scribbled on the front of my microwave as I went along--I will let you know tonight how it turned out (hopefully it's good, because I made enough dough for about three or four loaves)!
1 cup molasses
2 cups milk
3 1/2 cups water
3 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups oatmeal (already cooked and cooled)
mix it all up in a (very large) bowl with a whisk.
Then grab a very strong spoon and add in about 10 cups of bread flour, until it gets hard to mix with a spoon. It's oatmeal bread, so you really shouldn't have to knead it. Then let it sit at room temperature until it rises, and then drops. (This will take anywhere from 2-4 hours)
(Now the part I haven't gotten to yet myself...)
Break off about a 1 1/2 lb hunk, (volleyball size?) Shape it as you wish, pop it into your pan, let it rise about an hour, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, put a broiler pan with water in the bottom of your oven to keep it moist. When all that is done, slash the top of your bread, polish off the top of your bread with a few oatmeal flakes, sunflower seeds, whatever strikes your fancy to make it look pretty, pop it in the oven until it's golden brown, firm and beautiful (I would say 45-50 minutes?), let it cool a bit, and then, eat it with gusto. Or maybe a little butter.
Like I said, I haven't gotten to that part yet. So don't blame me if it is awful. I totally made the recipe up. :) But I bake bread all the time and never manage to follow a recipe well and it always turns out delicious, so it's not like I'm a total beginner, either.
***update: When the bread had risen and dropped, it was a very heavy, wet dough. So I chose to forego putting a pan of water in to cook with it. It would not need any help being a moist bread. It also ended being a very LOFTY rising bread, and rose WAY out of the pan (and down the pan, and onto the oven floor...) WHILE baking, while still being a very heavy bread. So... fill the pan only halfway or less before letting it rise and baking. BUT, all that aside, it was absolutely DELICIOUS. Wonderfully, beautifully, fillingly delicious. Definitely a winner. :) The next loaf will hopefully be prettier, too, and maybe worth taking a picture of! ***
****second loaf update: I added more flour tonight, so it wasn't as wet and sticky. Then I put it in a cake pan, making a round, artisan loaf instead of a traditional "bread" loaf. I still did not put it in with a pan of water--no need. It still came out perfect, and I presented it to company who not only agreed, but went back for more! Now if you decide to make it, my biggest recommendations are: add more flour than I originally indicated--as much as you need to make it feel "right." And oil and flour your pan liberally; because it's a sticky dough, this is kind of a necessity. Cutting back on the molasses might help that, but I don't think I would want to sacrifice that flavor at all.
And here is the picture I promised:
1 cup molasses
2 cups milk
3 1/2 cups water
3 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups oatmeal (already cooked and cooled)
mix it all up in a (very large) bowl with a whisk.
Then grab a very strong spoon and add in about 10 cups of bread flour, until it gets hard to mix with a spoon. It's oatmeal bread, so you really shouldn't have to knead it. Then let it sit at room temperature until it rises, and then drops. (This will take anywhere from 2-4 hours)
(Now the part I haven't gotten to yet myself...)
Break off about a 1 1/2 lb hunk, (volleyball size?) Shape it as you wish, pop it into your pan, let it rise about an hour, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, put a broiler pan with water in the bottom of your oven to keep it moist. When all that is done, slash the top of your bread, polish off the top of your bread with a few oatmeal flakes, sunflower seeds, whatever strikes your fancy to make it look pretty, pop it in the oven until it's golden brown, firm and beautiful (I would say 45-50 minutes?), let it cool a bit, and then, eat it with gusto. Or maybe a little butter.
Like I said, I haven't gotten to that part yet. So don't blame me if it is awful. I totally made the recipe up. :) But I bake bread all the time and never manage to follow a recipe well and it always turns out delicious, so it's not like I'm a total beginner, either.
***update: When the bread had risen and dropped, it was a very heavy, wet dough. So I chose to forego putting a pan of water in to cook with it. It would not need any help being a moist bread. It also ended being a very LOFTY rising bread, and rose WAY out of the pan (and down the pan, and onto the oven floor...) WHILE baking, while still being a very heavy bread. So... fill the pan only halfway or less before letting it rise and baking. BUT, all that aside, it was absolutely DELICIOUS. Wonderfully, beautifully, fillingly delicious. Definitely a winner. :) The next loaf will hopefully be prettier, too, and maybe worth taking a picture of! ***
****second loaf update: I added more flour tonight, so it wasn't as wet and sticky. Then I put it in a cake pan, making a round, artisan loaf instead of a traditional "bread" loaf. I still did not put it in with a pan of water--no need. It still came out perfect, and I presented it to company who not only agreed, but went back for more! Now if you decide to make it, my biggest recommendations are: add more flour than I originally indicated--as much as you need to make it feel "right." And oil and flour your pan liberally; because it's a sticky dough, this is kind of a necessity. Cutting back on the molasses might help that, but I don't think I would want to sacrifice that flavor at all.
And here is the picture I promised:
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