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Vermont Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread

Source of Recipe

From "The King Arthur Baker's Companion" by King Arthur Baking Co.


Recipe Introduction

"This lovely loaf is soft and mildly sweet, perfect for both sandwiches and toast. If you can find it, use Vietnamese cinnamon—a spicier, bolder variety that comes through beautifully in this bread."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 cups boiling water
â—¦ 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
â—¦ ½ cup maple sugar or brown sugar
â—¦ 1 tablespoon honey
â—¦ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
â—¦ 2 ½ teaspoons salt
â—¦ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
â—¦ 1 tablespoon instant yeast
â—¦ 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
â—¦ 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour


Recipe

In a large bowl, combine the water, oats, maple or brown sugar, honey, butter, salt, and cinnamon. Let cool to lukewarm (100° to 110° F), which typically takes about 10 to 15 minutes; stir the mixture several times to help things along, if you like.

Add the yeast and flours, stirring to form a rough dough. Knead (about 10 minutes by hand, 5 to 7 minutes using a mixer) until the dough is smooth and satiny.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. Since the dough is warm to begin with (from the boiling water), it should become quite puffy.

Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a loaf. Place the loaves in two greased 8 ½ by 4 ½-inch loaf pans. Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow the loaves to rise until they've crowned about 1 inch over the rim of the pan, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Bake the loaves in a preheated 350° F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting them lightly with aluminum foil after 25 minutes to prevent over-browning. Remove them from the oven when they're golden brown, and the interior registers 190° F on a digital thermometer. Turn the loaves out onto a rack to cool.

Makes two 8 ½-inch loaves