We’re in Spring Break mode around here and it’s so nice to not have to dress young children and take them to preschool… but yesterday at about 4 pm I came to a screeching halt as my world and children spun around me at rapid speeds. As I tried to prepare our house for Bible study they fought, whined, and made giant messes. Needless to say, I’m thankful for a new day and new beginnings… and no school again!
I’ve been watching the blogosphere make bread for several months now and I was finally tempted to jump onto the bandwagon. I have a friend who has a mill and grinds her own wheat, bakes her own bread and the whole nine yards and when she graciously offered me fresh ground wheat flour I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make something really good out of it! Justin’s always been a fan of oatmeal bread so my friend and I went in search for a good oatmeal bread recipe. We found this one and after reading the reviews I made several changes to it and came up with Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread {recipe below}.
I wish you could smell it and I really wish you could taste it. It’s fabulous for sandwiches and toasted. And it’s so soft and moist! My friend also graciously loaned me her loaf pans… do you see that they are adjustable? They are fabulous in EVERY way. They’re only 4″ wide so the slices of bread aren’t enormous and I compensated for the narrow width by making the loaves a little longer {10″}. Well I’ve scoured the internet to no avail for expandable loaf pans. She found them in Germany. If anyone over the pond has access to these let me know… or if you know how to search “expandable loaf pan” in German that might help too!
I was so thankful to have 2 helpers who couldn’t resist getting in on the action.
And last but not least, this picture has a story. Sometimes, ok, a lot of times I wear really absurd things. Justin will occasionally threaten to take a picture of me and then tell me he’s going to hijack the blog and post pictures of me. I’ll take care of that for him… here is what I wore all day Sunday after church.
I, personally, see nothing wrong with ivory knee socks and black capri yoga pants, especially when you’re baking bread.
***************************************************
As for the bread, the recipe online didn’t call for near enough flour {almost 2 cups short}, nor did it call for whole wheat flour. It also called for adding the oatmeal to the top after it had baked… so here’s my revised PDF version of Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread.
Or if you’d rather copy & paste…
Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread
yields 2 loaves
Ingredients:
2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 (.24 oz) package of active dry yeast
½ cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
3 ½ to 4 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons honey
handful of rolled oats
- In large mixing bowl (stand mixer bowl if you have one), combine boiling water to oats, honey, butter and salt. Let stand 1 hour.
- In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the oats mixture. Combine wheat flour and bread flour in separate bowl. Add 2 cups of flour mixture to oats mixture and combine well. Continue adding flour mixture to mixing bowl by ½ cup increments until dough pulls together. This will happen when between 5 ½ & 6 cups of flour has been added. You may not need the last ½ cup of flour.
- When the dough has pulled together, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Or add your bread hook to your mixer and knead for a few minutes.
- Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hr. (I preheat the oven for about 5 minutes then turn it off, make sure it’s warm but not hot and put the bowl in there to rise, this seemed to work best because for this recipe is there is much more flour than yeast).
- Deflate the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place in 9 x 5 greased loaf pans and cover with damp cloth & let rise again until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. (I return the pans to the oven for this step too.)
- Preheat oven to 375. While oven is preheating mix milk and honey together in mug and microwave for about 20 seconds. Brush warm milk mixture over loaves and generously sprinkle with rolled oats.
- Bake loaves at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool before removing from pans.
E @ Oh! Apostrophe
March 16, 2010 at 10:00 amYour Darby doll cracks me up every time. The flour on your nose is an especially nice touch today 😉
Sarah
March 16, 2010 at 10:06 amI’ve tried searching for an expandable loaf pan in German but not much luck… so Im emailing my friend for you, shes from/ lives in Germany and bakes… daily. Hopefully she’ll know what it is your looking for and where to get them!
Jenny
March 16, 2010 at 10:15 amI googled “verstellbare Backform” and found this: https://www.getreidemuehlen.de/Zubehoer-Backformen/Kaiser-Backform/991242.html
It’s adjustable from almost 8 to almost 14 inches in length.
I live in Germany, so let me know if you’re interested. They ship internationally, but charge you 55 Euros for it.
Sarah
March 16, 2010 at 10:23 amHere’s one! Your bread looks fabulous!
https://www.cookwarebycsn.co.uk/Kaiser-Bakeware-7750385-UKB1066.html
Dianne
March 16, 2010 at 10:33 amOnce again I have to say that you are amazing. The bread looks yummy and healthy.
Meredith
March 16, 2010 at 10:38 amThat bread looks great! It is my birthday on Saturday and I am going to request that my husband make your frosted banana bars for me! Yum!
Sarah's Fab Day
March 16, 2010 at 10:46 amMy best bread memories are of oatmeal bread. My great-grandma used to make it all of the time and it was my favorite breakfast toasted with lots and lots of butter (sometimes jam if I was feeling sassy).
Sarah's Fab Day
March 16, 2010 at 10:47 amPS – Your Darby doll still makes me laugh everytime. I love her.
Mrs. Foot
March 16, 2010 at 11:03 amYou should also try searching for adjustable (not just expandable). That came up with a bunch of options!
Lindsey
March 16, 2010 at 11:08 amI’ve been reading your blog for some time now and it is one of my very favorites. Your kids are adorable, you are amazing and I LOVE the Darby doll. Every time I see her it just makes me laugh out loud. The bread looks so yummy,even if you just put butter on it!
Lindsey
March 16, 2010 at 11:14 amYum! That bread looks delish!!
Katie
March 16, 2010 at 11:38 amMy husband laughs at what I put on after church too… it seems to be a compilation of what is not in the washing machine and whatever looks the most comfortable. Bread looks amazing and I love that you spend time making it with your children. Send some to Birmingham! 🙂
Meghan
March 16, 2010 at 12:06 pmI love the Darby doll posts, they crack me up every time. The bread looks yummy! Might have to try that one. Thanks for sharing!
stephanie
March 16, 2010 at 12:07 pmI always enjoy your dolls posts!:)
Southern cooking…mmmmm….miss that!
Lillian - Domestic Simplicity
March 16, 2010 at 12:12 pmYUM!! Thanks so much for including the recipe, too:) I’ve been making the NY Times No-Knead Bread lately(my favorite is the steel cut oat version on breadtopia.com)and I love that it’s fast and easy. As long as I plan ahead a day and don’t need it right away, it works out well.
https://domesticsimplicity.com/2010/02/18/the-ny-times-no-knead-bread-is-so-2006/
I keep hearing about this “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day” book lately, too, sounds like you might really like that!
https://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919
Katie
March 16, 2010 at 12:13 pmOk, I can’t get past that hilarious cover on that cookbook…HAHA!
Zoe
March 16, 2010 at 12:25 pmMmmmm, homemade bread! I make whole wheat bread a couple of times a week. Isn’t the smell of bread baking one of the best in the world?
And – I recently bought the Kenmore vacuum that you blogged about awhile ago. LOVE IT – and I think of you every time I vacuum. 🙂
Valerie
March 16, 2010 at 12:38 pmSearch the internet for adjustable “tins”, not “pans”.
Kelly
March 16, 2010 at 1:07 pmI can’t believe you are writing about this! I’ve been inspired too about trying to bake homemade bread. I have purchased the whole wheat flour and have had my cookbook open to the recipe for over a week. This is just the motivation I needed to finally try my hand at this! Was it hard for a newbie?
Sarah
March 16, 2010 at 1:22 pmIf you find those bread pans in the US please share your source. I’m new to baking bread and these look AWESOME!!! I’ve been telling my husband I want to start milling my own flour and go the whole nine yards and he thinks I’m a little crazy. Enjoy your spring break!
Cat Moore
March 16, 2010 at 1:35 pmOk, I wrote you an email, said I “never comment”, then commented once and I’m hooked. 🙂 I just had to comment because I too wear capri yoga pants and socks pulled up all the time…in our house….when no one can see me….except my husband….and our kids, but who are they gonna tell! It’s just been so cold and I love my yoga pants! My husband has never made a comment, but has given me some “yea, that’s REAL sexy….” looks. I guess the secret is out now.
Cat Moore
March 16, 2010 at 1:36 pmPS…I love that D Doll has tossled hair while baking on a Sunday afternoon, after church. 🙂
Megan
March 16, 2010 at 2:02 pmthat bread looks yummy!
erika (mommasis)
March 16, 2010 at 2:38 pmsloaney and i want some bread. i love you darby doll. xoxo
Carolyn
March 16, 2010 at 2:45 pmDas Brot in Austria (& Deutschland) ist sehr sehr gut! Dein Brot sieht gut auch. Ich kann ein Backform nicht finden. Tut mir leid. OK, had to practice my German…I take 4 freaking hours a day, k? The bread here is amazing. They are not on low carb diets and there are few fatties here. Keep making that Brot!
Amelie
March 16, 2010 at 2:49 pmHomemade bread…YUM! Thank you for sharing this recipe…I cannot wait to try it.
As far as the adjustable pan goes, maybe your could try ordering it from Amazon in the UK. Not sure if they do international delivery but it’s worth trying!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kaiser-20-30CM-ADJUSTABLE-LOAF-TIN/dp/B00008WVN8
hannah
March 16, 2010 at 3:01 pmHi… this looks awesome and so fun to do with kids! … have been following your blog for a couple of weeks now after discovering it and your sister’s, which was mentioned in Coastal Living. too fun!
BB Wooten
March 16, 2010 at 3:07 pmI just posted about baking bread the other day! I had an Irish soda bread recipe I was going to try out, but now I’m really tempted to make this instead. I can almost smell it, looking at those pictures! Maybe I’ll just have to bake both. 🙂
Chris, the Blog Butler
March 16, 2010 at 3:21 pmI use this book https://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ (artisan bread in 5 minutes a day) for boules and pizza dough. Haven’t been happy with the sandwich bread, I’ll have to try yours Darby.
Melissa
March 16, 2010 at 5:47 pmWe love oatmeal bread, too! It’s so delish and you can sort-of pretend that it’s very healthy, right?
misc.alaina
March 16, 2010 at 6:26 pmI love homemade bread and will definitely be trying out this recipe sometime! There is no shame in wearing knee socks and capri yoga pants – as long as you are home, you may as well be comfortable!
Cait
March 16, 2010 at 6:46 pmYum! Thanks so much for sharing this with us! 🙂 And I wear crazy, absurd things too…thankfully hubbies love no matter what craziness we put on. I’m rockin’ out a striped shirt and leopard print house shoes as part of my attire tonight..which usually consists of colorful, fuzzy socks as well. 🙂
Love the yummy baking inspiration!
Sharon, materials and design
March 16, 2010 at 7:15 pmLove that the cookbook only cost $1.29 that Darby Doll is reading! The way I look at it, the older the book the better the recipes. My favorite is a church cookbook from Iowa published back in 1958. All the recipes are typed or hand written.
Since you have children, ever think about starting a loaf of “friendship bread”? It is like a chain letter, but edible.
diane yockachonis
March 16, 2010 at 8:07 pmhey my sweet friend!!!! it’s your girl diane dow yockachonis!!!! your site is AMAZING!!! one of my dear friends sent me a link today about your whole wheat baking…that is totally what we do all day long 🙂 love it to pieces!!! anyway, email me if you get a chance…have a great one darby!!!
Jackie
March 16, 2010 at 8:49 pmI think I will be trying this soon. Jackie
meaghan
March 16, 2010 at 10:33 pmi, personally, love the outfit ; )
Jutta
March 17, 2010 at 4:53 amLook for “Brotbackform, ausziehbar” or “Brotbackform, verstellbar” like Jenny above mentioned. I found some on http://www.amazon.de maybe they ship it to the US.
Cheers from Germany 🙂
bonnie
March 17, 2010 at 6:24 amYour recipe fails to list the step that made the bread so beautiful and delicious–those sweet little helping hands! I thought I had every baking gadget out there but have never seen an expandable loaf pan. If you find one, I’d love to know where it came from because it is a great idea.
Laura
March 17, 2010 at 7:38 amSounds delicious! I’ve never had much luck with yeast recipes but am going to give it another try after reading this. After all, whole wheat, oatmeal equals healthy, right? Just what I need…convincing that bread is healthy!
Ashley Eiler
March 17, 2010 at 8:02 amyou are more woman than i will ever be with your baking bread self….especially with the socks…that seals the deal…XO
Tara
March 17, 2010 at 8:32 amI grind my wheat and bake our bread….love it…when we lived in Montgomery, AL, I was introduced to several friends who did it…and so I finally jumped on the bandwagon…
Where are you in AL? I’m so curious to know if you know any of my friends there.
Keri
March 17, 2010 at 9:43 amDarby. I shamefully admit that when you post pics with your reflection I look very hard to see what you are doing on the other side of the lens. How cool would it be if you were to devote a post strictly to that and we played a guessing game? hahaha..totally kidding.
My best friend’s mom does the whole nine yards with the homemade bread. Its AMAZING. She still makes the loaves but usually makes “rolls” rather and they are SOO good for dinner, breakfast, and snacks.
Just His Best
March 17, 2010 at 11:55 amThank you so much! I cannot wait to try this. 🙂
hannah
March 17, 2010 at 2:57 pmwhat a great time of year for bread! thanks again for idea!
Terra
March 17, 2010 at 4:14 pmHello Darby! I’ve read your blog for some time now (love it) and decided to finally leave a comment :)! I live in Germany and use the exact bread pans in your photographs. Go to http://www.amazon.de and search: Kaiser Brot-/Kuchenform 20-35cm außen blau, antih.VARIO. Take care!
Nature Valley Oats and Honey Bar, 18Ct. | Coffee Maker Info
March 17, 2010 at 5:40 pm[…] Spring Break & Baking – Fly Through Our Window […]
nealie
March 17, 2010 at 9:03 pmgirl,NO! I am cracking up at your book! where did ou find it?? flea mkt? love the bread but don’t do friendship bread, your friends will feign the sickness not to have to take and grow it! 🙂
Sarah
March 18, 2010 at 1:59 amyum bread. I’ll have to back this.
Sarah
March 18, 2010 at 2:00 amI meant buy. oops.
Karen
March 18, 2010 at 8:20 amThe outfit is totally something I would wear around the house. The bread looks amazing. What I want to know – have you put any cinnamon honey butter on it yet?
pve
March 19, 2010 at 1:54 amI grew up making that bread and I know that smell so well,
thanks for the mini trip back to my childhood. Now I know my Mom
really was and is the best. Just like you, you are a good Momma.
pve
Susan
March 20, 2010 at 7:40 pmI am not a seasoned bread maker, but I made this bread yesterday. It tasted amazing and just as important, it looked beautiful. Thank you!
Shannon
March 23, 2010 at 9:58 amThis recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait to give it a try. I’ve been meaning to make a loaf of bread for awhile now, so this is a good kick in the rear!
Courtney
March 30, 2010 at 10:52 pmSo I’m thinking you should sell some adjustable loaf pans. I’ll take 2 please 😉
xx
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May 4, 2010 at 4:27 pm[…] Sunday evening I baked my absolute favorite bread, recipe compliments of Darby’s blog here. It makes my morning to enjoy a thick toasted piece with the tiniest bit of peanut butter, I […]
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June 17, 2010 at 10:09 pm[…] Bread! Needless to say, I got inspired and decided to give it a go. You can find the recipe here…it really is as good as it […]
Haydee
December 21, 2010 at 5:20 pmMy son is eating some of this bread as I write this saying
“this is like the best bread ever” He’s picky too. It’s seriously delicious. I’m making loaves for some friends and neighbors for christmas with a jar of nutella and I suspect they will all be asking for the recipe. Thanks for sharing. Your blog is still my favorite!
JLE
July 14, 2012 at 2:30 amThanks for the yummy recipe. I plan to try it soon. I stumbled onto your blog because of the adjustable loaf pan, I got a hit on it when I searched the internet. I have a loaf pan that appears to be identical to the one in your picture. I bought it in a thrift shop for 25 cents. 🙂 I think you may be having problems finding similar pans because you & others for matter, have confused Germany with Switzerland. After researching it on the internet, I found that my adjustable loaf pan was made in Switzerland. They call it a terrine pan. The brand name is EIFA. Right now, there is a used one for sale on eBay. Mine is made of tinned steel, but the one on eBay says that it is made of aluminum. I hope this helps you, even though this blog entry is more than 2 years old… 🙂
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