Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is such a wonderful bread recipe. I've had it for years and finally tried it this past Thursday and it was a hit with everyone at dinner. My kids loved it and both loaves were gone by Friday. I was surprised how much they enjoyed it. I wrote the recipe here for how I made it. I would note two things: 1) it needed to rise an extra 20 minutes; and 2) I only baked it for the minimum time and it could have done with a minute or two less in baking.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

2C water, divided

1C rolled oats

1/3C butter or margarine

1/3C honey

1T salt

2 pkgs. (1/4 oz. ea.) active dry yeast

1 egg

4 to 5C flour, divided

Melted butter or margarine, optional

In a saucepan, heat 1 cup water to boiling. Stir in oats, butter, honey and salt. Cool to lukewarm. Heat remaining water to 110^o-115^o and dissolve yeast. In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast mixture, egg, 2 cups flour and the oats mixture. Beat until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth. By hand, add enough remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Spread batter evenly into two greased 8-1/2” x 4-1/2” loaf pans. Smooth tops of loaves. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 35-40 minutes. Bake at 375^o for 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans and brush with melted butter, if desired.