Oatmeal Honey Date Loaf

 

With the ending of muffin Mondays in December, I received an invitation to participate in Sunday Fundays from Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories.  It's a casual, low pressure foodie group posting on Sundays, and I figured I might do one a month toward the end of the month where the muffins had been fitting.  But then I saw the first Sunday was themed oatmeal, in honor of national oatmeal month, and realized that I had had a tab opened for an oatmeal bread I wanted to try for a couple weeks.  Well, no time like the present!

I love dates in bread, but oatmeal yeast bread has been finicky for me.  Maybe I am finally turning the tide there, because this loaf turned out fabulous.  I adapted it just slightly, especially in method, from the original.  The post I had pinned was from a website no longer available, but I found a copy of the book, Make Ahead Bread, from which it originated.  I love the make ahead option here; get it all ready, shaped, and in the pan the day before, and then bake the next day.

I decided to add the scalding method, (similar to yudane and tangzhong), to this loaf for two reasons: one for the rye flour, and two for the oats.  Rye flour can be sticky to work with in bread dough and result in a crumbly loaf due to its low gluten.  Many rye recipes will scald the flour to gelatinize the starches, which reduces stickiness, increases moisture retention, improves crumb structure and stability, and increases shelf life.  And soaking the oats improves the softness of the crumb and overall moisture in the loaf as well.  This was a first try win, but I would definitely make this again.  I increased the water slightly to account for the scald and used sifted, fresh ground rye, but otherwise, my loaf came together beautifully with the exact amounts listed.  Good enough that eldest, who exclaimed that she didn't like dates, decided to accept a slice with fewer dates in it, but then grudgingly said, "well, it's growing on me!"

This is a great porridge loaf, soft and flavorful; leave the dates out if you want, or use raisins or cranberries. 

Oatmeal Honey Date Loaf
makes 1 loaf 

1 cup (105g) rolled oats (I use sprouted rolled oats)
½ cup (71g) white rye flour (I used sifted, freshly ground rye)
2½ cups (335g) bread flour, plus more as needed (I did not need any more)
2 tbsp (40g) honey
1½ cups (340g) boiling water
1 tsp (7g) kosher or sea salt
2 tbsp (25g) avocado oil
2 tsp (6g) active dry yeast
½ cup (~50g) chopped dates (about 5 medjool dates, quartered and chopped)

The day before baking:

Combine the oats and the rye flour in a bowl and pour the boiling water over top, mixing to combine well.  Let mixture sit for 15-20 minutes to cool to at least lukewarm, 110ºF and not hotter.  Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a stand mixer.  Add the cooled oat mixture, the honey, and oil, until fully hydrated and let sit for 5 minutes.  Knead with the dough hook until the dough is fairly elastic and stretchy.  (It's okay if it is a little sticky, that is the nature of the rye flour.  It should still be better at sticking to itself than to your fingers.)  Fold in the dates until evenly distributed.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour in a warm room.

Butter the inside of a tall 9x4-inch loaf pan, or a regular 9x5-inch loaf pan.  (My pullman loaf tin is 4x4x9").

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into square of about 8 inches.  Fold the top half down toward the middle of the dough and press the edge to secure.  Fold the top down again to within about an inch or so of the bottom and press to seal.  Pull the bottom edge of the dough up to meet the dough roll and pinch to seal the seam.  Tuck and pinch the ends closed and place the dough, seam side down, in the prepared loaf pan.  (If desired, lightly brush the loaf with water and roll in extra rolled oats for texture and visual appeal.)

 

Cover the pan with plastic wrap or place the entire pan in a large food bag and tie the open end shut. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours before baking. The dough should be fully risen after about 6 hours, but a longer rest is good for flavor.

Baking Day:

Remove the pan from the refrigerator and heat the oven to 350°F.

Remove the plastic and bake the bread until it is golden brown and baked through - internal temperature should reach ~200°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45-55 minutes.  Remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a rack before slicing.  (Cover with foil during the last ten minutes if the loaf is well browned but not fully baked yet.)

 
Check out these pages for more oatmeal recipes:

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Mud Cookies
• Palatable Pastime: High Protein Scottish Porridge Oats 
• Sneha's Recipe: Mini Oat Pancakes With Guacamole Topping 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Orange Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
• Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Cranachan Trifle 
• Food Lust People Love: Goetta - Cincinnati Breakfast Sausage
• Sizzling Tastebuds: Almond meal Muffins with Oats and Honey  
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Maple Pecan Oatmeal Scones
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Oatmeal Banana Quick Bread 
• A Messy Kitchen: Oatmeal Honey Date Loaf