Maple Oat Bread

I was very excited about making this bread. It was my first go at making flour from whole oats. I can't wait to try more things with this as a basic recipe. It's a wonderful textured bread. Very soft in the middle with a light crunchy crust. If your using the maple syrup, this is an excellent breakfast bread for toast or french toast.

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup boiling water
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (raw honey can be used as substitute)
2 tsp. organic sunflower seed oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Raisins (Optional)
Pecans (Optional)

Topping
1 egg white lightly beaten with a tad of water
2 tbsp old fashioned oats

First place oats in a blender or food processor. I used my little bullet for this. Coarsely chop until they become a fine powder. Transfer to a small bowl and add the boiling water. Stir a little and let stand allowing it to cool down to warm. In the meantime you can dissolve your yeast in your warm mixing bowl in 1/3 cup of warm water. Add the syrup, oil, salt, oat mixture and two cups of flour. Add your dough hook and mix until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place your ball into an oiled bowl. Turn it around in it a bit and cover. Let it rise until almost doubled in size in a warm place. It took about an hour on this chilly morning.

Punch down the dough and roll out and then roll it up and put it in your bread pan. Brush the top with your egg white mixture and sprinkle and pat your whole oats on the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

Happy Gardening!!
Pammy