Classic Oatmeal Bread
This Classic Oatmeal Bread reminds me of my childhood. We’d eat my mom’s version hot out of the oven, covered with cold pats of butter. This recipe will make your inner-child come alive!
This Homemade Bread is soft, tender, and absolutely delicious! And who can resist the aroma of a freshly baked yeast bread recipe! It’s incredibly comforting.
Classic Oatmeal Bread
One of my favorite loaves since childhood was my mom’s oatmeal bread. I’m not sure the secret of her recipe, but I do recall eating it hot from the oven with lots of cool, creamy butter smeared on the slices. Hot bread? Cold butter? Maybe that was the secret…I still love that combo. I turned to a baking guru, Nick Malgieri, for some inspiration for this challenge.
His How to Bake cookbook has been the source for my favorite cheesecake, apple pie, and now oatmeal bread. Nick’s attention to detail was priceless when, as a novice baker, I needed very detailed tips and instructions. I’ve tried a few oatmeal bread recipes over the years, but this has got to be my favorite. Soft, sweet, tender…truly the ultimate oatmeal bread recipe.
Tips for Making Oatmeal Bread
- PRO-Tip: Remember that yeast is a living organism and if you add water that is too hot, you can kill the yeast. Use a kitchen thermometer to make sure your warm water is around 110º and no hotter than 120º.
- Check the expiration date on your yeast. If it has expired, purchase a fresh batch.
- A stand mixer fit with a dough hook is a terrific way to knead bread. Just make sure your mixer does not overheat by monitoring it during the kneading process. If the mixer feels very hot, turn it off and let it cool down before continuing. You may need to finish kneading by hand if necessary.
- Letting the dough rise, or proofing the dough, works best in a warm location. Cover the bowl of kneaded bread with greased plastic wrap. PRO-Tip: An ideal site is about 80-85º. Forcing the dough to rise in a too hot environment will compromise the texture.
- Shape the loaf by flattening the dough into a rectangle, folding in half and rolling to make a nice shaped cylinder. If it doesn’t adhere to itself when rolling, a small amount of water can be used to moisten the dough.
- You can expand upon this recipe by adding raisins or other dried fruit or by sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar before rolling and shaping into a loaf to make a cinnamon oatmeal bread. I prefer mine plain and simple, except for that generous smear of salted butter.
Start baking yeast bread with the fundamentals and then have fun trying new flavors and techniques throughout the year. This Classic Oatmeal Bread Recipe is a delicious, basic bread recipe.
More Tasty Bread Recipes:
- Alabama Light Bread by Dorothy | Shockingly Delicious
- Basic White Bread by Renee | Magnolia Days
- Grandmom’s Dinner Rolls by Jennie | The Messy Baker Blog
- Italian Potato Bread by Rosella | Ma Che Ti Sei Mangiato
- Rosemary Olive Oil Bread by Alice | Hip Foodie Mom
- Whole Wheat Pita Bread by Holly | A Baker’s House
- Whole Wheat Sea Salt Bagel by Lora | Cake Duchess
- Orange, Date & Nut Loaf by Kate | Diethood
- Homemade Potato Bread
- No-Knead Bread Recipe
- Cinnamon Twist Bread
- Plus more of the Best Bread Recipes in my Recipe Index (both yeast and quick or soda bread)
This recipe was first shared in January 2013. Photos and text were updated in 2020.
Classic Oatmeal Bread
A marvelous oatmeal bread adapted from Nick Magieri's How to Bake
Ingredients
- 1 cup oatmeal (regular, not quick oats)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup warm water (about 110º)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast (1 envelope)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, cut into about 12 pieces, plus more for greasing bowl and pan
Instructions
- Grease 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 inch loaf pan with butter and set aside.
- Pour boiling water over oats in a bowl. Stir and set aside till cooled to room temperature.
- Put warm water in a small bowl and add yeast. Stir and set aside.
- In bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, brown sugar and salt and stir to combine. Fit mixer with dough hook and add oatmeal, yeast mixture and butter pieces. Knead dough on low for about 5 minutes till smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl, flip a couple times to coat all sides with butter, and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise till dough doubles in bulk, about one hour.
- Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured work surface. Deflate dough with the palm of your hand. Form dough into rectangle, slightly longer than pan length. Fold sides in so that dough is slightly less in length than the pan, then roll to form a tight cylinder. Dough should stick to itself, but if it doesn't you may dab a bit of water on the surface to increase adherence.
- Place cylinder, seam side down, into prepared pan. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise till doubled, about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 375º. Remove plastic from risen dough and place pan in oven. Immediately decrease oven temperature to 350º and bake for 30-40 minutes or til loaf is brown and sounds hollow when tapped and/or internal temperature reaches 210º. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Slice when cooled.
Notes
Makes 1 large loaf
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 101Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 146mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g
