as in the original recipe, or you can substitute molasses for a darker color and slightly different taste. I like both. This recipe doubles well.
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 1/4 tsp active yeast (1 package)
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tblsp brown sugar or molasses
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp butter cut into 12 pieces
Grease 9x5" loaf pan, set aside.
In a small bowl pour boiling water over oats and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
Mix together the warm water, granulated sugar and yeast. Let sit for a few minutes until it foams. If the mixture doesn't actively foam, toss it and start over with fresh yeast.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add the oats, yeast mixture and butter to the bowl and mix well.
When a dough begins to form, turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5-6 minutes until smooth. Add flour if the dough is too sticky.
Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until double in size, about an hour.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and deflate with the palm of your hand. Shape the dough into a long rectangle. Fold in half and then in thirds, like a letter. Place this into the loaf pan, seam side down, cover loosely again, and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Uncover the loaf and place in the center rack of the oven. Lower the temperature to 350 and bake for 30-40 minutes. When done it will sound hollow when tapped and the internal temperature will be 210 degrees F.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.