Honey-oat bread

2 Loaves

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
6 cups Bread Flour
1 cup Quick cooking Oats
2 Packages Active Dry Yeast 2pkg = 4 1/2 ts measurement
2 teaspoons Salt
1¾ cup Water
⅓ cup Honey; or Brown Sugar
¼ cup Butter; melted
2 larges Egg; beaten slightly
1 tablespoon Water; mix with egg
1 Egg White
2 tablespoons Oat Bran for top..... options: are sesame seed, or rolled oats or nothing

Directions

GLAZE

In a large bowl, stir together water and Brown Sugar or Honey. Sprinkle with Yeast and stir until it has dissolved. Stir in Oats. Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes to let the Oat flour mix absorb liquid. Do all in a KitchenAid mixer if available. Add oil or butter and eggs. Mix very well.

Stir in Salt. I like to let the sponge mix a few minutes before I add the salt.

One cup at a time, mix in flour until the dough becomes too difficult to stir. Turn out on to a "well floured" work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour only as necessary to keep from sticking, about 8 minutes. It takes 4 or 5 minutes on the KitchenAid. This recipe usually takes 6 full cups of flour.

This is the place where I freeze ½ of this bread....To Freeze: place the ½ recipe of this dough into an oiled labeled gallon plastic freezer bag.

Squeeze all of the air out of the bag and seal tightly. Freeze at once. To use; defrost several hours until dough rises to double its frozen bulk, then proceed...

Proceed with the half recipe of dough.

Place the dough in a large well oiled bowl. I spray the used KitchenAid Bowl with non-stick and throw the dough back in, spray the top of the dough as well. Cover with plastic wrap, or a moist towel. Let the dough rise in a warm draft free place.

Check the rise at 45 minutes, the "perfect place" rises this bread in 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. If you are doing this entire recipe, divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf. This also makes a nice round loaf with a crunchy crust.....

Pan Loaf making: beginning at one narrow end, tightly roll up the dough to form a loaf. Pinch seam edge into dough to seal. Lightly oil a loaf pan.

Meanwhile, place oven rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 375 degrees F. Place each loaf in a prepared 8½" X 4 ½" X 2 ½" loaf pan, seam side down. Cover, let it rise in a warm place free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes . Check the rise at 35 minutes, the "perfect place" rises this bread in the pan, in 35 minutes.

This is the place where I make decorative slits into the top of the loaf.

In a small bowl, whisk egg white with one tb of water. Brush a little of the egg white mixture over the top of the loaf and sprinkle with 2 tb Oat Bran, or sesame seeds just before placing in the oven.

Bake for 35 minutes on a baking stone or 40 minutes in the bread pan.

To make the crust even crustier, spray the top of the loaf with water, and liberally spray the inside of the over at 5 minute intervals and/or place a water filled pie pan in the oven on a lower rack than the bread. (boiling water added to the pie pan just before baking makes sure you have steam....) Makes one or two loaves, each about 18, ½" slices.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

Related recipes