Honey Oat Bread

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love making bread. My mom and I both love Great Harvest Bread, especially their Oat Bran. Sadly for my mom, the Great Harvest near our house in Virginia doesn't carry it. Luckily for me, the one in Provo, Utah does! Occasionally I bring my mom home a loaf, but over the summer she asked me to try and find a good recipe to make our own Oat Bread. The recipe below is one of the first ones I came across that sounded good. I ended up really liking it! It tastes nothing like Great Harvest but its delicious in its own way!

Honey Oat Bread


Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tbsp. lukewarm water
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 Tbsp. honey, divided
2 Tbsp. applesauce
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2-2 cups white whole wheat flour


Directions:
1. Bring 1 cup water to a boil, add oats and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let stand until lukewarm, about 20 mins.
2. Dissolve 1 Tbsp. honey and yeast in lukewarm water. Let stand 10 minutes.
3. Combine the oats, yeast, applesauce, and other Tbsp honey.
4. Sift dry ingredients together, then add to oat mixture in small amounts at a time. Knead until the dough is like elastic, approximately 10 minutes.
5. Put dough into a greased or floured bowl, cover and let rise until double in size.
6. Punch dough down, then shape into loaf pan. Let rise again in a warm place until doubled in size.
7. Bake at 325 degrees for 30-50 minutes or until golden brown on top.
8. Turn out of pan to cool, and if desired brush top with butter.


Makes 1 loaf. Adapted from Bread&Breakfast Inn