As I have said many times, I am a bread person. I’m crazy about breads. That isn’t necessarily a good thing. I wish I didn’t like bread so much. But, hey, it could be worse, right? But at least with this bread, I feel like I am eating at least a little bit healthy since it has oats!! oh, and honey too! Those two items make it a healthy bread, right? Ok, if you are afraid to make bread…afraid to work with yeast, don’t be. You can do this.  You will love this bread toasted with some butter and maybe some apricot jam or honey. It’s a soft and pillowy bread that’s so good just plain also. Seriously, you’ll want to eat the whole loaf. But don’t do that!  So, let’s get started.

Honey Oat Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oats
2  1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast
1  1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2  tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey

In a bowl of a standing mixer, mix the flour, oats, yeast and salt together. In another little bowl, heat the milk just enough to melt the 2 tbsp butter. Stir the heated milk and butter and add the water and honey. Pour the mixture into the flour mixture, mixing with a dough hook, just until it comes together to form a dough. Knead the dough in the bowl, for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. If it seems too sticky after about 5 minutes, add a couple of tablespoons of flour. NOT TOO MUCH. Dough should be smooth but not tacky. Put the dough in a lightly buttered bowl. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled, for about 1/2 hour to 1 hour.

When doubled, put the dough on a dry cutting board, lightly floured. Flatten the dough with your fingers, into a 9″ x 12″ rectangle. Tightly roll the dough into a loaf and put it in a loaf pan. Cover with a clean dish towel until doubled, about 1/2 hour to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Carefully brush the top of the bread with 2 tblsp of warm honey. Sprinkle with some oats. Place loaf pan in the oven Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cool before slicing.

Ohhhhhh, it’s gonna smell so good!!