Honey Oat Bread

My youngest daughter is lactose intolerant and has started making her own oat milk. When she was here for the weekend she made a batch of oat milk for me to try. Of course, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to use the leftover, ground up oats. This bread was one of the ideas I came up with.

I will share the process we used to make the oat milk at the bottom of the post, but I will say that it is quick and easy, and a cheaper alternative than buying nut milk.

This bread is slightly sweeter than the bread I usually make, but still perfect for sandwhiches or toast.

In a small bowl, combine:

1 cup leftover oats from making oat milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Set aside until needed.

In a small saucepan, heat:

1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons honey

Remove the water and honey from the heat and stir in:

1/2 cup oat milk

Allow to cool until just warmer than body temperature before continuing.

In  the bowl of a stand mixer, combine:

1 tablespoon yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
the warm water, honey and oat milk

When the yeast is foamy, add:

the leftover oat milk oats, oil and salt

Add:

2 cups wholewheat flour

Mix on low speed with the dough hook, until combined.






Continue to mix, while adding all purpose flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft, shaggy dough. You will need about 4 cups of flour.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board, and knead by hand until it is no longer sticky, and is smooth and elastic.

From the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a draft free area to rise until doubled in size.

Lightly punch the risen dough down, divide into two pieces and form each into a ball.

Form the balls of dough into loaf shapes, and place each one into a lightly greased bread pan.

Leave in a draft free area to rise again.

When the dough has risen until it is almost at the top of the bread pans, brush the tops with a mixture of:

2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons hot water

Sprinkle rolled oats on top, pressing gently to make sure they stick.




Bake the bread in a 350F oven, for 45 minutes.  Remove the bread from the pans immediately and place on a cooling rack. The bottom of the loaves will sound hollow when tapped. Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing.

To make the oat milk, soak the oats in cold water for 20 - 30 minutes. You will need just enough water to cover the oats. After soaking the oats, place them into a strainer and rinse with cold water.






Place the oats in a blender, along with cold water. Use a ratio of 2 parts water to the amount of raw oats you soaked. Add a couple of teaspoons of honey, and a pinch of salt. Blend until the oats are finely ground.





Put the mixture into a nut bag, or triple layered cheesecloth and strain the liquid through, squeezing gently to remove as much oat milk as possible.

Store in the fridge, in an airtight container, for about 5 days. The oat milk will separate; give it a shake or stir before using.

• This bread can be made without making the oat milk first. Instead of the oat milk leftovers, soak 3/4 cup rolled oats in water until the oats have softened and swollen. Drain any leftover water.
• Instead of wholewheat flour, you can substitute oat flour.
• Instead of using oat milk, you can use all water; you can also use part cow's milk, part water.
• The loaves can be frozen.