Oatmeal Honey Sourdough Bread
2 cups active starter (19 oz)
1 cup milk (8 oz)
2/3 cup water (5 oz)
1/4 cup oil or melted butter (1.5 oz)
1/4 cup honey (3 oz)
1 cup quick oats (3.5 oz)
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (12.5 oz)
3 cups white flour (13.5 oz)
3 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients except salt for 2-3 minutes. Allow the dough to rest for about 20 minutes.
After rest, add salt and knead dough for about five minutes. If dough is too sticky, add slightly more flour but dough should be soft and not dry and stiff. Place in oiled bowl and allow dough to rise for 3-4 hours or until nearly doubled in size.
Divide dough into two pieces and shape into loaves and place in two greased bread pans. If a free form loaf is desired, place on greased baking sheet. Spray with oil and cover with plastic wrap to keep from drying out. Allow to rise for 2-3 hours.
When dough has risen, prepare for baking. A nice touch is to brush with egg whites and sprinkle with whole oats. You may slash the top of loaf, or not, if you wish, but I find it rises better when slashed. If baking a free form loaf, you can use the roasting pan method for added humidity while baking.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. For even browning, turn loaves halfway through baking time.
Check out Yeast Spotting for more bread inspiration.
I finally have my starter built up enough to make some bread! I think I am going to start with this one. I hope it is beginner enough. I let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for sharing your wealth of information!
ReplyDeleteJeni -
ReplyDeleteThis would be a great beginner bread. We love it! I would recommend putting it in bread pans to start since sometime free-form loaves have a mind of their own. But do as you wish!
Just curious...where did you get your starter?
Gina
The bread looks very delicious. I like the combination of honey and oats very much
ReplyDeleteSuper easy and delicious! We ate an entire loaf with dinner!
ReplyDeleteI want to try to make this bread! However, I am strictly avoiding white flour (PCOS, and trying to conceive) so do you think I could make it with white wheat or whole wheat pasty flour in place of the white flour?
ReplyDelete-Amy in Japan
Amy -
DeleteThis bread can be made successfully with white wheat. Do not use any kind of pastry flour as it doesn't have enough gluten to raise bread.
Gina
This was very good, but super time consuming. Is it because of the honey that it requires so much time to rise? I thought it tasted quite a bit like your soft sourdough bread recipe, but sweeter. :) This was great! Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteEmily -
DeleteI think the oatmeal causes it to rise a little slower because it has the same amount of honey as the soft sourdough.
Gina
Gina - I tried this with regular rolled oats (not quick oats) and it worked great - perhaps because the longer rise allows moisture in the oats. Easier for me as I don't use quick oats for anything else. Excellent bread, very forgiving and the whole house smells marvelous with the honey!
ReplyDeleteMy three children made this bread yesterday and it was delicious! we divided the dough in half and made two circular braided loaves. Thank you for sharing this bread recipe. I needed another way to use my ever growing sourdough starter. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi! I am new to sourdough, and my starter is finally doubling in size. I'm excited to start trying some bread recipes soon, and would like to start with this one. How long should I let my starter mature before trying it with bread? I am currently leaving it on the counter and feeding it twice a day. It is 10 days old. Thank you for the recipe and your input! - Jennifer
ReplyDeleteI usually suggest you start with making sourdough pancakes or waffles before making bread. Typically in about two weeks you can start baking bread if you starter is doubling in a few hours. Be patient if your first try is not perfect. I had lots of flops while I learned the ropes.
DeleteLet me know how it works for you!
Happy Bread Baking,
Gina
Gina,
ReplyDeleteA friend gave me a little bit of her starter and fed it for about a week before trying my first batch of bread ever. I made your soft sourdough bread and it turned out good. It wasn't perfect but still good. I would like to bake this Oatmeal Honey sourdough bread but I only have whole wheat and bread flour...is that ok?
Thanks,
Ashley
White bread flour will be great for this recipe since it has extra gluten that will help the heavier oatmeal raise.
DeleteKeep practicing! My first loaves were terrible!
Happy Breadbaking,
Gina
What size loaf pans are you using for this recipe?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you use as your starter?
ReplyDeleteCheck the sourdough page (you can find it in the tab on top of this page) for all the sourdough info at one place!
DeleteGina
Can I eliminate wheat flour and only use white? I have plenty of Occident bread flour (unbleached) and don't want to buy whole wheat if I don't have to.
ReplyDeleteYes, you can use all white flour successfully in this recipe. You may need slightly more flour.
DeleteGina
No yeast? Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe sourdough starter contains wild yeast so this recipe does have yeast - just not commercial yeast.
DeleteGina
Thanks for your prompt answer. I'll be trying this recipe tomorrow. Love, love, love baking bread and trying new recipes. I agree, some of my sourdough breads have bombed out with being too dry, so I an excited to see how moist this bread will be.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to freeze one of these loaves, should I do it after the second rise, I guess, before baking?
ReplyDeleteI have frozen bread dough at various stages, right after mixing the dough, after the first rise, and after baking. My favorite is after baking because I can just get it out, defrost, and eat.
DeleteGina
This has become my go-to bread and love it. I'd like to add sunflower seeds. Any idea if I'd need to adjust the flour or water amount? Love your recipes and blog!
ReplyDeleteUsually you can add sunflower seeds without adjusting anything. Give it a try and see how it works for you!
DeleteGina
I am 3 months into sourdough and this recipe is remarkably close to my Grandma's oats and yeast bread. So very happy to find a sourdough version! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteI have used sourdough for years, but only for pancakes, waffles, biscuits, and a chocolate cake. The honey oatmeal bread sounded delicious, and seemed to be a good recipe to try. It mixed up easily, but had a very slow rise, even more than stated in the recipe. While I was waiting for it to rise, I started looking through the blog, and read that the sourdough should be fed the day before the feeding. Mine, of course, had been hiding in the refrigerator for a few weeks. I finally went to bed and let it rise overnight, and by morning it had risen fully and was ready to bake. The bread is delicious, and I will definitely make it again. Thank you so much for all of the directions about caring for my poor, neglected sourdough.
ReplyDeleteShould I feed my starter before measuring out the amount needed for this recipe?
ReplyDeleteI tried this with molasses instead of the honey and was very delicious!
ReplyDeleteMy first rise worked great, but the second was an epic fail. After 3 1/2 hours, it had barely risen. I brushed with egg whites, sprinkled whole oats on top and slashed the loaf, then baked for the recommended time. It did not rise at all in the oven. The flavor is good, but it's very dense/doughy inside. Should I have waited longer on the second rise for it to actually rise? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. It may be that your starter was just not strong enough to do two rises. If you keep feeding and using your starter, it should get stronger. Next time you may want to have a shorter first rise and see if that helps.
DeleteGina
Do you really use 3 teaspoons of salt? That seems like quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteI made this bread for the 2nd time today and I have to say it is the best bread I have ever made! No more sourdough for our family. This is our new favorite!
ReplyDeleteMy bread did come dense and did not rise much the second rest I left it for 6 hours. My starter is only 4 weeks old.
ReplyDeleteHi GinaI made the bread again, on the second resting I left my bread dough overnight, the b next day I bake my bread out more soft and rise a little more. We like the sourdough flavor.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Gina,
ReplyDeleteMixing up this bread...recipe says 19 oz active starter, but that's quite a bit more than 2 cups????
That is what 2 cups of my starter weighs, but yours may differ.
DeleteGina
This has been our go to bread recipe for months - so easy and delicious! I feed my starter during the day, mix up the dough in the evening, let it sit all night and make my loaves in the morning. I set them aside to rise for approx 5 - 6 hours and then bake per the recipe. This system is what works best for our home environment. The bread comes out beautiful and delicious every time - as long as I keep the timer close by 😉. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
ReplyDeleteHello! All of your recipes just look amazing! If I wanted to long ferment the dough, when would you suggest doing that? During the first rise or after you have shaped the dough? I like putting it in the frig and the added benefits of long fermentation. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite way is during the first rise, but both ways work. Just experiment to find what you like best.
DeleteGina
Love this recipe. If want to include ground flax and oat bran, how much of each would that be? Does it change the measure of the flours?
ReplyDeleteI would add a third cup of each. You may use a little less flour.
DeleteCould I shape then refrigerate and bake the next day? First rise has been done and it did great but something has come up and I have to leave before I can wait on the 2nd rise and bake.
ReplyDeleteYes. You can refrigerate and bake the next day.
DeleteGina