Oatmeal Molasses Brown Bread
The smell of homemade bread cooking in the oven brings back a floodgate of food memories for me. My mom was always baking and homemade bread was a staple in our house. It’s been years since I made any white bread and even longer for brown. Bread making in my family goes back four generations. My great grandmother used to make the best brown bread and this recipe gently lifted me back in time to when my Nanny Kent was still around…what I would give to be able to talk to her now! The recipe is from the book, Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces, which I found from Sheena’s site, Butter Versus Burpees. This recipe is nothing like any brown bread out there and it’s so easy to make.
Makes 2 delicious loaves
adapted from Butter Versus Burpees
1 cup organic rolled oats (not instant!)
1 1/4 cups molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water
1/4 cup butter
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 tablespoon sugar
7 cups all-purpose flour
In one bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients and let cool to lukewarm. In a separate bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. When the yeast gets foamy (a few minutes), stir to make sure it is well distributed.
In a stand mixer, combine oat mixture and yeast mixture and mix at lowest speed until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in one cup of flour at a time. You want the dough to be firm, but not dry or sticky.
Turn the dough on to a work surface and knead it for about 5 minutes, until the dough is stretchy and elastic.
Divide the dough in half and shape it into loaves. Place into two well-greased loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a tea towel and let them rise in a warm spot until the dough is about 1 inch over the top of the loaf pan, about 60 to 75 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350f and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Tap the top of the loaves, if they sound hollow inside they’re done! Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and cool on a rack.
The Culinary Chase’s Note: I was thrilled with the results and the taste. Enjoy!
That is a lovely bread – I love the combination of molasses and oats. It must make great toast!
And, this is an easy recipe for those who want to make bread for the first time. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!