Oatmeal Buttermilk Wheat Bread

 

This weekend I decided to give making a bread another try. I found a recipe on Annie's Eats which sounded great and easy. The only times I made an actual bread were with my dad's bread making machine, so while that worked great I didn't think it really counts, because all you have to do is throw in some ingredients and set the timer.

I gathered all the ingredients and set to work and you know what? It's not much more complicated or different from making a bread in a bread baking machine. Okay, I had to soak the oats in some boiling water... big deal. It really was extremely simple. Only down side is... you can't set a timer and wake up with the smell of freshly baked bread, but other than that it worked like a charm! I'm definitely gonna make more bread!

My bread was very slightly undercooked. A minute or two more and it would have been perfect. It probably happened because I opened the oven a few times to gawk at my gorgeous loaf of bread! It is a big bread. Luckily the girls loved this bread also, so we finished it in two days, but if you want to enjoy it longer, you should probably put it in the freezer.

Recipe

Oatmeal Buttermilk Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup rolled oats + 1/4 cup rolled oats separately
1 cup boiling hot water
1/4 cup room temperature water
2 tablespoons honey + 1 teaspoon honey separately
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

Instructions:

Place the 1 1/4 cup oats in a bowl. Cover with the boiling hot water and stir well. Let sit uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine with the paddle attachment the soaked oats, the room temperature water, 2 tablespoons honey, yeast, buttermilk, olive oil, salt and 2 cups of each flour. Mix briefly until combined.

Mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of each flour.

Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 10 minutes. The dough will be wet and sticky and have a satiny finish.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Put the dough on a lightly floured surface. With your hands gently push out the air bubbles.

Make a 12 x 6-inch rectangle with the dough and position it so the long side is facing you.

Fold the two shorter ends on the top of the dough, making sure they meet in the middle.

Starting with the end facing you, roll the dough away from you tightly into a log. Pinch the seams closed.

Transfer the loaf into an oiled loaf pan, making sure the dough has reached all the corners.

Mix a teaspoon of honey with 1/2 teaspoon of very hot water. Brush this over the top of the loaf and sprinkle on the 1/4 cup oats you set aside.

Let rise for 20-30 minutes until the loaf rises over the top of the pan.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 190ºC (375ºF). I put the tray one notch lower than the middle. Bake the loaf for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven, take the bread out of the loaf pan and put on a wire rack to cool completely. If you can!