I can’t think of anything better, than the aroma of homemade bread baking in the oven.
It gives you that . . . all is well feeling.
Today, I’m sharing two of our favorite bread recipes with you.
Honey Wheat Oatmeal Bread
Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Bread
Lately, I’ve been making a couple of loaves of bread every week. Bread making can be a bit time consuming, and I’ve always done it the traditional way. Not anymore!
Let me Explain . . .
Every year, I try to find something to give my four daughters for Christmas. The tradition, is to buy them something for the kitchen that they will actually use and enjoy. After reading post after post about the wonders of the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 Virtuoso Breadmaker, I decided that maybe this would be a gift they would put to use. I was very very cautious though! I had that yeah right attitude.
You see, years ago I bought a bread maker but rarely used it. It made these funky looking loaves of bread. It sat in the corner of my laundry room for years, un-used. I decided that after reading all the rave reviews on this new bread maker, it had to be pretty darn good. I decided to order just one, and put it to the test, before ordering one for each daughter. It wasn’t cheap. It didn’t take me long before I was completely SOLD! (This is not a paid post)
This machine is such a time-saver and it works like a charm. It practically does all the work from start to finish. It makes delicious crusty bread and the loaf even looks pretty darn nice. The loaves are a nice normal horizontal shape. You can make whopping 2 lb. loaves of bread if you like, or opt for smaller.
The nice thing about a bread maker is that you have choices.
In five minutes, you can throw the ingredients in the pan . . . push start . . .walk away and in a couple hours come back to nice hot delicious bread.
or
If you have a little more time on your hands, you can just knead the bread dough in the bread machine. Simply let the bread maker do the work through the knead or first rise cycles then punch it down, shape it and place the dough in a loaf pan. Once the dough has risen in the loaf pan, just bake it in the oven.
This machine kneads the dough perfectly in my opinion and you don’t have to stand there doing it!
Both of these recipes can be kneaded in a 2-lb. bread machine or KitchenAid or made by hand. Both recipes make yummy bread, that stays soft for days. Out of the two recipes, the Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Bread is our very favorite. If you don’t care for the seeds, you can leave them out, or mix in another seed. The Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Bread will make one loaf, and the Honey wheat recipe will make 2 loaves of bread. You can knead both of these recipes in a bread machine, as long as your machine is a large 2 -lb. machine.
If you’re making the honey wheat recipe, you will need to bake the bread in the oven. You can use a bread machine from start to finish with the Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Bread or rise the dough in a loaf pan and bake in the oven as well.
While I’m sharing bread recipes, I thought I would also share the view from my windows at night. We get the most beautiful sunsets!
Make a loaf of home-made bread . . . sit back and watch smiles appear. It’s so much better than store bought and much easier than you might think. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll never turn back. You might need to spend a few extra minutes on the treadmill though. It’s delicious and so very hard to resist!
Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Bread
Our favorite Homemade Bread! I knead the dough in the bread machine, then let the dough rise in a slightly greased covered bowl, till double in size. Punch down the dough, shape into loaf pan. Rise again then bake in the oven at 350.
- Yield: 1 9x5 loaf 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water + 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (not instant)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine or instant yeast
- 1/2 cup honey roasted sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Warm milk and water in the microwave for one minute on high.
- Add to bread machine pan along with remaining ingredients.
- (I add seeds on top of flour then yeast, right from the start)
- After about 5 to 10 minutes, lift the lid and add extra liquid or extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed, to correct consistency. Dough should stick to side of pan, then pull away.
- Complete bread cycles as directed for your bread machine.
- If baking in the oven:
- Select “Dough Cycle” and start. After about 5 to 10 minutes, lift the lid and add extra liquid or extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed, to correct consistency. Dough should stick to side of pan, then pull away.
- When the dough – knead cycle has completed (before the rise cycle) cancel the cycle, unplug your machine and remove the dough from the machine.
- Grease a large bowl with a bit of oil and place your dough in the bowl. Cover well with greased saran wrap or a lid and let the dough raise until double in size. When dough is double in size, punch the dough down and shape into a greased loaf pan.
- Set in a warm place until dough rises about 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. If loaf gets to brown after about 20 to 25 minutes, you can cover with a foil tent. Let cool on a wire rack.
- adapted from: Salad in a jar
Honey Wheat Oatmeal Bread
Note: Read notes below before beginning in Bread Machine
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 1/2 teaspoons table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon instant or active-dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
- 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, oats, brown sugar, honey, butter, salt, and cinnamon. Let cool to lukewarm, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the yeast and flours, stirring to form a rough dough. Knead about 10 minutes by hand, 5 to 7 minutes by machine, until the dough is smooth and satiny.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour. Since the dough is warm to begin with (from the boiling water), it should become quite puffy.
- Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a loaf. Place the loaves in two greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ bread pans.
- Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow the loaves to rise until they’ve crowned about 1″ over the rim of the pan, about 60 to 90 minutes. This will depend on the temperature of your room.
- Bake the loaves in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, tenting them lightly with foil after 25 minutes, to prevent over browning. Remove them from the oven when they are golden brown in color.
- Take loaves out of pan and let rest of rack to cool.
- If using bread machine:
- I use the dough cycle only: (kneading only, then rise in a greased covered bowl until double in size. Punch down the dough and shape into 2 loaf pans. Let rise again then bake in oven.
- adapted from: Joy the Baker
Notes
Note: This recipe makes 2 – 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaves, so If using your bread machine only use the knead- Dough cycle, then bake in the oven. Your bread machine must be a LARGE 2-lb. bread machine.
by Get Off Your Butt and BAKE
Hi – I just spent (what seemed like 20 minutes) almost two hours, looking at your wonderful recipes and photos. You’re my kind of chef!!! I found your site from a mention from the Bigler’s Best Belly Pleasers Blogspot. They say you’re their favorite food blogger. I can see why!!!!
I’m originally from Idaho. I grew up just outside Boise, near the dairy farm off E. Boise Ave, towards Lucky Peak. (It’s now track homes).
I’m in Sedona, AZ now. My family has a cabin about two hours north of Boise. We try and all get together there once a year. I usually drive, going though Salt Lake, then I stop in Boise for shopping and grab a bite to eat before heading up. I’m curious what is the date place that you talked about in a previous post: Black Book Banana Bread.
Thank you for the wonderful website!!! BTW – I’m going to make a few of your recipes at our next family outing. I have a feeling that you’re going to have another family who counts you as their favorite food blogger!
No Room For Improvement!