Favorite Things: Bread

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I was going to title this Favorite Things: Homemade Bread, but who am I kidding– I like store-bought bread too.

Baking bread has been a long tradition in my family. My grandmother Mimi was known for her rye bread. It was delicious. My mother is known for her rolls- dinner rolls and sweet rolls. They  are delicious.

My daughter is carrying on the tradition. She has been making bread for a couple of years now, to the point where we hardly buy store bought bread anymore. I decided it was time that I learned how to make it myself since she is planning on moving soon.

She makes a delicious buttermilk bread. Here are pictures of my first attempt. The full recipe is at the end of the post!

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Yeast is proofing and oats are soaking

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Ready for the oven

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It turned out!

Buttermilk Oat Bread

  • Servings: 1 loaf
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

A hearty bread that's great for toasting.



This recipe requires several hours of rising, so make sure you plan accordingly.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ½ cup warm (~100°) water
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 ½cup all-purpose flour

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, mix together yeast, sugar and water. Let sit as you continue. The yeast should foam up.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together oats and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add buttermilk and honey and heat until warm, but not so hot that the buttermilk separates. Pour the mixture over the oats, stir, and let sit for 10 minutes.
  4. After 10 minutes, the oats should be softened. Add the flour and yeast mixture. Mix until a dough is formed. You may need to add more buttermilk or flour to develop a good consistency. The dough should be a little sticky but well formed.
  5. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for several minutes until it is firm but still elastic. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 1 hour.
  6. Punch the dough down a bit and take it out of the bowl. Form it into a loaf and place it in a loaf pan. I use a stone cooker with a cover, but if you don’t have a cover, simply use a towel. Let rise for another hour.
  7. Uncover the loaf and sprinkle the top with a light coating of kosher salt. Set the oven for 400°.
  8. If using stoneware, put the bread in with the cover on for 25 minutes, then remove the top and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the top is nicely browned. If you don’t have the covered stoneware, bake for 20 minutes, then cover with a sheet of aluminum foil to keep the top of the bread from burning and bake for another 10 minutes.
  9. Take bread out of oven and let cool completely before cutting.
  10. Enjoy!

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