Scotch Oat Bread
This bread is a heavy, sweetish oat bread. My family has had a recipe for oat bread since anyone can remember and it is pretty good. Being a bit of a bread lover, I have several bread backing books. In one of them I found a version which is very similar to the traditional loaf. I tried it one day and low and behold I had on my hand something that is even better than the traditional recipe-not that I'd tell my grandma.
This recipe comes straight from "The Bread Tray" by Louis P. De Gouy.
Makes 2 loaves
Oven Temperature 425-375 F
2 cups boiling water
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon butter
1 sachet of yeast
2 teaspoons of granulated sugar
1/4 cup lukeward water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water
5 cups sifted bread flour
To the boiling water add salt and rolled oats. Mix well and then stir in the butter. Allow to stand until luke warm, crumble in the yeast and add white sugar and the 1/2 cup of lukewarm water. Blend thouroughly and allow to stand for about an hour, or until yeast sponge is almost doubled in its bulk. Combine the 1/2 cup lukewarm water and brown sugar and stir until dissolved and then add to the yeast and blend well. As you add the sugar water, add gradually the 2 1/2 cups of the bread flour alternating with the oat mixture, beating until smooth. Now add the remaining flour and miz well. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth with no stickiness. Place in a greased mixing bowl, cover and plae over hot water and let rise until doubled in bulk. Flatten down the dough, kneed, and then divide into two equal portions. Cover with a dry cloth and let stand for 20 minutes. Then, shape into loaves, place int the greased loaf pans, let rise until doubled in buld and back for 15 minutes. Reduce the temp of the oven to moderate and continue to back for 25 mins or until the bread is nicely browned on top. Remove from pans and let cool before slicing.
Instead of making a second loaf, a sheet of 'hobo bread' can be made. With the second portions of dough, flatten out onto a cookie tray and then let rise. This flatbread cooks much faster than the full loaf. If the flat bread or the loaf start to brown too much, place a sheet of Aluminum foil over the top without sealing the edges. If you find the bread to be sweet, decreas the amount of brown sugar. Do not decrease the amout of sugar added directly to the yeast or it won't rise.