HONEY OATMEAL BREADfeatured

I’m not a big fan of sandwiches. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I’m not a fan of healthy sandwiches. Turkey or ham or chicken? Meh. This is probably the reason I’m terrible at figuring out what to have for lunch. Now if you want to talk a sandwich with pork belly or a philly cheesesteak… I’m in.

However, if you put some bland turkey between two slices of THIS oatmeal bread… YES. Actually you can do anything with this bread and it’s fan-freaking=tastic. Hot out of the oven with butter, toasted, or even with sliced ham between two slices, this bread is awesome. And it’s easy. Easy and yummy enough that I might actually start giving sandwiches for lunch a try again… maybe…

Recipe: Honey Oatmeal Bread  |  Soundtrack: Alabama Shakes

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup oats
• 2 pkg yeast
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tbsp oil
• 6 cups flour

Directions:
Soak the oats in the boiling water until the water cools down and is just warm to the touch. Set aside.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/3 cup water. Set aside for 5 minutes to let the yeast activate.

Place the softened oats into a mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the yeast, salt, honey and oil. Add the flour one cup at a time. Stop adding flour it once the dough comes together to form a ball, but is still tacky/sticky to the touch.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Place dough into a greased bowl and cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. Take one half of the dough and place on a floured surface. Place the other half back in the bowl and cover. Roll the dough into a rectangle roughly about 1/2 in thick. Roll up from the long side. Pinch dough to seal shut and tuck in the ends so it’s completely shut. Place dough into a greased bread pan and set aside. Repeat the steps with the second batch of dough. Cover both loaves and let rise for 20 minutes.

Preheat the over to 350º. Place loaves into the over and back for 35-40 minutes until the bread is golden brown. Remove from over and place on a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes and turn over and remove from pans. If needed, use a knife to run around the edges to make sure the bread is loosened before you try to remove the bread. Melt a little bit of butter and rub it on the top of the loaves.

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