Oatmeal Bread

So, I don't know where this recipe came from.

I wrote it down when I was in high school (and I actually haven't made it in years). I don't know if I made adaptations or if it's totally someone else's recipe. If so, I apologize to whoever you are that you get no real credit here.

I tend to have a lot of recipes like that. I don't know where they came from, but they're on a piece of paper in my handwriting. It's not just with recpies though. The other day I found a scrap of paper in a pocket that had a phone number and "Monday"...

I don't know whose number it is as I don't recognize it, I don't know when this Monday might have been or what was going to happen on said Monday. I thought about calling the number out of curiosity, but decided not to. What would I say, anyway?

"Um, sorry. I found your number and I wanted to know who you were?" No.

But I digress... on to bread.

First of all, we need to make sure that the yeast you use is not out of date- AND you have to be careful that the liquid you add your yeast to is not too hot since that will kill your yeast.

After a while you should see some bubbly, foamy yeast activity... and you know

IT'S ALIVE!

After adding the hot oatmeal to the buttermilk it shouldn't take too long for it to cool down enough to add the yeast if the buttermilk is cold. This time around I didn't have enough buttermilk in the fridge (and I wasn't about to run out to the store)! So, I added enough 1% milk (which, I found, has the same fat content as buttermilk...) to the cup measure with my bit of buttermilk to make a little less than 1 c and then added a splash of white vinegar for acid.

(Before Rising)

(After rising)

Fresh bread is wonderful, and the smell of baking bread makes the house so homey.

This bread is excellent toasted- in fact, I think it's best that way! Toasty and crispy...

On a similar note, if you like oats, I recently tried a recipe for oatmeal pancakes I found on another blog I read sometimes called Orangette, which I loved (although I did add a pinch of cinnamon...).

Oatmeal Bread

makes 2 loaves (you can freeze one!)

1 pkg yeast

1/3 c tepid water

1 t sugar

1 1/2 c water

3/4 c oatmeal

1 c buttermilk

1/4 c honey

1 scant T salt

1 c whole wheat flour

4 c all purpose flour

Combine yeast, sugar, 1/3 c water and set aside. Boil 1 1/2 c water and add oatmeal. Cook about 5 minutes until thick. Add honey to oats and stir to combine. Place buttermilk in large bowl and add oat mixture and salt, mix well. When oatmeal mixture is lukewarm add yeast and mix thoroughly.

Add the cup of wheat flour and stir into oats and buttermilk. Add all purpose flour 1 c at a time and mix until thick, no longer sticky, and hard to stir (you may not end up using all the flour). Remove dough from bowl and knead on a floured surface about 5 minutes. Place in buttered bowl and let rise in a warm place, covered in plastic wrap, until doubled (at least an hour). Punch down dough and knead a little on floured surface. Divide dough in 1/2 and place in 2 buttered 9x5 loaf pans. Cover and let rise, covered in plastic wrap, until dough just reaches over the tops of the pans (30 minutes to an hour).

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans and return to oven to bake 5 minutes more.