Honey oatmeal bread is an old fashioned recipe that makes the best dang sandwiches ever. It's moist, soft, and a little chewy with a slightly sweet honey and wholesome oat flavor. This is my go to bread for peanut butter and jelly — there's no bread anywhere that is better for PB&J!
If you've never made bread before you might want to take a few minutes to read my complete bread making guide.
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Ingredients
It's always been amazing to me how many variations of bread can be made from a few simple ingredients.
- Old fashioned oats are called for in this recipe. Be sure to use the old fashioned kind and not the quick oats or the instant oats. They just won't work.
- Honey is the sweetener of choice. The flavor will change depending on the type of honey you use. For other sweetener possibilities check the notes in the recipe.
- Butter helps give the oatmeal bread richness and flavor. You can use either salted or unsalted.
- Kosher salt is used in this (and most all of my recipes) recipe. If you will be using plain table salt be sure to cut back at least ¼ amount because the kosher salt has larger crystals.
- Active dry yeast is what I use but you can substitute rapid rise if you like. Just follow the instructions on the package for adding it.
- Bread flour has more protein than all purpose and is necessary in this recipe to keep the bread from being too dense and heavy.
- Vital wheat gluten is added to honey oatmeal bread to give it more protein and to help the structure of the bread so it rises higher and lighter. You can leave it out if you wish - just substitute an equal amount of bread flour. Be aware that your results will not be the same.
- Egg is used as a wash on the top of the loaf just before baking. It helps the oats to adhere but you don't have to use it if you prefer not to.
Breadmaker instructions
Instructions for making this in an oven are in the recipe card.
This is a very heavy dough but if you cut the recipe in half you can easily make oat bread in a bread machine. Here's how...
- Cut the recipe in half.
- Follow steps 1-5.
- Mix remaining dry ingredients together.
- Place dry ingredients and yeast mixture into bread machine pan according to manual.
- Select white bread and light crust settings.
- Remove oatmeal bread from pan to wire rack when done.
- Cool completely before slicing.
FAQs
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
Is oat bread good for weight loss?
Web MD says that it might just be. I don't think so, personally, because I love it so much I eat too much!
Does this contain wheat or gluten?
It does contain both. The wheat and gluten are needed to help the bread rise properly.
Does bread really rise better when it's raining?
I made this on a stormy day and here's something that just fries my brain but it's true.
Your bread will rise higher and be lighter on rainy days than on sunny ones. You'd think it'd be the other way, right? Nope. It has something to do with the barometric pressure — when the pressure is lower the bread doesn't have to work so hard to get light.
It's nice, too. There is something seriously comforting about a dark, stormy day outside my window while I am puttering around in my kitchen making homemade bread. It's warm and cozy and cocoon-like.
Try it sometime!
Tips
For the best results be sure to read through the whole recipe before beginning. Here are some tips for success!
- Oatmeal does not have gluten in it so it can be hard to work with. I offset this a little by adding vital wheat gluten but the dough will still be just a little sticky. It won't stick to your hands but it will feel like it leaves a tacky film on them.
- Because of the lack of gluten in oats you'll need to knead this for a long time if you are doing it by hand. You should plan on kneading it no less than 20 minutes by hand and about 10 by machine.
- Oatmeal bread variation: substitute an equal amount of brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, or molasses for the honey.
- Feel free to use less sweetener if you don't like it as sweet. Don't use less than ¼ cup though.
- Give this plenty of time to rise. It may take a little longer than stated in the recipe.
- Use these tips to get your dough to rise higher!
- I've made this easy honey oatmeal bread recipe for years. It's definitely kid-friendly, especially if you keep the crust soft by covering it with a tea towel during cooling. It's one of my favorites and I know you'll like it, too.
- This dough makes great rolls!
- I like to add about ½ cup chopped walnuts to the dough sometimes.
- Be sure to allow at least a full hour for the oatmeal to soak or your bread will not work well.
Storage
Bread doesn't last long at our house - certainly not long enough to get stale or moldy. Depending on where you live, the humidity, and the time of year homemade bread can be covered and stored at room temperature about two days.
All bread freezes well. Just wrap tightly and freeze for up to three months. I like to slice it and put parchment paper between the slices and then freeze it. That way I can take a slice at a time out.
Related recipes
I love bread. I love eating it and I love baking it. Here are some of my favorite yeast bread recipes from Restless Chipotle.
- Multigrain recipe with flaxseed makes the best toast ever. I love the chewy, slightly sweet flavor.
- Pullman loaf uses a special, lidded pan to keep the it from getting much of a crust. It's perfectly squared off when slices and makes the best French Toast ever.
- Amish white bread is also called milk bread. It's a soft loaf that has that old fashioned, homemade flavor you remember.
Supplies
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I use a Bosch Universal Plus to make my yeast doughs. I have a Pro Series Kitchen Aid but it is just not as good as the Bosch for bread. I can make up to 6 loaves of 100 percent whole wheat dough at one time - something that can burn the KA out if done often. PLUS the KA doesn't knead as well. I do not use my Bosch for cakes, meringues, and such because the KA is much superior in those things. If you are going to be doing a lot of bread baking get a Bosch if at all possible. You'll be amazed at the difference. I love mine. I need to take the time to post a full review one of these days.
☕️ Kaffeeklatsch
This honey oat bread recipe has been in my recipe box for years. I have my "top three" list that I make often and it's the buttermilk bread, the cracked wheat, and this one.
If you can practice these three recipes to perfection you don't even have to learn to make another kind. These are the best all-purpose recipes for bread I have and with them you can make almost any variation -- including rolls.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Honey Oatmeal Bread
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 2 cups water, boiling
- 1 cup old fashioned oats, (not "quick" or "instant")
- ½ cup honey, see variations in notes below
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup water, 110°F - 115°F
- 3 ½ cups bread flour, may need up to 1 cup more. May use all-purpose.
- ⅓ cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 tablespoons oats, for the top
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water, oats, ½ cup honey, butter and salt.
- Let stand for 1 hour or so.
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of the honey added.
- Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the oat mixture.
- Add the combination to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hooks attached..
- Add 1 cup of flour and the gluten.
- Mix well on low.
- Stir in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, continuing to beat on low.
- When the dough has pulled together turn the mixer to the manufacturers recommended speed for kneading and knead 8 to 10 minutes (20 minutes by hand).
- The dough will be smooth and elastic but still slightly sticky.
- Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.
- Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled - about 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves.
- Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans.
- Mix the egg and water and brush over the loaves.
- Sprinkle the oats over the top.
- Cover the loaves with a towel and let rise until doubled - about 40 minutes.
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F .
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove from the oven.
- For soft crust cover the loaves with a towel and let them cool in the pans for 3 minutes.
- Put the pans on their sides, cover with a towel and let cool 5 minutes.
- Remove bread from pan and cool completely before cutting.
Oatmeal Bread in a Bread Machine
- Cut the recipe in half.
- Follow steps 1-5.
- Mix remaining dry ingredients together.
- Place dry ingredients and yeast mixture into bread machine pan according to manual.
- Select white bread and light crust settings.
- Remove oatmeal bread from pan to wire rack when done.
- Cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Oatmeal does not have gluten in it so it can be hard to work with. I offset this a little by adding vital wheat gluten but the dough will still be just a little sticky. It won't stick to your hands but it will feel like it leaves a tacky film on them.
- Because of the lack of gluten you'll need to knead this for a long time if you are doing it by hand. You should plan on kneading it no less than 20 minutes by hand and about 10 by machine.
- You can substitute an equal amount of brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, or molasses for the honey.
- Feel free to use less sweetener if you don't like your bread as sweet. Don't use less than ¼ cup though.
- Give this oatmeal bread plenty of time to rise. It may take a little longer than stated in the recipe.
- This dough makes great rolls!
- Oatmeal bread freezes well. Just let it cool, wrap it, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- I like to add about ½ cup chopped walnuts to the dough sometimes.
- Be sure to allow at least a full hour for the oatmeal to soak or your bread will not work well. Don't cut corners when you are making this bread!
- This dough can be made into sandwich rolls, too.
Pauline
This is a wonderful bread recipe! I make a lot of bread and decided to try a slight modification, I replaced 1 to 1-1/2 cup(s) of the white flour with whole wheat and reduced the honey to 1/4 cup, perfection. Still light and fluffy while maintaining the integrity of the original recipe. This is my go to for every day sandwich bread and toast. Thank you for this recipe, love it!!!
Marie Hanley
Hi there, we have made this bread twice, flavor is delicious however we had two VERY DIFFERENT results and wanted to ask you about the 1/3 cup quantity of vital wheat gluten. We followed all ingredients and amounts the same both times however first time when it didn’t rise much above the lip of the baker with a minimal spring when baked, we did an overnight rise in the refrigerator (first proofing). Second time we made this, no overnight rise in the frig. However somehow the yeast with the vital wheat gluten had a crazy fast rise that ended up producing a loaf that rose 3.5 inches above the pan And a HUGE loaf by all proportions. In looking at other recipes that incorporate vital wheat gluten most recipes are around 1-2 Tbsp at most for a recipe that may require 3-6 cups of flours. Can you tell us how you arrived at needing to add 1/3 cup of VWG or what you would advise? Thanks for any insight!
Marye
That's odd that you got two different results. You can try cutting back on the vital wheat gluten by half and see how it works then. Rise can change depending on the weather, humidity, and location so definitely experiment with less.
Kelly K
This is my favorite bread to make! Unfortunately I have to cut out butter due to allergies. Have you ever replaced the butter with unsweetened apple sauce?
Marye
just use oil - apple sauce will not work.
Kristen
That is such a beautiful loaf of bread. I used to make bread every week, but now that my kids are older and have started to move out of the house, I rarely do. My family would love sandwiches made from this recipe!
Marye Audet
It is good. I don't make bread as often as I used to.
Maris Callahan
This look fantastic! I love delicious homemade bread.
Marye Audet
Thank you. Me, too!
Maris (In Good Taste)
I would love a sandwich on this bread! Delish.
Sabrina @ Dinner, then Dessert
I love baking my own breads! It makes me feel so accomplished!
Kiano
now I want a PB&J