yum yum yum....Buttery Oatmeal, Almond, Raisin & Wholemeal Spice Bread......
This has to be one of the best breads I have ever tasted.
This bread will blow you away!!
The texture is cake like but it's not.
It is just gorgeous, a crumbly flakey crust and crumb.
Sweetness comes mostly from the raisins.
Plus you can adapt the recipe and play around with it as I have done.
In this one, I added almonds and mixed spice but my first one, I used cinnamon,raisins and cranberries mixed up.
NB: DO NOT EAT THE BUTTERED ROLLED OATS...SERIOUS, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP!!
I know, you are thinking " as if" or "Ohhhhh Yuck".....
BUT so did I and curiosity got the better of me and it was all downhill from there...
What will you need?
1 cup of water warm
1 cup of raisins
1 cup of flaked or slivered almonds (or another fruit or nut)
1 & 1/2 cups of hot milk
200g butter
1 cup of rolled oats
2 tsp of mixed spice
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp muscovado sugar
15 g dried yeast
2 cups of wholemeal flour
2 cups of strong bakers flour.
WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO??????
Heat the milk to hot and then melt the butter in the hot milk, then stir in the oats.
Warm the water and place raisins in the warm water.
Leave both for an hour.
Stir the oats occassionally...
YOU ARE EATING THEM AREN'T YOU????
Drain the raisins and leave to the side.
Warm the raisin water and stir in the muscovado and the yeast.
Leave ten minutes to froth up and feed!
Put all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, spices) in a bowl and mix through.
Pour oat buttery milk mix and yeasty mix into the dry ingredients.
Form a sticky dough and knead for 5-6 minutes.
Add in the fruit and/or nuts and knead for another 2-3 minutes.
Remember to lightly dust the fruit/nuts with flour before putting in the dough.
Place in an oiled bowl and cover, leaving for an hour.
Remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured bench.
Knead slightly and knock back.
Cut into two pieces and form your shapes or place in a well-greased loaf tin.
Cover with a damp cloth and leave for 90 minutes.
20 minutes before time is up, preheat oven to 180 Celsius.
Uncover, place dough in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
You want it to be golden brown but not too brown.
Leave in loaf tin and/or baking tray for ten minutes.
Transfer after this to a wire rack and cool .
Slice when slightly warm or cold....
Gorgeous!!!
ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!
Recipe adapted from "The Secret of Everything" by Barbara O'Neal. [1]
There are other wonderful recipes in this book as well:)
Did you like this bread?
Have you tried our fudges? [2]