Colonial Oat Bread Recipes

COLONIAL YEAST BREAD

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine cornmeal, sugar or honey, salt, boiling water and oil. Let cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand 5 minutes. Stir into cornmeal mixture. Add whole wheat flour, rye flour and enough all-purpose flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic; about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch dough down. Divide into two balls. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into two loaves and place in two greased 8x4-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly. Remove from pans and let cool on a wire rack.

COLONIAL BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
• In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour in buttermilk, and stir until all of the dry mixture has been absorbed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared loaf pans.
• Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the crown of the loaf comes out clean. Serve warm. Store leftover bread wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. This reheats well.

HOMEMADE OATMEAL BREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Mix the oats and whole wheat flour in a bowl.
• Add the boiling water and stir.
• Stir in the honey, molasses, if using, oil, and salt and let cool, about 1/2 hour.
• In a small bowl, mix the warm water with the yeast and a pinch of sugar, stirring to dissolve yeast. Place in a warm spot for about 10 minutes until foam forms on the top of the mixture.
• Add the yeast to the oat mixture and mix well.
• Start adding the all-purpose flour 1/2 cup at a time until a firm dough forms.
• Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead 4 to 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic and somewhat smooth.
• Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, oiled bowl, turning once to coat.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot (70 to 85 F) until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Shape the bread into a sandwich loaf and place it in the pan.
• Spray the top of the loaf with water and sprinkle oatmeal or other desired topping on the bread.
• Cover with a towel and let rise until almost double. (If steaming your bread, skip to the steaming instructions.)
• Meanwhile, heat your oven to 450 F for 1/2 hour; if using a baking stone, heat for 1 hour.
• Slash the top of the loaf with a sharp razor blade.
• Place the loaf pan in the oven and turn down to 400 F. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the bread's internal temperature reaches 190 F.
• Let the bread cool for about 1 hour or so before serving.
• Place an old roasting pan on the rack below the baking stone (if using) or the rack below where the loaf pan will go. After you put the bread in the oven, fill the roasting pan with 2 cups of boiling water.
• Using a squirt bottle, spray water on the sides of the oven two or three times within the first 5 minutes of baking.
• Turn the oven down to 400 F and bake for 30 minutes or more, until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190 F.
• Bread steams itself dry, so let the loaf cool for at least 2 hours before slicing or it may seem gummy inside.
• Enjoy!