Old fashioned honey oatmeal bread recipe is a soft, slightly sweet sandwich bread with the country goodness of oats and honey. It makes great sandwiches and toast! You can also shape this dough into sandwich rolls or dinner rolls.
3 ½cupsbread flourmay need up to 1 cup more. May use all-purpose.
⅓cupvital wheat gluten
1egg
1teaspoonwater
2tablespoonsoatsfor 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.
Video
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!