Seeded Oat Bread

Scrumptious..............

I just had a slice of this bread, warm from the oven for lunch with a teeny, okay, well maybe it was more a medium size, pat of melting butter and a drizzle of Citrus-Ginger Honey ............... just scrumptious!

This is another of the Five Minute Bread recipes that I've blogged about before. You stir up a batch of bread - basically just throw all the ingredients in a large pot or lidded container and stir, then loosely cover while it rises for an hour or so. At this point, it's ready to either be formed into loaves or refrigerated - for up to five days! It doesn't get too much easier!

The loaves can be any size you desire, even dinner rolls. Oh, now those would be wonderful - (I just gave myself a new idea - oh dear)! This dough is loaded with nutritious and delicious ingredients; whole wheat flour, oats, flax seed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seed, sesame seed and honey - it makes delicious toast - a wonderful way to start your day.  It's also a treat for lunch with your favorite sandwich fixings,  mine would be pesto-mayo, roasted turkey, applewood bacon, avocado and tomato slices, hmmm, maybe even a thin slice of Havarti, yum! Whatever YOUR favorite sandwich is, it will be better on this bread - it even makes PB&J something to look forward to!

For dinner parties, I love to pop this bread back in the oven for 8-10 minutes and serve it warm with some creamy butter combined with a bit of Citrus-Ginger Honey - try it, but I'm warning you in advance, don't expect any leftovers! Your family and friends will love this!

Seeded Oat Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons flax seeds
¾ cup pumpkin seeds, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top
¾ cup sunflower seeds, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top
¼ cup sesame seeds, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top 
1 tablespoon sea salt
¼ cup vital wheat gluten*
3 cups hot tap water
1 ½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or, 2 packets
⅔ cup honey
¼ cup canola oil
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash***
poppy seeds for sprinkling on top

Directions:
1. Whisk together flours, rolled oats, seeds, salt and vital wheat gluten in a large container with a lid.  Combine the water, honey and yeast and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until yeast softens and starts to foam a bit. Add this mixture and the oil to the dry ingredients, mixing well with a wooden spoon or a large sturdy whisk (I use one of these, very inexpensive but quite invaluable for making this type of bread.)

2. Cover (not airtight) and allow dough to rise at room temperature until dough doubles in size and starts to flatten on top, about 1-2 hours.

3. The dough can be used immediately, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate dough in the lidded container and use over the next 5 days. You can use it for up to 7 days but I find that the dough is at it's optimum up to 5 days.

4. On baking day, generously flour a work surface and scoop up a ball of dough - a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece will make a medium round or oval loaf of bread. You can vary the size depending on how large of a loaf you want. The final product will be about double the size of your original piece of dough. Return unused dough in lidded container to refrigerator. Place dough on floured surface and turn to coat all sides with flour. Knead dough on counter for 2-3 minutes or until dough is smooth an no longer sticky, adding more flour as needed.**

6. Keep the dough in a circle shape or elongate a bit into an oval. Place dough on a pizza peel or a large cutting board that has been covered with parchment paper and sprinkled liberally with cornmeal. Cover dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in size about or 45-60 minutes.

7. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat oven to 400˚F degrees, with a baking stone on the middle rack.

8. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash. Combine the extra pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds with the poppy seeds and sprinkle liberally to coat surface heavily with seeds. Slash the loaf diagonally with 1/4-inch deep parallel cuts, using sharp serrated bread knife - if you don't have a very sharp knife, just skip this step as trying to slash the dough with a dull knife will only cause it to collapse. It will taste just as good without the slashes. :)

9. Slide the parchment paper with dough directly onto the hot stone. Fill a spray bottle with water and spritz bread liberally. Repeat this spritzing every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes. Continue to bake for a total of about 40 minutes, or until richly browned and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time. Allow bread to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.

Notes: 

*Vital Wheat Gluten is important in making whole grain breads which can be heavy and dense due to the ingredients. Vital Wheat Gluten boosts the gluten levels which helps the bread to  rise nicely. You can find it nowadays at many larger grocery stores and specialty stores such as Whole Foods Markets. You can also order it online here.
**Most Five Minute Breads don't require any kneading - I find I have much better results if I knead this dough just for a few minutes. The final product is much smoother and prettier with just these couple extra minutes.
***The egg wash is what will really keep your seeds adhered to the bread. The original recipe called for just brushing the top with water before sprinkling with the seeds but I've found that the egg white works much better.

Adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes

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