Oatmeal Bread

After reading homesicktexan, I just had to try her great-grandmother's Oatmeal Bread. I knew it was a recipe for me because 1.) It called for ordinary ingredients that I had in my house, 2.) Required no kneading and 3.) Only had to rise for 1 hour....no fussy knead for 10 min, rise and then rise again, punch down, knead for 10 minutes, rise again, etc, etc. It is a lazy girl's type of bread!

The bread turned out pretty nicely! The crumb is tender and is like a mix between a homemade white bread and a banana bread. The honey and oatmeal combo smelled great while baking in the oven. After 45 minutes, the bread was ready for me to slather on the butter and eat away.

Great-Grandma Gibson's Oatmeal Bread

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups of boiling milk
• 1 cup of oats (not instant)
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 4 tablespoons of shortening
• 5-5 1/2 cups of flour
• 2 packets of yeast
• 1/2 cup of warm water

Method:

• 1. Add oatmeal to hot milk and let stand for two hours. **
• 2. Dissolve yeast in warm water.
• 3. Mix yeast and other ingredients with oatmeal (start with five cups of flour and add more a little bit at a time until dough is smooth).
• 4. Form into loaves, and either fill two loaf pans or place in balls on a parchment-paper lined sheet.
• 5. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about an hour).
• 6. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

* I halved the recipe to make one loaf. Instead of using just half an egg, I used an entire egg and just added a bit more flour.

** I microwaved the milk, then poured it over the oatmeal. I only let it sit 10 min or so.