Honey Oat & Flax Bread

I've recently decided that as long as I can make it, we are no longer going to purchase bread products. So you'll see in the coming posts that there will be a few bread recipes. Today's is my current favorite. It's sweet, soft, and light, unlike a lot of homemade breads, which can feel dense and potentially dangerous. This makes for great sandwich bread and is equally as tasty as french toast and even bread crumbs.



Honey Oat & Flax Bread
Makes: 3 loaves

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ready In: 3 hours







Ingredients:

3 cups warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/3 cup cane sugar or honey
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup oat flour (I couldn't find any in store so I made my own with about a half a cup of old-fashion oats.)
1/2 cup ground flax seed
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon butter


Mix warm water and sugar in a small bowl. Add yeast, let stand for 5 minutes till foamy. In a stand mixer bowl, add 5 cups of bread flour, oat flour, and flax. Mix in yeast mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes, till risen and bubbly.

Mix oil, honey, and salt in a bowl and mix into yeast/flour mixture. Grease a dough hook and with a stand mixer, knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes on the lowest setting, adding wheat mixture till incorporated. Dump on to a floured surface and knead to make sure the flour is well incorporated and roll into a ball. Grease the bowl, place dough inside and toss to coat. If the bowl isn't big enough to fit into one bowl, divide into three equal parts and place in greased bowls. Place towels over the dough and let stand in a warm area for 1 hour or until doubled.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove one ball of dough, wrap into a tight oblong roll and place in a greased bread pan and cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise until dough is 1 inch higher than the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes and rub butter over the top after about 10 minutes to keep top from crusting. Bread should be a dark golden brown. Remove from oven, flip from pan onto a wire cooling wrack and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing. It'll keep the bread from squishing.

Roll the additional dough into bread pan-shaped pieces, place on a greased cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Stick in the freezer and freeze till firm. Then add to a Ziploc bag to preserve until ready to use. When you're ready to use, remove from freezer, microwave about 30 seconds, add to greased bread pan, and let rise. Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes.