Oatmeal Bread

We were out of bread and since the house was unusually cool I decided to make some homemade bread. If you notice a piece is missing off one of the loaves, I couldn't wait it was so yummy. Here is the recipe courtesy of Hodgson's Mill flour. I should say as with all recipes I substitute where I need to use what I have on hand. In this I used old fashioned oatmeal instead of quick cooking and it turned out fine.

Grandma's Oatmeal Bread

2 pkgs active dry yeast
1/2 c warm water
1 1/4 c boiling water
1 c quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 c molasses
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 c Hodgson Mill Oat Bran Flour blend
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2- 3 c Hodgson Mill unbleached flour

Coating:
1 egg white
1 tbl water
1/4 c quick cooking oats

Add yeast to 1/2 c warm water and let stand for 10 minutes.

Combine boiling water, oatmeal, molasses, vegetable oil, and salt. Cool to lukewarm. Stir in 2 c oat bran flour blend and mix well (may use a mixer). To this add 2 beaten eggs and yeast mixture. Mix well. Add the remaining oat bran flour and unbleached flour to make a soft dough. knead the dough until smooth, elastic, and satiny, 10 minutes by hand or 4 minutes in an electric mixer fitted with dough hook. Put dough in greased bowl, turning once to coat evenly. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours. Optional Second Rising: Knead down and allow to rise a second time until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 2 equal portions and let rest for 10 minutes. Grease two, 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Shape dough into loaves and put into pans, seam side down. Allow the dough to rise to just above top of the pans.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush loaves with mixture of 1 tbl egg white and 1 tbl water, sprinkle with 1/4 c oatmeal.

Bake for 30- 35 minutes until top is golden. Remove immediately from pans and let cool on racks.