Intro from MD

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups water

½ cup oats (rolled or steel cut)

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons sugar, or use all honey

2 ½ cups warm water

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

8 cups whole wheat bread flour

¼ cup oil

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon lecithin (granules or liquid)

Measure:
8 cups flour -- whole wheat high protein bread flour (My wheat is 16% protein. I am using Prairie Gold hard white wheat). I grind my own flour just before baking so I believe it retains all its nutrients. I recently learned, that if you grind and do not bake the same day, the flour should be aged at least 2 weeks before baking. You can also add a bit of diastatic barley malt if your flour is not high protein.

 

Separate out 4 cups of the flour.


1/4 cup oil


1 tablespoons salt 


Optional: 1 Tablespoon lecithin if you have it (liquid or granular)—I add this to many of my baked goods to help control cholesterol. It is totally optional and not necessary for the success of the bread.


(-Optional: 2 TablespoonsVital Wheat Gluten _Add this is your flour is not high protein/high gluten.)



3. Add oil, salt and 4 cups of the flour (also optional additives like gluten, lecithin) to foamy yeast mixture. (Or just add the water, sweetener and yeast with the oil and salt to the flour). Stir and beat about 300 strokes by hand or 3 minutes by mixer at medium speed. The batter should be cohesive and should sheet off the beater. 

*Making two loaves, you can fit all of the flour in a Kitchen Aid or larger mixer and knead by machine, if you wish. I usually make 4 loaves and I have to turn it out of the bowl by this point because the large amount of dough is too much for the mixer.) Some day I will get a Bosch and can do up to 6 loaves in it.



Add enough more flour to make a soft dough. Stop with the mixer before it starts to climb up the beaters.

Now use a large wooden spoon or flat stirrer until it is stiff enough to scrape it out onto a floured surface to knead in the rest of the flour in by hand.



4. Turn out onto a board (or a formica table top) and knead the remaining flour into the dough until dough is elastic and not too sticky. -- No less than 7-8 minutes. Thorough kneading here is important. 

You may use slightly less or more than the remaining 6 cups of flour, so have an additional cup or two ready in reserve for kneading, if needed. Actual amount of flour varies with humidity, etc. (If you have high humidity, you could just reduce the water a bit at the beginning).


If I run out of ready ground whole wheat flour, I will just finish the kneading with white flour. It doesn't really matter whether it is all purpose or bread flour since this last flour doesn't get its gluten activated so much anyway. It's just to keep your hands from sticking to the dough.



5. Place dough in oiled bowl; turn it over to oil top of dough, cover with a warm damp cloth or plastic wrap and place in a warm place free of drafts to rise. (usually 30-40 minutes). While dough is rising, generously grease 2 loaf pans.

 6. Punch down dough and dump it out of the bowl. Knead lightly, cut into 2 evenly sized pieces. (I weigh mine at just about 2 lbs. each.) Cover with a damp cloth and let them rest 10-15 minutes. Shape into loaves and put into the well greased pans, oil the top of loaf, cover with damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise till double in bulk (30-45 minutes).


*Due to variations in humditity, etc, and the amount of extra flour, you may end up with a bit more dough than your two pans will hold. If I have extra dough, I make a small loaf or a few rolls. My recipe for 4 loaves usually results in 5 loaves, especially since I began adding the oatmeal to the recipe.



7. When bread is nearly risen, preheat the oven to 350’. If you have been using the oven for a rising spot, be sure to take the loaves out. Brushing tops with egg white before baking makes a lovely brown top, but I usually just oil the tops. Sprinkle tops with poppy or sesame seed, if desired.

 
Bake about 45 minutes at 350’ F.



Tips I've learned since joining The Fresh Loaf Forum:


1. I learned that you can soak the oats overnight instead of cooking them. If you want to do this, just pour the boiling or simmering water over the oats and let stand overnight. In the morning, you are ready to bake and the oats have already cooled to room temp.


2. I learned that I don't need to proof the yeast with the sweetened water. Just add it and water together to the flour when ready to begin mixing.


3. I also learned that the "rest and fold" method works nicely with this recipe. If you choose to try that method, I suggest you add all the measured flour (plus a bit extra if the dough still seems sticky after a 10 minute rest). When I did it, I tried to make the dough wetter since I didn't have to knead it by hand. Then I slashed it. It spread way too much in the oven, going out sideways instead of upward. The loaf in the above photo was made by my regular kneading method.