Rustic Brown Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
Happy Friday! It has been quite some time since I shared a sandwich bread recipe, and I am happy to share this one. In fact, this was one of the first bread recipes I ever shared several years ago on the blog. It is one that I still make rather often! This bread was originally a “Colonial Kitchen” recipe, a little series that I started to explore 18th century style cooking. While this bread is considered a “brown bread” due to the use of molasses, it is not necessarily a traditional style of brown bread which uses rye flour. Instead, this bread is a bit easier to work with, especially for a beginner bread maker, as it uses all-purpose flour. It’s sweet and fluffy, making it a wonderful addition to your weekly sandwich loaf rotation.
ingredients & recipe:
MAKES TWO LOAVES:
2 1/3 cups boiling water
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup salted butter, cubed
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tsp kosher salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS:
In a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the boiling water, oats, butter, molasses, and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly and let sit for about 10-15 minutes or until the temperature cools to about 120° F. Mix in the yeast and salt.
Slowly begin to incorporate the flour, 1 cup at a time, until a uniform dough begins to form. The dough is finished when it no longer clings to the sides of the bowl, though it will still be a bit sticky and wet.
Knead into a ball and place in a large lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Gently deflate the dough. Divide into two equal pieces and shape each into a loaf. To do this, flatten the piece out to about 8x10”. Roll it up like a log and pinch the ends and seam closed.
Place the the shaped loaves into two lightly greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Brush the tops of the loaves with a bit of water and sprinkle the tops with more rolled oats. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until deeply browned and they sound hollow when tapped upon with your fingers.
Let the bread rest in the pans for about 10 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack. Let the bread come to room temperature before slicing so that it fully cooks inside.
If you would prefer whole grain flour for this recipe, you are welcome to incorporate it. Because whole grain flour soaks up more liquid than a commercial all-purpose flour, start by adding in 1-2 cups of whole grain flour. Then slowly add in any remaining all-purpose flour until the dough no longer clings to the sides of the bowl. You may need less flour than is originally suggested in the recipe, so shoot for around 5 cups total and see how your dough is taking it in. Kneading for a longer amount of time can help determine if you have used enough! If the bread is too dense and dry, it will struggle to rise.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
xoxo Kayla
