Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread

For our Easter dinner yesterday I contributed devilled eggs (of course) and this homemade bread. It was a new recipe that I found at Confections of a Foodie Bride. She claimed that it was the best wheat sandwich bread around. A little sweet and very soft, not dense. She was right.



We all thought the bread was super delicous. The only problem was that the recipe makes a huge amount of dough. So much that it completely overflowed the loaf pan and hung over the sides in big flaps of dough that ended up burning to a crisp. But, after we cut the flaps off the rest of the bread was wonderful. If I make this bread again I will divide the dough in to two smaller loaf pans instead of shoving all in to one big pan as suggested in the directions.



Whole Wheat Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread



1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup water

2 tsp + 2 Tbsp agave (divided)

2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (extra light)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt


Set aside 1/4 cup rolled oats. Place the remaining oats into a medium bowl. Cover with boiling water. Mix with spoon and let sit uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.


Whisk 1 tsp agave with 1/4 cup of warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add soaked oats, buttermilk, oil, 2 Tbsp agave, both flours, and salt. With hook attachment, mix on low speed to combine, then increase speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. Dough will be wet and cling to hook, but have a satiny finish.


Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm area for 1 hour, the dough will almost double in size.


Place dough onto a floured surface and flatten it with your hands, releasing excess air bubbles. Form dough into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle and position it so that a long side is facing you. Fold the 2 short ends onto the top so they meet in the middle. Starting with the closest end, roll dough away from you into a log. Let loaf rest on its seam for a few minutes.


Transfer loaf to an oiled 10-inch loaf pan, pressing dough into the corners. Mix remaining agave with 1/2 tsp very hot water. Brush over the top of the loaf and sprinkle with the remaining oats. Let sit for 35-45 minutes, until loaf rises just over the top of the pan.



While loaf is proofing, preheat oven to 385. Bake for 1 hour and allow to cool completely before cutting.

This post is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays and Tuesdays at the Table.

2 comments:

Brenda said...

My mom used to make something like this and we really enjoyed it.

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

Hi Crystal. Your bread looks good! Sorry I haven't been by in a while. The move and unpacking have gotten the best of me. Thanks for sharing your recipe and linking to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.