The aroma wafting from the kitchen as this old-fashioned oatmeal bread bakes will make everyone want to sample it fresh from the oven.
Instructions
1
Prepare the oats
2
In a small bowl, combine the boiling water, butter, salt and sugar. Stir in the oats, and let the bowl cool to lukewarm.
3
Prepare the yeast mixture
4
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the molasses, brown sugar and 1 cup of the flour, then beat until smooth.
5
Combine to make a dough
6
Next, stir in the oat mixture and enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough.
7
Knead the dough
8
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead it until it's smooth and elastic, six to eight minutes.
9
Let the dough rise
10
Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it once to grease the top. Cover the bowl with airtight wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
11
Punch down the dough and let it rest
12
Once the dough has risen, uncover the bowl and punch down the dough to get out the excess air. Then, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half. Shape each portion into a ball, cover these with wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.
13
Form the loaves
14
Shape the dough balls into loaves and place each into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Cover the loaves again and let them rise until they have nearly doubled, about one hour.
15
Bake the bread
16
Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, covering the pans loosely with foil if the tops brown too quickly. Remove the baked bread from the pans to wire racks to cool.
