Honey Oatmeal Bread

I'll occasionally indulge in a package of soft, white, commercial bread, usually because I'm craving a fluffer-nutter, or just need comfort food.  But when it comes to making bread myself, I can never seem to make a plain loaf of all white flour.  (Sweet breads, now that's a different story.  Bring on the white flour and sugar!)  So true to form, I substituted about half the flour for white whole wheat.  Because it's not like that little bit of oats in the recipe was going to add a lot of nutrients!  (And since it's basically just a honey wheat loaf, I think it could survive even as much as two-thirds whole wheat flour.)

Here is the source recipe:

1¼ cups/300 ml whole or 2% milk
2 oz/57 g old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
3 tbsp/43 g unsalted butter
1½  tsp/5 g instant yeast
2.12 oz/50 g honey
1½ tsp/7 g salt
12¼ oz/347 g all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
rolled oats, for topping

Day 1
Bring milk to a boil. Stir in oats and butter, and let sit for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Stir in instant yeast and honey, until well combined.  Add milk mixture to flour and salt in mixing bowl. Stir on low speed for 1 - 2 minutes (or with wooden spoon) until all flour is hydrated and shaggy mass forms. Let dough rest for 5 minutes.  Knead at medium-low speed for 6 minutes (or by hand). Dough will be a bit sticky, but don't add any more flour (always err on the wet side.)

Transfer dough to lightly oiled work surface; pat in a rough rectangle. With wet or oiled hands, stretch and fold dough in thirds, like a business letter. Then repeat the same stretching and folding in thirds from both sides.   Gather dough into a ball, tucking the sides underneath, and place it, smooth side up, into a greased bowl. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Repeat these stretches and folds (S & F) 3 more times, at 10 minute intervals.  After the last S & F, place dough in an oiled container with lid, and place in refrigerator overnight.

Day 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using, to warm up. Lightly grease 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan.  Transfer dough on clean work surface. Placing your hands in the middle, gently press down to degas. Pat dough into a 7 x 10-inch rectangle. Roll up into a sandwich loaf, pinching seams to seal. Place, seam side down, in prepared loaf pan, then gently flatten with your hands to even it out.  Brush top with egg wash.  Using sharp knife, slash lengthwise. Sprinkle with rolled oats, then gently press with your hands to make sure they stick to the dough.

Preheat oven to 425ºF, adjusting rack to middle position. Mist loaf with baking spray, cover, and proof for 45 minutes, or until grown one and a half times its original size. (Poke dough gently with your finger - the dent should slowly come back a little bit, and stay visible, but not fill up again.)

Refresh the scoring if you want the slash to open wider during the bake.  Place bread in the middle of the oven, reduce temperature to 350ºF, and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate loaf for even browning, and continue baking for another 20 - 25 minutes, until top is golden brown and it registers at least 195ºF.  Remove from oven, turn out onto wire rack, and let cool.

 

The source baker reduced the honey from the original recipe by half (1/3 cup in the original) because she uses it for savory sandwiches, and reduced the yeast from 2¼ teaspoons (7g).  I followed the source, but split the difference on the honey and used about 70g.  My scoring technique needs some improvement -- for one, the cut shouldn't go all the way to the end, but should stop about an inch or so prior.  And I think I forgot to use the egg wash, because the topping oats certainly didn't stick.  (The original recipe doesn't use an egg wash, but rather brushes the baked loaf with butter.)

Conclusion:  This turned out really well.  The oatmeal, not surprisingly, was unnoticeable.  Next time I would use steel cut oats if I want some texture, although a soft, smooth loaf is nice sometimes.  Otherwise, I'm not sure what it added.  I think I would prefer the full 1/3 cup (100g) of honey called for in the original recipe, especially if using whole wheat flour.

Recipe:  Honey Oatmeal Bread via Brot and Bread, adapted from The Weekend Baker by Abby Dodge