Recipe for "oatmeal-bread"

NAME

     OATMEAL-BREAD - A yeast bread for people who like oatmeal

INGREDIENTS (makes 2 loaves)

     160 g     uncooked oatmeal e.g., Quaker's Old Fashioned Oat-
               meal
     160 ml    honey
     30 ml     salt
     50 ml     butter
     250 ml    boiling water
     14 g      active dry yeast
     250 ml    lukewarm water
     160 ml    milk
     500-600 g  unbleached flour (may  substitute  up  to  200  g
               whole wheat)
               oil

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Put the oatmeal, honey, salt and butter in a large
               mixing  bowl.  Add boiling water and mix together.
               Let stand for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
          (2)  Following the yeast package  directions,  add  the
               yeast  to  lukewarm  water,  and let it soften for
               about 5 minutes. Add the yeast mixture to the oats
               and honey mixture.  Mix in the milk and stir well.
          (3)  Stir in the flour, 50 g at a time. When the  dough
               is  too  stiff  to  stir, pour it out onto a well-
               floured surface, and knead  it  firmly,  adding  a
               little  flour  if  necessary.   Knead it until the
               dough is smooth and elastic (about 6- 8  minutes).
               Form the dough into a ball. Place the dough into a
               large greased bowl, coating  the  entire  ball  of
               dough.
          (4)  Cover with a damp cloth,  and  place  in  a  warm,
               cozy, humid place.  (I put it in a cool oven, with
               a small saucepan of hot tap water sitting  on  the
               bottom  of  the  oven.)   Let  rise for about 11/2
               hours, or until the dough has doubled in bulk.
          (5)  Punch down the dough, and split  in  half.  Spread
               the  dough into two greased loaf pans, coating the
               dough as before, and cover with a damp cloth,  and
               let  rise for about an hour in a warm, cozy, humid
               place.
          (6)  Bake at 350oF for 35-40 minutes, or  until  loaves
               sound  hollow  when  tapped.  Cool on a bread rack
               for about ten minutes.

NOTES

     Kneading is difficult to describe in words, but  many  cook-
     books  have pictures.  The idea is to exercise the dough and
     work some more flour into it.  Bread freezes very well; give
     it an hour or so to thaw, then heat it up at 350oF for about
     ten minutes.
     Instant and quick-cooking oatmeal  is  not  satisfactory  in
     this  recipe.   Besides  the ubiquitous Quaker oats, you can
     use any commercial rolled oats or steel-cut oats. If you use
     the steel-cut oats, then soak for 1 hour in step 1.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy if you already know  how  to  knead  dough,
     moderate  otherwise.   Time:  30  minutes  preparation, 41/2
     hours  waiting  time.   Precision:  All  amounts  (including
     times) are approximate.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Harry S. Delugach
     University of Virginia, Dept. of Computer Science, Charlottesville, VA
     cbosgd!uvacs!hsd  or decvax!mcnc!ncsu!uvacs!hsd