Honey Oat and Seed Bread

This bread is vegan, high in fiber, naturally sweetened and honest to goodness, the best bread I've ever made. You could sell this stuff. It's just that good.

It's sandwich bread, pain de mie. Which just means sliceable bread. It doesn't crack and crumble, even when sliced thinly. It's the amount of sugars that are in the bread that allows this.

It's actually, the best. bread. ever.

 The ingredients! I always start with my yeast/sweetener/hot water to bloom the yeast. I like to make sure that the yeast is good.

And yes, the wine is necessary to the bread.

No, not really.

And it is. I love to watch it grow. It smells heavenly and is just still a wonder to me.

Then, I added olive oil, salt, flour and grains.

I used oatmeal, oat bran, flax, millet, sesame seeds, quinoa. If you're missing one of these grains, add in more of another. It was 1 cups total, with 1/2 cup oatmeal, not the quick cooking oats.

Then, mix this up just to combined, let sit for 20 minutes for the grains to absorb, then mix/knead until stretchy and pulling away from the pan well.

Spray with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let sit 60-90 minutes at room temperature. Do not overheat, we want the raising to be gradual so there aren't pockets of air. It will be noticeably risen, but not doubled.

At this point, you could punch it down and put it in your pan to raise, but it's also a good point to refridgerate if needed. It was late, so I stuck this in the fridge and went to bed.

The next morning, I sat it on the counter for 15 minutes until it came to room temperature and punched it down lightly, and placed it in an oiled 9x5 loaf pan. 

Kind of press it down into the corners, lightly to fit the pan. Cover and let rise to about an inch from the top.

Right before you throw this in, toss extra oatmeal, flax and sesame seeds on top. Just cause it's fancy.

We like fancy.

Now, pain de mie is supposed to have this super fancy pan, called a pullman pan. It is perfectly square in height/width ratios and has a lid that slides closed. This keeps the square cuts for sandwiches.

We don't need that pan.

We don't?

No, we don't.

We're going to cover tightly with tinfoil!

You're a genius!!!

Yes, yes I am.

Ooh! Ahh!

Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover.

Bake an additional 5-10 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.

 We brush the top with margerine (or to keep it vegan, olive oil). This keeps the crust soft.

Turn it out once it's cooled a little, but don't cut into it until it's entirely cool.

I do realize that this is cruel and unusual punishment.

Cause it smells like heaven on earth. And tastes even better.

Nice, squarish loaf! It has a nice shape for sandwiches, I ate one today for lunch.

But, just sliced and ate plain? Well, there's nothing plain about it. It's drool-worthy. The flavors are deep, but not overpowering. The texture is soft and spongy enough to not crack. There are many crunchy bits to chew up, oh so good.

The Recipe:
Honey Oat and Seed Bread adapted from King Arthur Flour recipe
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup hot water
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-Purpose flour, plus a Tablespoon
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
2 Tbl oat bran
2 Tbl millet
2 Tbl sesame seeds
2 Tbl flax seeds

Combine honey, yeast and hot water. Add salt and olive oil, oats and seeds and flour.
Mix just till combined, then let sit 20 minutes for oats to absorb. Then knead or mix on the machine for 4-5 minutes until elastic.
Oil and cover with plastic wrap and let raise 60-90 minutes until noticably risen.
Punch down and lightly press into an oiled 9x5 loaf pan, top with additional oats and seeds for texture.
Let raise 60-90 minutes or until about 1 inch from rim.
Cover tightly with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until nicely browned.
Butter or oil lightly immediately after baking for a soft crust. Let cool completely before cutting.