Whol Wheat Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

  • 234g bread flour
  • 117g whole wheat flour
  • 1½ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 64g quick oats
  • 160 ml boiling water
  • 120 ml room-temperature water
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 60 ml molasses

Instructions

  1. Whisk bread flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer.
  2. Stir oats, boiling water, and butter together in medium bowl and let sit until water is absorbed and oats have cooled to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
  3. Add remaining water and molasses and stir to combine.
  4. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add oat mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough clears sides of bowl (it will stick to bottom), about 8 minutes, scraping down dough hook halfway through mixing.
  5. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds.
  6. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, 1-1½ hours.
  7. Grease 8½ x 4½” loaf pan. Press down on dough to deflate. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be facing up).
  8. Press and stretch dough into 8 x 6” rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge. Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed and place loaf seam side down in prepared pan, tucking ends as needed to match size of pan and pressing dough gently into corners.
  9. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until loaf reaches ½ inch above lip of pan and dough springs back minimally, when poked gently with your finger, about 1 hour.
  10. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Mist loaf with water and sprinkle with oats, if desired. Bake until deep golden brown and loaf registers at least 205°F, 35-40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let loaf cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan and let loaf cool on wire rack, about 3 hours, before serving.

Notes

January 10, 2025: Made this today for the first time. I used King Arthur’s Irish-style flour in place of the whole wheat, which worked out great. The first rise took 1 hour, 12 minutes in the oven with the light on. The second rise took 45 minutes on the counter. I baked the loaf on rack 2 for 15 minutes, then rotated the pan and baked another 25 minutes. Rich liked everything about the loaf except he was not thrilled about the flavor of the molasses, especially when eating the bread plain. I will try substituting an equal amount of honey next time.