Oatmeal Buttermilk Wheat Bread

We eat a lot of bread at home and by we I mean Latif (hehe). Actually that's what sustains him from morning till evening when I am at work if there are no leftovers for lunch. So it was only natural that I try my hand at baking a loaf of bread. We mostly eat wholemeal bread (I even managed to convert a white bread lover to this - yes it is Latif only) and so I wanted to try a wholemeal bread itself. There are many many recipes out there but most of them call for bread flour and I didn't want to buy a bag before experimenting with something at home.

This recipe is from Annie's Eats and is very simple and easy. It calls for rolled oats which I had never seen before (Thank you instant oats for keeping me ignorant) and so I had to search for it and found it in the organic section of the store. I halved the recipe because I only had a 8 inch loaf pan (brand new, mind you) and the original recipe yielded one very large loaf. Even with half of the recipe I got a good sized loaf perfect for the two of us. Because of central air condtioning at home it was tough to find a humid spot for the yeast to rise. I heated my oven a little and placed the bowl there. It took me 3 hours for the first rise and one hour for the second.The bread is great with a very soft center. I slightly over baked mine not knowing when to remove it exactly. Now that I have baked my first loaf I will surely try different types of bread like rolls (garlic knots anyone?) Also, how great are those bread machines which give you ready bread at the touch of a button. Would love to get one as a gift (hint hint)!

Recipe Source - Given as is from Annie's Eats, with my notes in red.

Ingredients

11/2 Cups Rolled Oats, Divided

1 Cup Boiling Water

1/4 Cup Room Temperature Water

2 Tbsp + 1 Tsp Agave Nectar (Or Honey), Divided - I Used Honey

2 Tsp Instant Yeast

11/2 Cups Buttermilk, At Room Temperature - I used the Milk And Vinegar Substitute

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

2 Tsp Salt

1. Set aside ¼ cup of the rolled oats. Place the remaining oats in a medium bowl. Cover with the boiling water, mix well, and let sit uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the soaked oats, room temperature water, 2 tablespoons of agave, yeast, buttermilk, olive oil, 2 cups of each flour, and salt. Mix briefly on low speed until ingredients are combined. Mix in the remaining ½ cup of each flour. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 10 minutes. The dough will be wet, cling to the hook, and have a satiny finish.

3. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, flattening it with your hands to release the excess air bubbles. Form the dough into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle and position it so the long side is facing you. Fold the two shorter ends onto the top so that they meet in the middle. Starting with the closest end, roll the dough away from you tightly into a log. Pinch the seam closed. (Do this well, I closed mine and it still opened up leaving a gaping slit on the top). Transfer the loaf to an oiled loaf pan, pressing it so that it reaches all the corners.

5. Mix the remaining agave nectar with ½ a teaspoon of very hot water. Brush over the top of the loaf, and

sprinkle with the reserved oats. Let rise for about 30 minutes, just until the loaf rises over the top of the pan.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees F  F. Bake the loaf for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.

P.S - My sister, niece and parents are planning to come to Dubai pretty soon and I can't wait to try out so many new recipes as they are complete foodies like me! Lot's more baking for me!

Happy Eating!!