Maryetta's Oat Bread

As I'm generally do when I'm home for Shabbat, this weekend I made bread for Friday night dinner in addition to the challot for Shabbat day. (Those came out beautifully but unfortunately, way too dry.) Browsing through some of my books, I came upon Maryetta's Oat Bread in Beard on Bread and did some research on it. The blogs that I found featuring this recipe raved about it. Having everything on hand, I decided to make a half batch. I am so glad I did, because all those blogs turned out to be sooooo on the mark. This bread was one of the best loaves of bread I have ever made. The crumb was soft but still sturdy, with slight but present creaminess from the flecks of oats, and a subtle sweetness from the oats and date honey. This bread never made it past Friday night, at all, in fact I think I had most of it, but I imagine it would be awesome toasted. I did adapt it slightly. To supplement my lack of whole oats I used some quick cooking as well, and I used date honey instead of molasses. I made a half batch, yielding one 9 inch loaf and two rolls. You could scale the dough differently, making an 8 inch loaf and more rolls. As soon as I get my hands on some more oats, I'm making this again. Until then, this loaf is off to Yeastspotting!

Maryetta's Oat Bread
adapted from Beard on Bread

2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3 1/2-4 cups flour, or more as needed
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup date honey or molasses

Place the oats in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Allow to sit until cool.

Add a cup of flour and the yeast,

and stir in. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk.

Add the remaining flour, salt, oil, and date honey,

and mix until a shaggy dough is formed. Allow the dough to rest for ten minutes.

Knead the dough until it is smooth and firm. Place it in a greased bowl and grease the top as well. Refrigerate overnight. (Or not. Allow to rise until doubled and then proceed.)

Here is my risen dough the next day. Deflate the dough, scale and shape it.

Allow the loaf to proof until it rises to the rim of the pan. Be patient. I cooked everything else first and by the time I was done, my breads had proofed sufficiently.

Towards the end of proofing, preheat your oven to 350.

Bake for about 40-60 minutes, depending on your oven, or until a thermometer registers at least 190. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes before turning them out onto a rack to finish cooling. Store in plastic bags.