Whole Wheat Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread

This recipe was invented to combine my desire for a whole wheat bread and my husband’s desire for a sandwich bread that wasn’t crumbly. The recipe is a bit fiddly, so read through the instructions before you start.

Makes 3 Loaves

Yeast ingredients:

• 1T Brown Sugar
• 2 pkg active dry yeast
• 1/4 C luke warm water

Big Bowl ingredients:

• 3 C Oats
• 3 C Boiling Water
• 1/4 C Melted Butter
• 1 1/2 C Room Temp Buttermilk
• 2 T Molasses
• 3/4 C Maple Syrup
• 1 T + 1 t Salt
• 2 C Bread Flour
• 4-5 C Whole Wheat Flour

Equipment

• Large metal or glass bowl
• Sturdy spatula or dough whisk
• Three standard sized bread pans
• Whatever you like to use to “grease” a pan
• Towel or some plastic wrap to cover bowl/loaves

Measure Oats into a big bowl (large enough for all the bread ingredients to mix and raise) and pour in boiling water, stir till water is evenly distributed. Let sit for about 10-20 minutes to absorb water and cool, stir intermittently then let cool on the counter. When the oat mixture is cooler than body temperature, add Buttermilk, melted butter, sugar, molasses, salt and 2 cups of bread flour, lightly mix.

In a one cup liquid measure mix 1T brown sugar, yeast and warm water, and let sit till doubled. (if it doesn’t double in 10 minutes or so, your yeast is likely dead and you’ll need fresh yeast)

Stir yeast mixture into the “Big Bowl”.

Start mixing in whole wheat flour, add in increments of ½ C until dough is reasonably dry and hard to stir. Turn out on to a well-floured counter to knead (use some of the extra wheat flour). Knead thoroughly on the floured surface, wheat bread takes more kneading than standard white to get an elastic texture. You know it is done when you poke your finger at the dough and it bounces back.

Put the kneaded dough back into the bowl, cover with a cotton towel or plastic wrap and let raise until doubled. Punch down and form into 3 loaves. Place in greased bread pans. Then let rise again about 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Lightly slit loaves down the middle just before they go into the pre-heated oven.

Bake in 350 degree oven till brown and bottoms sound hollow. Approx 25-35 minutes. Let sit to cool to room temp before eating.

Additional Notes

The variable amount of whole wheat flour allows for different flour moisture levels and local humidity to balance your dough. The buttermilk and butter create a softer smoother finer crumb for a more “sandwich” texture bread. The Molasses and Maple syrup give a warm rich flavor to the bread that plain sugar cannot do, you can adjust these variables and ingredients to create a bread that works best for you.

Rise times and baking times will be somewhat variable depending on your home and your oven.