Oatmeal Bread

Oatmeal Bread
Photo by Kate Tompkins

2 cups quick (not instant) rolled oats

3 1/2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon instant yeast

6 1/2 cups flour (approximate)

Combine oats, water, molasses and salt in a large bowl and let cool. Sprinkle yeast over top and stir, then start adding the flour gradually, until it forms a stiff dough. You can begin by stirring but you will have to knead the dough to get the last few cups in. Let it rise until double, punch down and divide into two loaves. Place in pans and let rise again. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45 minutes or until bottom of loaf sounds hollow when knocked. It will look brown from the beginning, thanks to the molasses, so don’t rely on that to tell when it is cooked.

Based on a recipe from Things Mother Used to Make by Lydia Maria Gurney, New York, 1914, which you can find on Project Gutenberg. My version has been modernized.