We recently refinanced our home. While going through the paperwork, there was a designation for each borrower’s occupation. My husband’s occupation was pre-filled as Technology Manager. Mine? Homemaker. I was dismayed. Homemaker. It sounds so 1950’s. Does Wells Fargo think I wear an apron all day? Do they think I reply, “At your service!” when my husband comes home saying, “Honey, I’m home!” I felt like I needed to defend myself to the poor guy sent to our house to complete our refinance paperwork. Just so you know, I blurted, “I run a large playgroup. I write a blog. I used to work in real estate.” I’m sure he was thinking…good for you.
It occurred to me, after the re-fi guy left, that I had instructed everyone to sit at our kitchen table to go through the documents instead of at the dining room table. Why? Because I had to keep an eye on the bread I was baking for dinner. What a good homemaker I am. Not only was I making dinner for my husband, but my home was filled with the aroma of fresh-baked bread for everyone to enjoy. And you know what? The bread was delicious. So I’m sharing the recipe with you. Just in case you too get labeled as a homemaker and feel like you could use a recipe or two to help you add a little finesse to your newly earned title. Homemade bread is easy to make, it just takes a few hours of resting time in between steps, so make sure to start earlier in the day.
Oatmeal Molasses Bread, inspired by a recipe from Williams Sonoma
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, plus extra for topping loaves (not quick-oats)
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
2 packages (5 tsp.) yeast
5-6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. sea salt
Directions:
Bring water to a boil in microwave or saucepan. Put the one cup of the oats into the heatproof bowl of you stand mixer, and pour the water over the oats. Add the butter and molasses and let the mixture cool to warm (105-115 degrees).
Add the yeast to the warm oat mixture and let stand five minutes. Add three cups of the flour and the salt. Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed. Add the remaining 2-3 cups flour, as needed for the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl after a few minutes of kneading. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl.
Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise ina warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.
Butter two 5×9 laf pans. Punch down the dough and transfer to a clean surface. Cut the dough in half with a sharp knife. For each half, evenly flatten the dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the top third down onto itself and seal it by pushing it gently with the heel of your hand. Continue rolling and sealing the dough until you have an oval log. Place the logs, seam side down, in the prepared loaf pans. Press on them to flatten them evenly into the pans. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm, draft-ree spot until they double in size, 45-60 minutes.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees. Mist the tops of the laves with water (or brush water on loaves with basting brush). Sprinkle the tops with the remaining oats. Bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on top 40-45 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and let cool on wire racks.
The recipe makes two loaves. If only using one, wrap the other in plastic wrap (after completely cooled), and place in 2-gallon ziploc bag in the freezer. To use later, thaw overnight in refrigerator and warm in oven prior to eating. You’ll have to use the loaves quickly after cooking (or thawing), so if I need to get rid of some extra slices, I make French Toast with it the next morning. Here’s my favorite recipe!
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