Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

• Oatmeal Bread

• 3C King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

• 1C Rolled Oats (Old Fashioned Oats)

• 2T Butter or Margarine

• 1 1/2t Salt

• 3T Brown Sugar

• 1 Pkt Active Dry Yeast OR 2t Instant Yeast

• 1 1/4C Lukewarm Milk

• 3/4C Rasins or Currants (optional)

Directions

1. If you are using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients. I also usually melt my butter in the milk too.

2. Bread Machine Method:

3. Place all of the ingredients (except the fruit) in the pan of your machine.

4. Program machine for manual or dough, and press "start". About 10 minutes before

5. the end of the second kneading cycle, check dough and adjust it's consistancy as

6. necessary with additional flouer or water; finished dough should be soft and

7. supple. Add fruit about 3 minutes before end of final kneading cycle. Shape as directed below.

8. Manual Method:

9. In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl on an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough. Knead dough, by hand (10 min) or by machine (5 min) till it's smooth. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow to rest for 1 hour; till it becomes puffy. It may not double in bulk. Shape as directed below.

10. Shaping:

11. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled suface, and shape into a log. place the

12. log in a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan, cover the pan with a light towel or

13. lightly greased plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. til

14. it is crested 1-2 inches over the rim of the pan.

15. Baking:

16. Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until an binstant read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190 degrees F. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes of baking.

17. I personally have never inserted a thermomoeter into my bread. I do the thump test. If it has a hollow sound, then it is baked thru.

18. OPTIONS:

19. I add:

20. 1/4 Shelled Raw or Toasted Sunflower seeds (not salted)

21. 2t Raw or Toasted Flax Seeds

22. 2T Toasted Shelled Pumpkin Seeds

23. 1/4C Chopped Raw Walnuts and/or Almonds

24. I mix these in from the start so they run thru the bread.

25. I don't usually use the rasins…they are a spike food for me, and I like it

26. better for sandwiches without them.

27. I usually use 1/2 Unbleached Bread Flour and 1/2 Whole Wheat or Whole Grain

28. Flour. King Arthur sells both in my Grocer…but if you are used to making

29. bread, use what you like best.

30. If you use all whole wheat flour, you may need to use some extra liquid to keep

31. it moist. and if you use a little extra yeast, it will make it less dense as

32. well. Depends on what your family likes.