Everyday Oatmeal Bread

Quick post - just made another batch of our favourite bread, the "everyday oatmeal bread" from Simply in Season which I try to make each Saturday. This bread rises beautifully, can be ready in about 3 hours, and works well with many variations (seeds, nuts, grains, etc). This bread is delicious with a hearty soup or thinly sliced and toasted with tomatoes. I made it with 12-grain cereal instead of oatmeal today, for added texture of flax, millet and other seeds. Didn't bake it in the cob oven, but will do so soon again.

Everyday Oatmeal Bread
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats (or whole oats, or 12-grain cereal, etc)
Combine and let stand 30 min.

3/4 cup molasses (or maple syrup)
3 Tbsp butter or oil
2 tsp salt
Stir into oatmeal.


2 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp active traditional yeast
Mix in a large bowl until dissolved. Add oatmeal mixture.

6 cups bread or all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour

Work in flour to make a medium-soft somewhat sticky dough. Knead 8-10 minutes until smooth. Place in greased bowl and let rise until doubled about 1 hour. Keep covered with damp cloth while rising. Then punch down. Divide into two, and shape into loaves. Embellish tops of loaves with seeds (sesame, sunflower, hemp, etc) if desired. Place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise again, about 45 min. Bake in preheated oven at 350 F for about 35-40 min, until sounds hollow when tapped. Makes two large loaves.