Amish Oatmeal Bread

One of my favorite breads is oatmeal bread.  Rich and nutty, wonderful for sandwiches, the best for PB&J!  Mostly just yum!  For some reason my body decided to wake up at 5:30AM on a Sunday so time for some bread I say!


Amish Oatmeal Bread
adapted from Cookbooks from Amish Kitchens: Bread


1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup molasses
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter (called for margarine, yuck... always cook with unsalted butter)
2 cups boiling water
5-6 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in the warm water
in the bowl of you stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine oats, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt and butter.  Mix well.  After the mixture has cooled to lukewarm (very important you don't want to kill your yeast) stir in yeast
Stir in about half the flour and mix well. Switch to dough hook and knead in the remaining flour.  continue to kneed for about 5 min.
Place in a greased bowl and turn to coat.  Cover with a damp cotton towel and allow to double in size. About 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down and shape into two loaves and place in greased pans. bake @ 350 for 20-30 min.  Before baking you can brush the tops with melted butter for a soft crust.