Wheat Oatmeal Bread

Yeast and I have a long history of hating one another. Well, really, I think it was a one way hate-fest, with me hating on yeast, but you know what I mean. A few months ago after wasting a good amount of money on a pricey yeast-based recipe that failed miserably I became desperate. I was staring at these hard-as-rocks rolls that were now garbage, and I suddenly felt hasty. I had a bowl of dough proofing and I knew it wasn't going to rise properly. I was irritated and felt my hatred for yeast bubbling inside of me. Being a rational person, I decided to put the dough somewhere I couldn't see it to avoid me throwing the dough all over the kitchen in anger. Rational, right?  So I preheated the oven to 200, turned it off and let it cool a bit, then shoved my dough in the warm oven to rise. Out of sight, out of mind, and in a warm place. TA-DA! Perfectly risen dough. Since that day yeast and I are friends and I no longer fear yeast like the plague.

Now that I am no longer hiding from yeast recipes I decided it was time to try my hand at homemade sandwich bread. I looked for a wheat based recipe and stumbled upon this one. It was easy, the dough rose perfectly, and the bread was soft and lovely. In the process I discovered my newest cooking challenge- slicing bread. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler so cutting this bread was hysterical. Let's just say I need a longer knife, and I need to let John cut the bread next time. Most of the loaf was destroyed with my hacking slicing skills, but it was still delicious and enjoyable. I used this bread for an awesome version of grilled cheese that I'll be sharing with you on Tuesday- make sure you check back for it!

Source: White On Rice Couple

Ingredients:
1 c Water
1c  Milk
1 pkg (1 T or 10g) Active Dry Yeast
1 T Honey
2 T  Molasses (corn syrup or honey can be substituted)
2 1/2 c Whole Wheat Flour
2 c  Bread Flour
1 c Rolled Oats
4 T unsalted Butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 T Sea Salt


Directions:

lightly butter 9x5x3 bread loaf pan

1.  Gently warm milk and water to about 115 F. Combine water, milk, yeast, honey, and molasses in the bowl of a standing mixer. Stir to dissolve yeast. 

2. Add flours, oats, melted butter, and sea salt to the liquid mix.  Using the bread hook and stand mixer, mix for 6 minutes on medium speed. The dough should climb the dough hook and slap around the sides of the bowl without sticking. If the dough is sticking, add a tablespoon or two more of flour at a time until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm area to rise. Leave to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size (to test if it has proofed enough, gently poke the dough- if it springs back, it needs to proof longer – if a dimple remains, it is ready.)

4. Shape the loaf. Put the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Flatten out the bubbles while working the loaf into a square shape. Grabbing the top edge, fold the dough down towards the middle. Grab the bottom edge and fold up to the middle, bringing the two edges together. Pinch the seam and sides, sealing them with your fingers. Roll the dough back and forth, plumping it into an even log and about the size of your bread pan. Gently place the dough into your bread pan, seam side down. Press the dough gently into the corners of the bread pan.

5. Cover the loaf with a towel and leave it to rise in a warm area for about an hour or until the dough rises to half again its size and is puffing up barely over the edges of the loaf pan.

while the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 F.

6. If desired, sprinkle the top of the loaf with bran or oats. Bake for about 40 minutes, rotating halfway through.  The loaf is done baking when the crust is dark brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove the loaf from the pan and allow to full cool on a baking rack.