When making bread with yeast, it’s important that you knead the dough well and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size.
Sometimes I use a mixer, and other times I’ve had my husband help me knead the dough by hand (it turned out so amazing that I said I would make him do it from now on!) You can cut down on the amount of brown sugar, if you’d like – but I like to add a tablespoon of honey or syrup because it activates the yeast and the dough will rise better.
Ingredients
2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup Domino brown sugar
1/4 cup Land O’ Lakes butter
1 Tbsp kosher salt or 2 1/2 tsp table salt
1 Tbsp instant yeast
4 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Instructions:
Mix together the water, oats, maple or brown sugar, honey, butter, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Let cool for a few minutes, until lukewarm.
Add the yeast and flours, stirring to form a rough dough. Knead until the dough is smooth and satiny. It takes about 10 minutes by hand or 5-7 minutes by machine.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a loaf. Place the loaves in two greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ bread pans.
Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow to rise until they’ve crowned about 1″ over the rim of the pan (a little over an hour).
Bake the loaves in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting them lightly with aluminum foil after 25 minutes, to prevent over-browning. Remove them from the oven when they’re golden brown, and the interior registers 190°F on a digital thermometer.
Turn the loaves out onto a rack to cool. Store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for several days; freeze for longer storage.
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Quick tip: Just before baking, brush the loaves with egg white or water, and sprinkle with oats or seeds.