Whole Wheat Molasses Oatmeal Bread

"A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou." 
~Omar Khayyam

It was a bread baking kind of Sunday. The weekend had a crazy start. And with a climbing comp and a birthday party all taken care of, it was time to bake. 

But what kind of bread to make?

I asked the Chickabiddy.

"Whole wheat," she answered. There had been food at the comp - very good food - but the bread had been the spongy white stuff and she was craving whole wheat.

I had been thinking of making my soon-to-be famous molasses oat bread. In fact, I had gotten a request for the recipe just recently. But why not make some soon-to-be-famous whole wheat molasses oat bread? I'm not afraid to experiment in the kitchen and half the time I make up recipes anyway - I'm just not very good at remembering to write them down afterwards! The results were fabulous. The whole wheat adds an extra level of wholesomeness and the molasses adds a kiss of sweet that makes this bread perfect with just a pat of butter.

As is my way, I mill my own whole wheat flour, but store-bought whole wheat will work just fine for this delicious recipe.

Whole Wheat Molasses Oatmeal Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour

3¾ to 4¼ cups all purpose flour

2 packages active dry yeast

1¾ cups water

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup light molasses

1/3 cup butter

1 Tbs salt

2 eggs

Quick-cooking rolled oats

1 beaten egg white

1 Tbs water

In a large mixing bowl combine the whole wheat flour and the yeast. Set aside.

In a saucepan heat the 1¾ cups water, the 1 cup rolled oats, light molasses, butter and salt until just warm (115°F to 120°F) and the butter is just melted.

Add this to the whole wheat flour and yeast mixture.

Add the two eggs. Beat at a low speed for two minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly.

Beat at high speed for three minutes.

Stir in as much of the all-purpose white flour as you can mix in with a spoon. If you have a Kitchen-Aid, put on the dough hook and let it knead the dough for about five minutes, adding enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that is smooth and elastic.

(If you do not have a Kitchen-Aid, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that is smooth and elastic - about five minutes.)

Shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough ball into a lightly greased bowl, turn once to coat all sides of the dough.

Cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk - about 1½ hours.

Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half. Cover and let rest about 10 minutes. Grease two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Shape the dough into loaves and place them into the prepared pans.

Cover and let rise until nearly doubled - about 45 to 60 minutes. Brush loaves with a mixture of egg whites and 1 Tbs of water. Sprinkle the tops lightly with additional rolled oats.

Bake in a 375°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes until the loaves are a rich golden brown and sound hollow when tapped with your knuckles. Remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!