Table Talk
The Pleasures of Home-Baked Bread
There are few things as pleasing as a fresh loaf of bread. I'm not talking supermarket-type, mass produced bread, but a just-baked, fresh out of the oven loaf of bread. In our busy lives, we don't often have the time to devote to the often long, drawn-out process of baking bread, but the pleasure of baking and eating fresh bread motivated me to find a recipe that I could mix, knead and bake in only a few hours.The original recipe comes from the first Junior League of Denver cookbook, Colorado Cache. I've made some modifications to it, for instance using whole wheat flour in place of some of the white and butter in place of shortening. Amazingly, it has only one rising-- in the pan-- which makes for a dense, delicious loaf. Start to finish, this bread takes only 2 1/2 hrs.
Oatmeal Bread
2 pkgs. dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
1 c. warm water
1/4 c. dark molasses (light is good too)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur-- very soft flour)
1 1/4 c.. scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm
1/4 c. honey or molasses
1 egg
2 tsp. salt
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 T. softened butter
1 c. quick-cooking oatmeal
2-3 c. bread flour
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm water, molasses, salt and 1/2 c. flour. Beat until smooth and let stand in a warm place for 15 minutes. Add scalded milk, honey or molasses, egg, salt, whole wheat flour, butter and oatmeal. Beat 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Gradually add about 3 c. more flour. Form into smooth ball, cover with bowl and let stand 10 min. Knead dough for 5 minutes and shape into 2 balls. Cover with bowl and let rest 10 minutes more. Shape into loaves and place in 2 8 x 4" pans. Cover and let rise in warm place 60 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches at least 190 degrees.
