We go through bread so quickly in our household, so I have been making it at home more regularly! I grew up with my parents making bread every now and then, so I definitely enjoy the taste of good quality homemade bread. While I use a plethora of recipes for bread, "Overnight Oat Bread" is different as it provides a dense, moist texture as well as rich flavour! It is also SUPER EASY to make, as it requires no kneading and very little time to prepare!
Directions
Pour 2 cups warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast into the water. Warm the honey slightly and then drizzle it into the yeast mixture, stir it well, and then let it sit for 5 minutes to let the yeast activate.
Once the yeast is activated (foamy), add in the oats, 3 cups flour, and salt - reserve the 4th cup of flour. With one hand, start to mix the wet and dry ingredients by using a folding motion. I find this method the easiest when making any kind of bread dough. Once things start to come together, add the 4th cup of flour a little bit at a time, as needed. The dough is meant to be quite sticky and wet at this point, so try not to add any more than 4 cups of flour.
When the dough is well combined cover the bowl with saran wrap and drape a towel over top. This creates a dark, humid environment for the dough to proof in. Place the dough in a dark(ish), warm(ish) place like the pantry, or a drawer, where it wont be disturbed - I have the best results when I put it in the microwave to proof! The dough needs to proof for 13-15 hours, so it is best to do this at night and let it proof until morning.
After proofing the dough should be triple the size it was and look nice and bubbly, you may even be able to hear it popping! It will still be quite sticky, so use wet hands to pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl. Once it is pushed down it should still be quite pliable and moist.
Take a bread pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper - you can grease the pan if you don't have parchment. Make sure to cover every inner part of the pan, as this loaf could stick to the pan.
Put the dough into the pan and squish it down with wet fingers. Sprinkle the top of the dough with oats and dust it slightly with some flour. Then take some more saran wrap, dust it with flour, and place it over top of the loaf. Once again, put a towel over the loaf, and allow it to rise for another hour. In the mean time, preheat your oven to 400F.
After its second proof, place the dough in the preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. When it is done, the bread should be lightly golden brown on top and should sound hollow when tapped. Allow it to cool a bit in the pan, 30 minutes or so, and then remove the bread from the pan to cool completely. Store in a bread bag on the counter for up to a week. My favorite way to eat this bread is toasted with butter and jam.
Let me know if you try this recipe & be sure to come back for more great recipes!
Thanks for reading,
Madison xx
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