Honey Oatmeal Bread

This oatmeal bread recipe has been a long time coming. The first two times I tried to make it back in February, I was working with dead yeast. So obviously those attempts didn't work out too well. I ended up making that poor dead bread into honey crouton bites. They were okay, but not blog-worthy. 

A few weeks ago, I finally remembered to buy yeast at the store and gave the recipe another shot. I meshed together a few different oat bread recipes, one of which called for rolled oats. Alongside the other changes I made to the recipe, the rolled oats just didn't work out. It didn't rise well and turned out dense and unpleasant. 

On my fourth attempt, I adapted my bread from Aimee Twigger, who I've praised on this blog before. This time, it was a massive success. Her recipe calls for instant oats, which allow it to rise beautifully. The recipe comes together easily and the dough is so fun to work with. Enjoy it with a pat of butter and jam for the perfect afternoon snack. 

Let me know what you think of the recipe and don’t forget to follow the sustainability tips below!


Time: 4 hours

Makes: 1 loaf of bread

Ingredients

  • 3 cups bread flour

  • 1 cup instant oats

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup milk

  • 7 grams active dry yeast

  • 1/4 cup honey

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 tablespoons butter

Methods

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour, oats and salt until combined.

  2. Microwave the milk for about 20 seconds, or until it is slightly warm to the touch. Stir the yeast into the milk and let sit for about 5 minutes, or until foamy.

  3. Add the milk and yeast, honey and eggs to the dry ingredients and stir using a wooden spoon until the dough forms a shaggy mass. Then, add in the butter and continue stirring until the dough forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and knead until smooth and springy, about 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky at first but will become easier to work with as you knead.

  4. Grease a large bowl, place the kneaded dough in it and cover with a damp towel. Let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

  5. Press down on the risen dough to deflate and shape it into a taught ball. Place the ball on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover loosely with the damp towel. Let rise for 1 hour.

  6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush the bread with some milk and gently cover the top in instant oats. Slash the top of the dough three times. Bake the bread for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Eat up!

Sustainability Tips

  • Flour: I like to buy King Arthur brand flour because King Arthur Flour is a B Corp, which means that they're held to a high environmental and social standard. Alternatively, you could seek out a farmer who grows and mills flour locally. Buying locally can help connect you to your local food system and cut back on the miles your food has to travel.

  • Honey: Local honey for the win! If you buy your honey locally, you can learn about how the bees were raised AND the honey won't have to travel a million miles (read: release a million emissions) to get to you.

  • Eggs: Local eggs are really easy to find if you look for them. Buying locally means your eggs won't have to travel as far, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.

  • Butter: Since cows contribute a lot to climate change, I like to buy my dairy products from B Corps, which are held to really high environmental and social standards. You could also try using vegan butter, but keep in mind that I have not tested this recipe with vegan butter.

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