Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients: Rolled oats (I used quick because it was closer), flour, yeast, brown sugar, salt, shortening, water (not pictured)





Oatmeal Bread
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour (approx.)
1 pkg yeast
1 3/4 cup water
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp shortening
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats (quick or regular)

In your mixer add two cups of flour and the yeast, stir and set aside. On the stove top, put water, brown sugar and shortening in a sauce pan and warm over medium heat until the shortening starts to melt. Turn off stove and remove from heat. You are going to add this to your yeast/flour mixture so make sure it's not too hot by sticking your finger in it. If it's too hot, let it sit for a minute to cool. Putting water or any liquid that is too hot into a yeast, will kill the yeast and it won't rise and your bread will be flat. Horrible.

Add your warm (but not hot) liquid into your mixer and turn it on low. Mix for about 30 seconds then stop the mixer and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Then turn on the mixer again and mix for about 3 minutes. Add the oatmeal and then the flour, adding a cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides and middle of the mixer (like the whole wheat bread here). When the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the mixer, stop the mixer and put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for an hour or so until it doubles.

Punch down dough, when you come back, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half, then cover and let rest for ten minutes. When the ten minutes is up, shape dough into loaves, using loaf pans, or simply shape into a round and place on a cookie sheet, lightly greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise 30-45 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

When the dough has almost doubled, place in the preheated oven and cook for 35-40 minutes. When the bread had only cooked for 20 minutes it started to smell done, but I knew it was too early, so I loosely covered the cookie sheet where both my dough rounds were, with a layer of foil.

It's DELICIOUS!