This easy oatmeal batter bread without yeast starts with old fashioned oats ground into a flour and baked into a simple loaf. It's perfect as toast, with soup, or as a sandwich bread. This is a bread for those times when you can't get to the store or can't get the supplies you need.
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Shopping list
You'll probably have these ingredients in your pantry!
- Old fashioned or quick oats - I've never tried it with instant
- Flaxseed meal or whole flaxseed ground in the blender
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Sugar - or other sweetener like brown sugar, molasses, honey, etc
- Eggs
- Milk - whole milk, almond milk, fat free milk, or another liquid
Instructions
This is a simple, quick bread that takes about 45 minutes.
- Put the oats in the blender
- Pulse until they are ground into a flour.
- Add the oat flour to a bowl.
- Stir in leavening, salt, and sugar.
- Stir in flaxmeal or ground flaxseed
- Stir until blended. Set aside.
- Add eggs to a bowl
- Add milk.
- Whisk smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir for about 10 seconds.
- Spoon into greased loaf pan and let set for 10 minutes.
- Bake at 350F and let cool completely before cutting.
Tips
This no-flour, oatmeal batter bread is such and easy recipe there's aren't a lot of tips to give! Keep in mind this is an emergency bread - best for those times you can't get regular bread or flour.
- Be sure to let the batter sit for 10 to 15 minutes before putting it in the oven.
- Let it cool completely before slicing - this bread can be a little crumbly due to the lack of gluten.
- This can be made into a sweet bread by increasing the sugar.
- Store this tightly wrapped for up to two days.
- Make this in muffin cups (half full) to make some pretty decent english muffins.
Variations
If you can't find old fashioned oats think outside the box. Here are some possibilities -
- 7 grain cereal
- 5 grain cereal
- Coconut flour (no need to grind in blender)
- Almond flour (no need to grind in blender)
- Cream of wheat
- Rolled wheat
- Rolled rye
- Cracked wheat
- Almonds
- Rice
- Bulghur
In a pinch I've ground dried beans into flour. (it makes weird bread - not recommended).
Related recipes
Here are some more easy bread recipes.
- Batter bread is a simple, 5 ingredient, batter bread made with the most basic ingredients. A great bread for beginners because there's no kneading involved.
- Whole wheat beer bread is a no knead recipe is made with whole wheat for a hearty, rustic side to all your soups and stews! Instructions for quick bread version included.
- Oatmeal bread is a soft, slightly sweet sandwich bread with the old fashioned goodness of oatmeal and honey. You can also shape this dough into sandwich rolls or dinner rolls.
Equipment
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You'll need a good blender to get the oats as finely ground as possible. I have a Kitchen Aid blender that I love.
Kaffeeklatch
Y'all, as I write this we are in for a rough patch - all of us. At some point it will be all behind us and people will see this recipe and wonder why I bothered to post such a thing when the stores are full of flour and yeast and ... toilet paper.
But sometimes things happen. Sometimes we need to know how to make something from nothing - and I hope this simple oatmeal batter bread helps someone get through this time a little easier.
You know, sometimes we just need that piece of toast. This was developed from a recipe my mom had during the Depression. Some of that old knowledge sure comes in handy sometimes, doesn't it?
Thank you all. I appreciate you taking the time to visit Restless Chipotle and I hope and pray that I am able to encourage you in some small way.
The addition of flaxseed meal to this recipe was inspired by Hungry Hobby - I had tried to get my mom's recipe to work with the homemade oat flour and couldn't get it right. Kelli's recipe was eerily similar to moms (from the 1930s) but the addition of flax is what made this work.... so a big thanks to her!
📖 Recipe
100% Oat Batter Bread - No Flour
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 4 cups old fashioned oats, or quick cooking oats. You may need more.
- ¼ cup flaxseed meal, or flaxseed, ground to a powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 cup milk, (original recipe called for buttermilk but I was out)
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Spray a loaf pan with non-stick baking release spray - or butter it well.
- Grind the oatmeal in a blender to a flour.
- Measure about 3 cups of the oat flour into a bowl
- Add the flaxseed meal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir well to blend.
- Set aside.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together until smooth.
- Pour the milk mixture into the oat mixture and beat by hand about 20 strokes.
- Spoon into the loaf pan, smoothing top.
- Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before turning out of pan and slicing.
Notes
- Be sure to let the batter sit for 10 to 15 minutes before putting it in the oven.
- Let it cool completely before slicing - this bread can be a little crumbly due to the lack of gluten.
- If you can't find old fashioned oats think outside the box. 7 grain cereal, cream of wheat, rolled wheat, rolled rye - just about anything can be ground into flour. In a pinch I've ground dried beans into flour. (it makes weird bread - not recommended).
- This can be made into a sweet bread by increasing the sugar.
- Store this tightly wrapped for up to two days.
- Make this in muffin cups (half full) to make some pretty decent english muffins.
Esther
Does it have to be consumed within 2 days? Can it be frozen?
Marye
It can be frozen. It tends to get stale fast.
Nuala
Great thank you, it worked well and was lovely straight from oven. Added a little tapioca flour, left out sugar
vivian
When the recipe list states to use 4 cups of oats to make flour and then it states use 3 cups of the grounded oat flour. How much is left over.. looking online the ratio of rolled oats to oat flour is around 1 to 1. why cant that be clear in the recipe list (e.g. 3 cups of ground oats/oat flour). Also when the recipe is adjusted to 4x, 8 cups of oats is listed but the procedure still states to use 3 cups - would one then use 7 cups in this case?
Marye
Just grind the oats and measure the 3 cups of the oat flour. I try not to complicate it past that.
Elsie
Can you use alternative milk in this recipe
Marye
yes. 🙂
Karen
Thank you!
Karen Tower
I haven't made this yet ,I'm planning on giving it a try as I was looking for a no flour ,no yeast bread ,just wanted to ask if this rescipe will turn out if I leave the flaxseed out? as I can't eat that .Also does the bread pan have to be glass?
Marye
The bread pan does not need to be glass. I've never made it without the flaxseed so I am not sure how that would work.
Angella
I just made it. I love it. Ate piece while hot and it tastes good. Will be making many more as I'm cutting out flour
Olivia S Zarnack
Well the recipe looked what I was looking for so I hit print & it took 13 pages to print out a half a page recipe! Evidently printed every single thing you have on this page! Please familiarize yourself on how to set "only print recipe!" This dis a waste of printer paper & ink!
Marye
If you hit the print button and then set to print page one you'll just get the recipe. I am SUPER familiar with how technology works - thanks!
Gypsy
Hmm,can't see why my 3 cups of oatmeal flour looks like twice as much as yours?? Were you using a one-cup measure or a half-cup?
Marye
I don't remember? I was just scooping it in. The measure is 3 cups of finely ground oatmeal.
Gypsy
Various quantities of oat/flour are listed or mentioned and I quote,
-- 4 cups old fashioned oats
-- 3-1/2 to 4 cups of oatmeal
-- 2-3/4 cups flour
-- 3 cups of the oat flour
-- 3 cups
Using any of the measurements above requires *more* than 2 eggs and 1 cup of milk as the mixture is way too thick and it takes a lot more than just "20 strokes by hand" or
"10 seconds".
I would not call it a "batter" as that indicates it is at least semi-liquid; I would just call it a stiff mixture.
Dry to wet ingredient ratios are off.
I love oatmeal and have even made oat flour pancakes, they were delicious.
I'd like to try again but, I am sorry to say, this bread does not taste good.
Recipe needs tweaking and more definite tested measurements.
Marye
This recipe was created during the pandemic when flour and yeast was hard to get. Old fashioned oats are blended to create oat flour - which will have a different consistency than commercial oat flour. It worked well for me in these consistencies. Other readers made it successfully. Sorry you didn't care for it.
Amanda Garland
Thanks Marye, for this recipe! About to try it ! Been paying (in UK village just north of London, UK) £3-£4 for 5 (very dense and tasty) slices of seeded oatbread from a health food shop (!!). It's expensive, of course, just because its an unusual and highly specific product, not really because it requires a rocket science degree to make !! When I'm busy I pay the price for this alternative bread as I do not eat regular bread containing wheat flour, yeast, gluten or dairy milk (eggs ok) so was seeking a recipe online to make my own and there you were!!
Hope all's good where you are! (Is it Texas?)
Best wishes. Amanda Garland.
A,
Marye
Hope you love it! Yes Texas.
Angela
Quite easy to make. I love it and I am pleased that the ingredients are healthy.