When Hubby and I were first married, I had long before bought into the old adage that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. I had such fun trying new recipes, and discovering what “our favorites” were going to be. This Honey Oatmeal Bread was the first yeast bread that I ever baked, and was an instant favorite in our house. The hint of sweetness from the honey, coupled with the subtle nuttiness imparted by the oatmeal makes this a wonderfully moist sandwich bread. It also makes an excellent breakfast, toasted with a light layer of cinnamon honey butter. Or as a base for bread pudding…the possibilities are endless! If ever there was a bread that I wanted you to try, it is this one.  I know that you will love it! Are you in?  Great!

But before we get started–a little housekeeping. Based on feedback from several of you that have tried a lot of my recipes, I am going to show you how to make the bread, then put the recipe in its entirety at the end of the post. That way you can copy/paste it for easier printing. I hope this works as an interim solution until I figure out how to embed my recipes in a printable. Please let me know what you think!

Now that the housekeeping is nice and tidy, let’s make Honey Oatmeal Bread! The original recipe came from the instruction manual that came with my first Kitchen Aid mixer. I’ve made several changes over the years, the biggest alteration was making this a whole grain bread.

In a small saucepan, heat the water, honey, and butter over low heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is very warm.

While the honey mixture is heating, measure all of the white whole wheat flour, 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, salt, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for 15 seconds with the dough hook to combine.

Once the honey mixture reaches 120 degrees F, turn off the heat. As you can see, I got distracted and the honey mixture reached 140 degrees F. That temperature is hot enough to kill the yeast, which would be bad. If your honey mixture gets to hot, it’s not a big deal–just let it cool to 120 degrees before proceeding.

With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the warm liquids over about a minute or so.

Add the eggs, and stir for an additional minute until they are well incorporated.

Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and continue on low speed until the dough cleans the side of the mixing bowl. The total amount of all-purpose flour needed will depend on altitude, humidity, etc. I usually add an additional cup of flour at this stage before the dough starts to clean the side of the bowl.

Once this happens, turn the mixer up to medium speed, and knead the dough for 2 minutes. The dough will be dense, smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky.

Drizzle a few teaspoons of canola oil into the bottom of a large bowl. Form the dough into a smooth ball, and place it into bowl, turning to coat the surface of the ball with oil. The oil keeps the dough from forming a dry “skin” during the rising process.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and a clean towel. Allow dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk–about 1 hour.

Quick Bread Tips: I always cover the bowl with plastic wrap under the towel to help keep the heat of the dough from escaping the bowl. This helps the dough stay nice and warm so that the yeast can do its job and the dough will rise effectively. In the winter months, I put the covered bowl into the microwave to rise and keep it away from drafts. I never turn the microwave on during this process, of course.

Once the dough has doubled in bulk, turn it onto a lightly floured surface.

Divide dough in half with a bench scraper or sharp knife.

Roll one half of the dough into a rectangle. I like to put my loaf pan on top to make sure that  my loaf will be the right size. I typically use 8 x 8 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans.  A larger loaf pan will do, but the finished loaf will not be as tall. Oh! Be sure to spray the pans with cooking spray.

Tightly roll the long side of the rectangle toward you, pinching the ends to seal. For detailed instructions on how to form a loaf, click here and scroll through the instructions.

Once both loaves are formed and in their respective pans, spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray, and drape it over the top of the pans. Cover the plastic wrap with a clean towel, and allow the bread to rise in a warm place until they’ve doubled in bulk again–about an hour. Now would be an excellent time to preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the egg white and water to make an egg wash. Brush the top of the risen loaves with the egg wash, and sprinkle with a little more oats.  Bake at 375  for 40 minutes, or until crust is a deep brown, and loaf sounds hallow when tapped.

Immediately remove loaves from the pans and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

This is the part where I came back to see if my bread has cooled so that I can slice it for a photograph, and this is what I found. I live in a house with 5 bread-hounds. Truly, I do. I had to hide the second loaf so that I could slice it for sandwiches, later on.

But since the bread was still warm and sliced, I thought it only proper to toast it and spread a little cinnamon honey butter on top. When life hands you lemons make lemonade, right? So when your house full of bread-hounds eats a loaf of fresh bread in 10 seconds flat, why not have a little toast?

Feel free to use that one. It’s going to be a classic.

But be sure to make the cinnamon honey butter  by combining 1/2 C. softened butter, 1/2 C. honey, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon until well blended. Then spread it on every slice of bread in your house. You’ll be glad you did!

 

Honey Oatmeal Bread

http://comfortablydomestic.com

Makes 2 loaves

 

1 ½ C. water

½ C. honey

5 Tbs. unsalted butter

3 C. 100 % white whole wheat flour

2 ½-3 ½ C. all-purpose flour, divided

1 C. rolled oats, plus extra for sprinkling

2 tsp. salt

2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast (1 pkg.)

2 eggs

Canola oil for oiling the bowl.

1 egg white

additional oatmeal for sprinkling

 

1.   Combine water, honey, and butter in a small saucepan.  Heat over low heat until liquids are very warm (120-130 degrees F. or around 63 degrees C.).

2.   Place 3 C. white whole wheat flour, 2 C. all-purpose flour, oats, salt and yeast in a large mixer bowl.  Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for 15 seconds.  Gradually add warm liquids to flour mixture, about 1 minute.  Add eggs and mix an additional minute.

3.   Continuing on low speed, add remaining all-purpose flour, ½ C. at a time, until dough clings to hook and cleans the sides of the bowl. (I typically use 3 C. of all-purpose flour total, in addition to the 3 C. white whole wheat that was previously added.)  Knead with dough hook for 2 minutes longer.

4.   Form dough into a ball, and place dough in an oiled bowl, turning to grease the top.  Cover first with plastic wrap, then a clean towel. Let rise in a warm place free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

5.   Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Shape each half into a loaf and place in a sprayed 8 x 8 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans.  (9 x 5 x 2 inch pans work, but loaves will not be as tall.) Cover and let rise in a warm place, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

7.   Combine water and egg white.  Brush tops of loaves with mixture and sprinkle with more oats.

8.    Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.