My DH asked me if next time, I could make a “whiter” bread for him, so this “transitional” bread recipe is for my wonderful dear husband. Even though it’s not 100% whole grain, it still offers a good amount of fiber!
Inspired by the Oatmeal Bread recipe found on King Arthur Flour’s web site.
Ingredients for Transitional Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread
- 2 Tbsp Almond Oil
- 2 Tbsp Honey (or Molasses if you like)
- Approx 1.25 cups water – the honey is melted into the water for a total of 1.25 cups
- 12.75 oz or 3 cups flour – I split the flour into roughly 2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour and 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose flour.
- 1 cup (3.5 to 3.75 oz) of rolled oats (old-fashioned oats) – I love Bob’s Red Mill brand
- OPTIONAL 4 Tbsp dried buttermilk powder – I use the Saco brand. They have individual packets or canisters.
- 1 tsp salt – I have only sea salt in the house
- 2 tsp instant yeast (it’s also called Bread Machine yeast) – I use the Fleischmann’s brand.
Instructions
I use the dough setting on my bread machine, but I shut the machine off after 3 minutes of mixing so I can allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes or so. Then I start up the bread machine on the dough setting again; after the bread dough mixes, kneads, and rises (1.5 hrs) I shape, proof, and bake it in my counter-top convection oven.
- Pour the almond oil into the bread machine pan.
- In a separate liquid measuring cup, measure about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot water. Add the honey and mix to dissolve. Then add enough cooler water to measure 1.25 cups total. Pour into the bread machine pan.
- Add the flour, oats, powered buttermilk, salt, & yeast
- Start the bread machine on the dough setting and allow it to mix for about 3 minutes, then shut the machine off. Leave the dough to rest for 20-30 minutes. If your machine has a pause button, then you can utilize that as well, but make sure it doesn’t automatically start up again before 20-30 minutes. This resting period is called the “autolyse“. A fancy smancy word that I really don’t know all that much about yet (ha!) but I’m learning more and more with every loaf! I first learned about autolyse from the The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, and I have been experimenting with it. I have read instructions that suggest mixing just flour and water for the autolyse, but I don’t know how I would go about doing that in the bread machine. A lot of other instructions suggest to mix all ingredients, so that is what I do.
- Start the bread machine a second time, using the dough setting, and leave it to mix and knead, then rise. It’s a total of 1.5 hours for my Breadman Bread Machine.
- As soon as the machine is done, transfer the dough to a flat surface. I like using a plastic cutting board, with oil added to the bread dough won’t stick. Gently flatten the dough into a rectangle shape, then carefully fold/roll the dough up into a loaf shape. I try to gently push down on each fold so the dough attaches back into itself. I push the sides inward to keep the shape smaller, kind of lifting it up underneath. The last bit of dough is compressed and pinched so it binds into the shape.
- I allow the dough to rest again for 5-10 minutes, then gently transfer the shaped loaf into the loaf pan. I use a glass pyrex loaf pan lined with parchment paper. (I re-use the same parchment paper again and again as long as it doesn’t turn brown from baking.) If you find the expanded dough is too large to fit into the loaf pan, try tucking it under, and then let sit again untouched for a couple more minutes. Try not to squeeze out too much air.
- Once its transferred to the loaf pan, allow the dough to “proof” one last time for about 20-90 minutes, depending on the environment and conditions. It doesn’t take long for the dough to proof when your house is warmer, so keep an eye on it. When it rises 1 – 2 inches over the rim of the loaf pan, then it’s done! I take a look at my dough after 20 minutes, because lately with the warmer weather, it’s very quick to expand!
- Bake in preheated 350° oven. Yeah, yeah, I know I am lazy when it comes to preheating, but I do try to turn on the oven for a few minutes before baking. My bread bakes okay, so I guess no harm done. Anyway, bake for 30-50 minutes, until an instant read thermometer reads 190° in the center. Place an aluminum foil tent on top of the bread if it starts to brown too quickly. (I re-use my aluminum tents too! haha)
- This is the most difficult step! Once it’s finished baking, allow it to cool completely on a rack before slicing! Really, do it, it’s better for the formation of the bread, and you can always reheat or toast a slice in the oven once it’s cooled.
Enjoy!
Nutritional Data:
Makes a 1.7 pound loaf (27 ounces or 761 grams)
13 servings @ 2 oz or 58 g each serving.
Calories 153.8
Total Fat 3.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Cholesterol 0.3 mg
Sodium 192.2 mg
Potassium 2.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 23.5 g
Dietary Fiber 3.2 g
Sugars 4.2 g
Protein 4.5 g
Vitamin A 0.1 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 0.0 %
Vitamin C 0.1 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 0.0 %
Calcium 1.8 %
Copper 0.1 %
Folate 3.1 %
Iron 3.5 %
Magnesium 0.1 %
Manganese 0.2 %
Niacin 2.5 %
Pantothenic Acid 0.0 %
Phosphorus 0.0 %
Riboflavin 0.1 %
Selenium 0.0 %
Thiamin 3.1 %
Zinc 0.1 %
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