Good Friends and Bread

My friend Ruby was visiting from Maine last week. She comes down a couple of times a year, and we always make sure to save one of her days here for our "Cooking Day". I even went shopping for odd miscellaneous ingredients in advance of her arrival, just in case we wanted to make dried pineapple-macadamia-white chocolate cookies, for example. (We didn't, but those sound good, don't they? I'll have to try that.)

Anyway, our day started at 6 am with two wonderful loaves of oatmeal bread. One we did with maple syrup, and the other with molasses. When they were hot, I liked the molasses better, but after they cooled, the flavor really came out in the maple loaf and that one ended up being my favorite. Fantastic toasted, and they make great sandwiches too.

Here's the recipe so you can try it. Let me know which one you prefer!

Maple (Or Molasses) Oat Bread

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup boiling water
1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup real maple syrup OR molasses
2 tsp canola oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, or use half bread, half all-purpose flour.

Topping:
1 egg white
2 T old-fashioned oats

Place oats in a blender or food processor, cover and process oats for 6-7 seconds or until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl; add boiling water. Let stand until mixture cools to 110 to 115 degrees.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/3 cup warm water, add syrup or molasses, oil, salt, oat mixture, and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth.

Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, turn onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a flattened 9" round loaf. Place in a greased 9" round baking dish. Cover and let rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes. (You can also use a regular loaf pan if you prefer a more traditionally shaped loaf.)

Brush with whisked egg white, sprinkle with oats.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe from Taste of Home Fall Baking 2009, via Ruby.