Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
Oats make a bread which is characteristically tender, moist and just slightly sweet, the perfect foil for sandwich fillings as disparate as peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff or bologna and American cheese. And cinnamon toast made with oatmeal bread -- the smell of toasted oats mingling with the heady aromas of cinnamon and melting butter -- is enough to get anyone's day off to a very good start indeed.
The following recipe includes rolled oats, both in their whole state, and ground in a blender or food processor. Grinding a portion of the oats allows them to disperse more fully throughout the dough, lending it their humectant properties (in plain English, their ability to hold water, thus slowing down the bread's staling process). And leaving a portion of the oats whole gives the bread texture. All in all, the marriage of oats and wheat flour is a happy one, and a boon to sandwich and toast lovers everywhere.
Traditionally, oatmeal bread is sweetened with molasses, which gives it a dark color and pronounced burnt-sugar flavor. We choose to lighten the effect by using brown sugar and honey.
1 cup water
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup rolled oats, ground*
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon King Arthur Whole-Grain Bread Improver
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Special For Machines Bread Flour
*Rolled oats are easily ground using a blender or food processor; a mini-processor is the perfect tool, because of the small amount being processed.
Manual Method: In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough. Knead the dough, by hand (10 minutes) or by machine (5 minutes) till it's smooth. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour; it'll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk.
Bread Machine Method: Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. About 10 minutes before the end of the second kneading cycle, check the dough and adjust its consistency as necessary with additional flour or water; the finished dough should be soft and supple.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into a log. Place the dough in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan (with an acrylic dough cover, or with lightly greased plastic wrap), and allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, till it's crested 1 to 2 inches over the rim of the pan.
Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190°F. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes of baking. Yield: 1 loaf.
Note: If you prefer oatmeal bread sweetened the traditional way, with molasses, simply substitute 3 tablespoons molasses for the brown sugar and honey. The resultant bread will be darker in color, and slightly stronger tasting.
Nutrition information per serving (1/2-inch slice, 57g): 140 cal, 3.7g fat, 4g protein, 19g complex carbohydrates, 4g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 8mg cholesterol, 205mg sodium, 78mg potassium, 32RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 45mg calcium, 65mg phosphorus.
Reviews
07/05/2010
This bread is fantastic! I would recommend using your fingers to press the soft butter into the flour mixture, like you would with a pie crust. it definitely helps to incorporate the butter throughout the dough -- I did it this way and it was very easy. And for those who are wondering, the Whole Grain helper isn't crucial -- I didn't use it and it came out beautifully. This will be my go-to recipe for weekend baking. Delicious! Changes/Substitutions I made: - I only had almond milk, so that's what i used. - I used only about 3 T of butter (out of necessity, again.) - I used active dry yeast (proofed it with a bit of sugar) - I used raw honey. - I didn't use KAF Whole Grains Helper
04/21/2010
The loaf turned out absolutely fabulous! The bread is moist, has wonderful texture, and made my whole kitchen smell faintly of molasses. The dough was pretty wet - probably due in part to the weather. Next time I won't add the entire amount of water at first, I'll add it incrementally. The only problem I had was that the bottom of my bread stuck to the dish - probably because I used glass (like for banana bread) and didn't spray it with anything. I need to get a metal bread pan now that I'm kneading by hand instead of using my bread machine!
03/12/2010
This is the best oatmeal bread recipe I've ever used! I used my bread machine, but with more time, I would make it by hand. The ingredients were perfect - I didn't have to add water or flour. The loaf came out just the right size, and the bread is light, moist, and delicious. I'm making another loaf now before cleaning up the kitchen. This recipe is definitely a keepere!
02/10/2010
I substituted pure maple syrup for brown sugar and used 1c. bread flour 1/2 c. of whole wheat and 1c. white whole wheat in order to add to the nutritional value. I let it rest for 20 min. before kneeding in my Kitchen Aid mixer and it was fantastic! We ate it in 2 days and now I am making more. Thanks KAF helpline for the advice on substituting. You are the best!
11/18/2009
I use this recipe to make dinner and sandwich rolls as well as loaf bread. They are delicious. I make golfball size balls for dinner rolls, and somewhat larger for sandwich rolls which I flatten out. They take about 20 minutes to bake.
10/22/2009
Somehow the dough came out a little too wet. But otherwise it was a very good bread. Will try decreasing the water amount depending on how the dough looks next time.
10/11/2009
This is the easiest, most delicious Oat bread! It over-rose because I had fallen asleep, and I reshaped it & set it to rise again. It baked up beautifully & smelled delicious!! The flavor is just wonderful. I'd recommend this recipe to anyone
08/31/2009
This bread baked perfectly in our bread machine. I didn't grind the oats, but used quick oats that had been around long enough to be a little on the powdery side. Easy yummy recipe.
08/21/2009
07/15/2009
This is the bread I keep on hand all of the time for sandwiches and toast. It's a great, basic loaf that works for almost everything. It's easy to mix in my bread machine, and its second rise is pretty flexible. It's a good keeper, lasting about a week.
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