honey wheat oatmeal bread

Yes, it's been a whole lot of bread baking here in New Jersey. I hope you're not breaded out, but bear with me just one more time. I promise I'll find something novel to bake next, maybe something pumpkiny?

This bread does differ from the previous posts in that it involves yeast. The smells of yeast bread proofing and baking are so appealing. I had all the ingredients on hand too— always a plus.

Wheat and white flour, rolled oats, a touch of cinnamon and honey are about all you need.

Let it rise two hours to a glorious poof and form into two loaves. Let rise another 30 minutes, bake, and then slather with butter and jam and enjoy!

The Boys thought the bread a tad sweet, but the Rest of Us loved it.

Honey Wheat Oatmeal Bread
from Penzey's Catalog

Printable recipe

1 cup regular oats
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons yeast
⅓ cup warm water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
2-2½ cups all-purpose flour

Place the oats in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and let stand for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the yeast with the warm water. It should get bubbly. Add the yeast mix to the oats and stir to combine. Add the cinnamon, salt, honey and oil and mix well. Gradually add teh wheat flour and 2 cups white flour and mix. Add more white flour if necessary to get the dough to a nice consistency. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours. (My kitchen can be drafty and cool; I placed the dough in the oven, turned it on to get to 100ºF and then turned the oven off and left the dough in the oven. It rose beautifully.)

Grease and flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans. Shape the dough into 2 loaves and place in prepared pans. Cover and let rise another 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake for 30 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when tapped with your fingers. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.