Oatmeal Molasses Bread

Oatmeal Molasses Bread

The other day a business associate asked me if she could have  some of my bread recipes. I said I'd drop off a couple of my earlier cookbooks sometime next week. In the meantime, I figured I'd post one or two for her on my little blog.

I already posted my basic white bread (May 2, 2013) and I also posted a cheese and sausage bread the same day. This oatmeal and molasses bread is one of my favorites which brings back a lot of childhood memories.

How often do you use molasses? Do you even own a jar of molasses? If you do, when was the last time that you used it? Eek! You'd better throw that away and buy some fresh molasses for this bread. 

If I remember correctly, this is the bread my mom would make for the sandwiches that she packed in my high school lunches. She’d make three or four sandwiches for me and the bread was thickly sliced. (I was known for my moderation even back then.) I often ate them all, but some of my friends took a liking to my mom’s sandwiches on homemade bread. Frequently I’d share one with them. Years later my mom found out and was surprised to hear that. She didn't realize that she was making sandwiches for my friends too.

I believe that this recipe recreates the bread from my high school memories. I’ll have to make it for my mom to see if I remember correctly.

One thing I know, this bread is good for you. Now, don’t go sending the FDA after me for making unsubstantiated health claims. If I say it’s healthy, it is healthy. You don’t need some government bureaucrat to verify what I say. In fact, go ahead and add a little more salt and a little extra butter, just to tweak those government inspectors.

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal

2 tbs. room temperature butter

1 tbs. brown sugar

3 tbs. molasses

1 tsp. salt 

3 tbs. instant yeast

2 cups (a little more or a little less) slightly warm water

1 egg white, mixed with 1 tbs. water

Preparation

Place the first eight ingredients in your mixing bowl. Add one cup of the slightly warm water to the bowl and begin mixing with the dough hooks. Gradually add additional water until the dough comes together. Flour your hands and knead the flour as you would when making white bread. 

Allow the bread to rise for about a half hour. Knead it again and shape it into a loaf. Set it aside to rise another twenty minutes. With a little basting brush, spread a nice layer of the egg white mixture all over the loaf to give it a nice shiny surface. If you don’t have a little basting brush, go ahead and use your fingers. I don’t care. (Why you would not have a little basting brush? I wonder about you people sometimes.) I also like to sprinkle on a little sea salt after I brush the loaf, but please don't tell the FDA or Mayor Bloomberg about that.

Bake the loaf in a 400 degree oven about 25 minutes until it has a nice brown crust and the bottom sounds hollow when you knock it with your knuckles. I can’t believe that I’m giving away all my secrets like this. Let the bread cool at least 10 minutes before slicing. 

Serving

Serve warm bread with lots of butter to have with dinner, or use three quarter inch slices to make four sandwiches for your lunch. If you share these sandwiches, don’t tell my mom.