Oatmeal Raisin American Loaf Bread
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour rising and 2 hours cooling
Yield
Makes one 9-inch loaf
Ingredients
¾ cup water ¾ cup rolled oats 2 ¾ cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface2 teaspoons table salt 1 cup milk, warm (110 degrees)2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted3 tablespoons honey 1 package rapid-rise yeast (also called instant yeast)¾ cup raisins 1 tablespoon bread flour for dusting raisins
Before You Begin
This recipe uses a standing electric mixer; see related recipes for a food processor variation. You can hand-knead the dough, but we found it’s easy to add too much flour during this stage, resulting in a somewhat tougher loaf. If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour.
Instructions
- Bring water to boil in small sauce pan. Add oats; cook to soften slightly, about 90 seconds. Set aside.
- Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Once oven temperature reaches 200 degrees, maintain heat 10 minutes, then turn off oven heat.
- Mix cooked oatmeal, flour, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Mix milk, butter, honey, and yeast in 1-quart Pyrex liquid measuring cup. Turn machine to low and slowly add liquid. When dough comes together, increase speed to medium (setting number 4 on a KitchenAid mixer) and mix until dough is smooth and satiny, stopping machine two or three times to scrape dough from hook if necessary, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss raisins with 1 tablespoon flour. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead in raisins while kneading dough to form smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.
- Place dough in very lightly oiled bowl, rubbing dough around bowl to lightly coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; place in warm oven until dough doubles in size, 40 to 50 minutes.
- Form dough into loaf by gently pressing the dough into a rectangle, one inch thick and no wider than the length of the loaf pan. Next, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn dough seam side up and pinch it closed. Place dough in greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and press gently so dough touches all four sides of pan.
- Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in warm spot until dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees, placing empty loaf pan on bottom rack. Bring 2 cups water to boil.
- Remove plastic wrap from loaf pan. Place pan in oven, immediately pouring heated water into empty loaf pan; close oven door. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted at angle from short end just above pan rim into center of loaf reads 195 degrees, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove bread from pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour rising and 2 hours coolingYield
Makes one 9-inch loafIngredients
¾ cup water
¾ cup rolled oats
2 ¾ cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons table salt
1 cup milk, warm (110 degrees)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
1 package rapid-rise yeast (also called instant yeast)
¾ cup raisins
1 tablespoon bread flour for dusting raisins
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
¾ cup water
¾ cup rolled oats
2 ¾ cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons table salt
1 cup milk, warm (110 degrees)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
1 package rapid-rise yeast (also called instant yeast)
¾ cup raisins
1 tablespoon bread flour for dusting raisins
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
¾ cup water
¾ cup rolled oats
2 ¾ cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface
2 teaspoons table salt
1 cup milk, warm (110 degrees)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
1 package rapid-rise yeast (also called instant yeast)
¾ cup raisins
1 tablespoon bread flour for dusting raisins
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a good, solid sandwich bread recipe that could be done in two hours, start to finish, including baking time. We found that sandwich bread improved markedly when kneaded with a standing mixer or food processor, which helped us resist the temptation to add extra flour. We also were surprised to find that we preferred rapid-rise yeast over active dry yeast for our sandwich bread recipe. Not only did it greatly reduce rising times, but it also made for better-tasting bread.
Before You Begin
This recipe uses a standing electric mixer; see related recipes for a food processor variation. You can hand-knead the dough, but we found it’s easy to add too much flour during this stage, resulting in a somewhat tougher loaf. If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour.
Instructions
- Bring water to boil in small sauce pan. Add oats; cook to soften slightly, about 90 seconds. Set aside.
- Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Once oven temperature reaches 200 degrees, maintain heat 10 minutes, then turn off oven heat.
- Mix cooked oatmeal, flour, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Mix milk, butter, honey, and yeast in 1-quart Pyrex liquid measuring cup. Turn machine to low and slowly add liquid. When dough comes together, increase speed to medium (setting number 4 on a KitchenAid mixer) and mix until dough is smooth and satiny, stopping machine two or three times to scrape dough from hook if necessary, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss raisins with 1 tablespoon flour. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead in raisins while kneading dough to form smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.
- Place dough in very lightly oiled bowl, rubbing dough around bowl to lightly coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; place in warm oven until dough doubles in size, 40 to 50 minutes.
- Form dough into loaf by gently pressing the dough into a rectangle, one inch thick and no wider than the length of the loaf pan. Next, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn dough seam side up and pinch it closed. Place dough in greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and press gently so dough touches all four sides of pan.
- Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in warm spot until dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees, placing empty loaf pan on bottom rack. Bring 2 cups water to boil.
- Remove plastic wrap from loaf pan. Place pan in oven, immediately pouring heated water into empty loaf pan; close oven door. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted at angle from short end just above pan rim into center of loaf reads 195 degrees, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove bread from pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.
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