Oatmeal Bread

I recently bought Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I thought it would be a great way for me to ease into bread making without having to do any of that horrid kneading that I hate. Well since I made this bread I've actually made some other breads and I'm warming up to the idea of kneading - though my wrists get sore so maybe I'm doing something wrong. I now understand what a gluten cloak is (after watching this video with Danielle Forestier and Julia Child). And I'm even thinking of tackling some of the recipes in Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I was telling my family that I think I may have been bitten by the bread bug and they were looking at me like I was crazy (they've never heard of being "bitten by a bread bug").

Anyway, of course I'll be posting about those other breads I made but today I'm talking about this oatmeal bread! Quite good for a no knead bread. It's very soft and has a fluffy inside - not cake fluffy but bread fluffy. The bread tastes like it already has butter on it and the crust is chewy. I wish it had a greater portion of whole grain but it does have oat bran, wheat bran and oats. I halved the recipe and it made 2 small loaves in 8x4 pans. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong because it seems like either the dough isn't rising like it's supposed to, or there isn't as much dough as there's supposed to be. But it is super easy to make and tastes yummy.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Golden Cinnamon Loaf
Soft Pretzels
bill's Coconut Bread
Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

Oatmeal Bread
Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Makes three 1 1/2 pound loaves.

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast
1 tbsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for greasing the pan
1/2 cup oat bran
1/3 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast and salt with the water, milk maple syrup, and oil in a 5 quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon. You may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.

3. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or with a tea towel, and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses/flattens, about 2 hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise. Refrigerate in a container (loosely covered) and use over the next 8 days.

5. On baking day, oil a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1 1/2 pound (cantaloupe size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

6. Elongate the ball into an oval and place it into the prepared pan. Allow to rest and rise for 1 hour and 20 minutes (or just 40 minutes if you're using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).

7. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350F, with an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.

8. Place the loaf on a rack near the center of the oven. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until deeply browned and firm.

9. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.