Source: Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Cookbook, Crescent Dragonwagon
Makes 2 loaves
This recipe is a very consistent bread recipe ideal for beginners. It takes 4 ½ hours from start to finish.
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
- 1 ½ tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup lukewarm spring water
- ½ cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 ½ to 5 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (I prefer bread flour)
- In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and butter. Let stand 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water and let stand to dissolve, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the yeast, molasses, and stir in enough of the flour to make a kneadable dough.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Oil a bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 ½ hours.
- Oil two 9×5 inch loaf pans. Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Shape the dough into loaves and place them in the prepared pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
- About 30 minutes into the final rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Bake the bread until crusty, about 35 minutes. Turn the loaves out of the pans and onto a wire rack and let cool. Serve with butter.