Honey Oat Bread

       Hi. Me again. Bread again. Love again. I'd been wanting to make this bread for some time and I finally got around to making it this summer with the help of two sets of tiny hands. My nieces had decided they wanted to having a baking day and I decided they needed to learn how to make bread. Fun was had by all. I actually made two loaves that day--one per kid--and the above picture is the one I made with the youngest.
She did everything she could on her own: I measured, she dumped, she stirred, I finished stirring, she kneaded, I finished kneading, etc. It was so much fun and a great memory for me that I'll never forget. I hope my girls (sorry sister, I call them mine too) won't forget that day either!
       The bread itself is deliciously sweet from the honey and nutty from the oats. It's perfect for snacking, toasting, slicing for sandwiches, or whatever you want to do with it. If a 4 and a 7 year old can make this bread on their (mostly) own, then so can you. Why not give it a whirl?


Honey Oat Bread
Recipe barely adapted from Bakingdom
Makes 1 loaf


Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup oats 
• 1/4 oz packet of yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup warm milk 
• 1/4 cup warm water  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey 
• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 2 tablespoons oats

Directions
--In a small bowl, pour in your water (about 110 degrees F) add a pinch of sugar (this gives something for the yeast to feed on) and then sprinkle your yeast packet over the water. Let sit until it gets frothy. Then add the warmed milk (110-ish degrees), melted butter, and honey. (The butter should melt in the liquid if you don't melt it beforehand.)

--In a separate large bowl whisk together the flour, oats, and salt. Then pour the contents of the small bowl into the large bowl. Mix together with a wooden spoon until it all comes together, eventually resorting to mixing by hand. Knead the dough for about ten minutes, until it's smooth and elastic. Add more flour or water if necessary.

--Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover the bowl with a towel, and let it rise until doubled (30 min to an hour).

--On a lightly floured surface, flatten the dough into a 9 x 12 rectangle with your hands or rolling pin. Roll the dough into a log (grabbing from the 9 inch size to roll) and tuck/pinch the sides and seams. Place the dough log in a greased/floured 9 x 5 loaf pan, cover with a towel, and let the dough double again (30 min to an hour).

--Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

--After the final doubling, sprinkle the remaining honey and oats over the top of the loaf. Bake 40-50 minutes. (Internal temp is apprx. 190 degrees.)

*You can have water in the oven in a separate pan to ensure your bread doesn't dry out, but I was lazy and didn't do it. The bread still tasted awesome.



Happy Baking!
--H