Honey Oat Bread

So my Thanksgiving week started out with a huge reminder about how much I have to be thankful for. We had a pipe burst on Friday night, that was connected to our washing machine, it leaked into the ceiling below. (That's what I get for trying to get the laundry done before the weekend, right?) That, in turn, lead to water filling up our ceiling and dripping all over our living room, including our TV and couches. I find it kind of ironic that we were supposed to go to to Washington, IL on Saturday to help with clean up after tornadoes went through the area the previous weekend. At first I was totally overwhelmed by the thought of our home needing such repair. But then I had to step back and be thankful for the small incident that this really is, since many people lost their entire home and all their belongings to the tornadoes. Sometimes God has other plans and lessons for us. Well, the pipe has been fixed, our ceiling removed, and everything is drying out. We still have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

I might have done some therapeutic baking on Saturday... Nothing like the comfort of homemade bread!

Honey Oat Bread

Ingredients:
4 cups (500 grams) all purpose flour
3/4 cup oats + some for topping
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

1/4 cup water
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey + some for topping

In large bowl combine 3 cups (375 grams) flour, oats, yeast and salt. In two-cup measuring cup heat milk, water, butter, and honey in microwave to 120-130° F. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir with dough hook until dough is formed, adding the additional flour until the dough is barely tacky. Knead with dough hook for 10 minutes.

Next form dough into a ball, lightly oil, and cover. Let rise for 1/2 to 1 hour, until dough has doubled. (This is where I like to microwave a small bowl of hot water for about 5 minutes, then leave the dough in the warm moist microwave to rise.)

Once dough has doubled, roll out on lightly floured work area into a 9"x13" rectangle. Tightly roll up and seal ends. Place in a 9"x5" loaf pan.

To keep bread moist, add 2 cups of water to a pan and place in bottom rack of oven. Preheat oven to 350° F. When dough has doubled, brush with a a little warm honey and sprinkle with oats. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until bread is golden brown. Cool on wire cooling rack.

It's best to enjoy at least one slice while warm :)

Adapted from Bakingdom