Oatmeal Whole Grain Bread

I woke up it to snowing this morning. After a night of not much sleep and several days of stress with a kid with the flu, it was the last thing I wanted to see. So I took some advice and made some homemade bread and soup. Cold weather screams homemade bread to me for some reason. And there isn’t much better in this world than a grilled cheese sandwich on homemade bread.

This bread is quickly becoming my go to. It sounds a bit odd for sandwiches, but I promise it works. I’ve made it with and without the cinnamon. I think I may slightly prefer it without cinnamon, but it isn’t an overpowering flavor when you use it.

Oatmeal Whole Grain Bread (Makes 2 loaves, 32 slices)

2 ½ cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1 tablespoon instant yeast
5 ½ cups white whole wheat flour

1. Combine water through cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Cool to lukewarm (no more than 120 degrees F).
2. Add the yeast and flour, stirring to form a rough dough. Knead with a dough hook for 7 minutes or by hand for 10 minutes; knead until dough is smooth an satiny.
3. Lightly grease bowl. Place dough in bowl. Cover with a light towel or lightly greased plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, about double in bulk.
4. Divide dough in half and shape into a loaf. Place in lightly greased loaf pans. Cover pans with towel or plastic wrap as above. Allow loaves to rise until they crown 1 inch over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Immediately remove loaves to wire rack to completely cool.

Nutritional Information (Amount per slice):

Calories: 109
Protein: 3 g
Fat: 2 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 4 mg
Carbohydrates: 21 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sodium: 220 mg

Recipe notes: I have only made this with white whole wheat flour. If using “regular” whole wheat flour, I would probably split it with all-purpose. The original recipe called for 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, 4 cups all-purpose. I’ve had no problems just using 100% white whole wheat flour.

Source: slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour