January 17, 2012 - 10:33pm
Laurel Kitchen's Oatmeal Bread
One year after Txfarmer showcased her lovely bake of Laurel's Oatmeal bread, I decided to bake one myself. It is a 100% wholewheat, enriched direct dough, leavened with commercial yeast. Having excess rolled wholegrain oats at home, i decided to give the recipe a try.
The dough was very thirsty. I ended up adding 240g of water to the dough. Intensive kneading for this dough is a must, otherwise the bread will be dense, due to all the oatmeal.
I used finely milled wheat flour for this recipe.
The crust is crunchy, and the crumb moist and tender. The intrinsic qualities of this straight dough bread shows most when toasted.
If i want a wholesome toast for a meal, this is the bread to go to.
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Comments
That's wonderfully light for a wholewheat bread with oatmeal, Khalid!
Lovely!
Best wishes
Andy
Thanks Andy! I know, i didn't believe it would be so light myself. The book does indicate that this bread can be tall if it is well mixed.
This bread is a must for every wholegrain baking fan.
I think JMonkey had posted about one of Laurel's 100% whole wheat breads a few years ago and arrived at a similar result. He also credited the light texture to a very long kneading time, something around 20 minutes if I remember right.
You have a lovely loaf to your credit with this bake.
Paul
I love a good ww oatmeal bread. Your crumb looks so light and wholesome, just wonderful for an everyday sandwich loaf. Very nicely done and inspirational!
Sylvia
Khalid,
Well, I am but one day behind you on this one as this is the loaf I will be working on tomorrow but using a sd leaven that txfarmer posted. (I also use oat grouts that I grind really coarsly instead of oatmeal and it turns out great too.) A favorite here. It is the loaf that taught me about loooong kneading times and how it changes the texture of a loaf. A very nice dough to work with.
Your loaf looks great and I am thinking I just might have to cover mine with oats too....looks really lovely...they just add a nice touch and the coloring is very inviting!
Take Care,
Janet
P.S. Laurel's first book was the book out of which I found the ww bread that I baked for my family for years and years. She was about the only one 'out there' baking with whole grains. I am so grateful to her and I love her 'new' book and am so glad you have presented one of her loaves here. Amazing that a loaf of bread baked by woman in Northern California has made it all the way to your corner of the world.....I wouldn't have believed it possible 20 years ago! In fact, the book probably wasn't even available in some parts of the US back then...
The cell walls in your crumb are beautiful Khalid. Nice and gelatinous and so thin. I have been following your progress with whole grains and enjoying your results. I have ordered Laurels bread book and am waiting to add it to WGB's by PR as a source of ideas. Thank you for sharing.
Eric
...now I've got to try this. What a beautiful loaf. I have oat groats and flakes and the book, so I must give it a whirl.
FF
Lovely! You've achieved a wonderful crumb on your whole grain loaf, very inspiring.
Thanks, Paul!
I saw jmonkey's post, indeed, whole wheat doughs do require intensive kneading, and rest periods too. I ,too, kneaded for 20 minutes! A physical effort, but the results and the visual appeal is really worth it.
Your encouragemet during my early postings paid off, Paul!
Thanks, Sylvia! I really hope you give the recipe a try. I have posted the recipe here, but took it off soon as I read Floyd's post on pipa, and soPa.
Thanks, Janet!
I'll anxiously await your post on your oatmeal bread!
A tip on how I Covered my loaf with Oates: after forming the loaf, I wet my hands and rubbed the whole loaf with water, transferred it to a pan filled with rolled oats, and turned the loaf around to sufficiently cover it with the oats. It works really well!
Well, that's one of the wonders of the Internet, isn't it? Were it not for this wonderful forum, and the equally wonderful TFL members here, I wouldn't have heard about laurel's book, Peter Reinhart, or hamelman!
Khalid,
Thanks for the directions on getting the oats to stick. I am mixing the dough tonight after my leaven ripens and then letting it ferment overnight in the refrig. I will cover with oats tomorrow when I shape and proof them. Yours make the loaf look so nice....hope mine come out okay too.
I wouldn't know about any of those books either if it weren't for the internet. I did find Laurel's first book in a local bookstore years ago before all of our book stores started going out of business....I found PR on line and discovered Laurel had a second book too. I learned about Hamelman here and I have learned how to bake lots of breads from people like you who share here. In fact, I am doing a date one again in a few days - with oatmeal too that breadsong posted awhile ago....my kids love it. Won't eat dates plain but love them in bread! I love baking with them so I am more than happy to oblige :-)
I will let you know how the loaf turns out....have to go and grind up the oat groats now to make the soaker :-)
Take Care,
Janet
Hi Kahlid,
The loaves just came out of the oven. Realized I could have added a lot more oatmeal when I rolled the dough to cover it....next time. I really like the effect it has on this loaf - very attractive and I will be doing it again - maybe even adding more oats after it has proofed...
Janet
Thanks, Eric! I'am delighted to know that you like my progress with whole grain baking.
The book is worth every penny! It's loaded with goodies!
Thanks, Eric! I'am delighted to know that you like my progress with whole grain baking.
The book is worth every penny! It's loaded with goodies!
Thank you, FF! Lovely! Hop in!
Thanks, FlourChild!
I don't recall txfarmer's loaf offhand, but yours certainly looks good - and will probably stick into my head for around a year before I try it. And so the chain goes on. -Varda
Standout loaf Khalid, not only for the splendid looking soft crumb, but the overall appearance of the bread as well. It's a very uniform loaf from end to end, and a good demonstration of your molding skills. Nicely done!
Franko
Greetings Khalid, I sure like your version of Laurel's Oatmeal Bread. I use a machine for kneading and it requires under 20 minutes for most breads. Hard to say which is more efficient, I think hand kneading wins out though. As others have pointed out, the crumb is lovely, and the crust color is too. It has been a long time since I have baked that bread, but I seem to remember a couple of different recipes. I Used the cooked oatmeal model, and didn't have to add more water. Your bake used dry? Thanks for posting, it has revived my interest in making that bread, but I have so much yogurt left from a recent bake. Have been thinking about the oatmeal, for some time. I'll bake the oatmeal, and eat the yogurt. There that is settled.
Best Wishes, Ray
That is a lovely looking loaf.
I lent my "Laurels Kitchen Bread Book" to my parents ... I am down visiting them at the moment and have been thoroughly enjoying leafing through it ... quite inspiring.
Beautiful soft looking crumb.
Cheers,
Phil
Beautiful!! Very tall, beautiful loaf, Janet! Yours looks more genuine than mine.
Care to expose the interior?
Khalid,
Didn't do this yesterday as my daughter cut into it when it was fresh out of the oven so it appeared gummy. The pictures I got were a bit blurry and it appears as though my lense is overdue for a cleaning but here goes anyway:
Gap on the right - my rolling....
I really like how your loaf looked Khalid....mine was merely shaped differently to fit my Pullman pan :-)
Now to figure out how to make the photos smaller - thought I had but looking here they are still HUGE :-0
Take Care,
Janet
Thanks, Varda!
Thanks, Franko! I learned the shaping of this pan loaf from Laure's Book. after shaping, I pinched the seams, rolled the dough to the size of the pan, rubbed the dough with wet hands, and rolled it on a tray full of oats. I placed the the dough seam side down into the pan, and pressed it even across the length of the pan, leaving no empty space. I sprayed the loaf and the pan sides with water before and after final proofing.
Thank you, Ray! The soaker was oats in boiling water for 14 hours. The flour was freshly milled, so was thirsty. I aimed for a loose dough in order to better develop it through slap and fold.
Thank you, Phil!
I've got some of this dough rising right now. I also used freshly ground wheat, a mix of 2/3 organic Prarie Gold hard white wheat and 1/3 Kamut. The oats were also freshly flaked. We'll see how it goes! I'm interested to see how the Kamut works in this recipe.
Looks pretty good to me, Janet, considering all the wholewheat and oats.
Did you get your dough to windowpane? It really makes tons of difference with this particular dough. I also rest my dough during slap and fold kneading, as it helps develop this dough much faster, and helps the dough absorb all the water. Remember, you have to really aim for a slack dough! add water as necesary. My dough was 94% hydration!! This dough requires more kneading than you might imagine.
I always test for windowpane after a rest period (5 minutes).
Hi Khalid,
Yes, I did get the windowpane - learned that from tsfarmer's blogs on this recipe.
I agree this has lots of water and more is released as it is kneaded due to releasing out of the oatmeal so I have learned not to add any in the beginning when the dough is stiff. It loosens up a lot as I knead.
I use my DLX to knead this dough. I do an initial 45 minute rest period once all the ingredients are combined into a shaggy mass. Then I knead on and off until I get the windowpane. It takes awhile but the resting periods do help.
It is loose but firms up when I retard it overnight so it is a nice dough to shape in the morning. Family loves it and the loaf I made on Thursday is almost all gone now....
Janet
Hi, Tikidoc
I'am intested too, to see the results of adding Kamut.
Best wishes!
The Kamut version had fantastic flavor but minimal oven spring. I did the faster rise version, and I may have put it in the oven a bit earlier than ideal (it was getting late in the evening), so I don't know if the problem was the Kamut or the proof time. I'm playing with another variation that includes some Kamut, and will report back if it works well...
Tikidoc,
Here is a link on Kamut and how it differs from other flours. There are other link too....just do a search.
I use it a lot because my family loves the flavor. I mix it with hard white whole wheat and, depending on the percent I use, I bake in loaf pans to give it support. (If I do a free form loaf I keep the % at about 25%.)
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/19886/no-luck-khorasan-flour-kamut
Good Luck,
Janet
Thanks. I have baked with Kamut quite a bit, but this is the first time I have used it in addition to oatmeal. The wheat I used is a hard wheat which usually rises fairly well. I probably should have used a lower percentage of Kamut to start but we really like the flavor. I did use loaf pans in this recipe. I think the final proof time was a big part of the problem, but I was tired and needed to get the thing into the oven.
I would not really rate the Kamut version as a failure, it was just fairly dense, nowhere near as fluffy as the other loaves people are posting picures of. The flavor is wonderful, especially toasted. Makes for a good breakfast loaf. But I'm still experimenting, using an overnight cool rise and a little lower percentage of Kamut. The flavor of the golden wheat compliments the Kamut, since, like Kamut, it is not as tannic as many whole wheat flours.
I made this bread the other day and it needed way more water than I could even add. It was like clay and didn't rise much. I baked it anyway. It didn't even touch the sides of the bread pans! It is dense but tastes good toasted. I'll try again with pulverized rolled oats instead of Irish oats. I've just ventured into kneaded bread after making about 5 loaves of successful no-knead bread. I made kneaded bread for a bit about 30 years ago successfully... I guess this wasn't the best recipe to start with!