"FEELING YOUR OATS" - TRIPLE OAT BREAD

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I like oats, and enjoy every morning my muesli with fruit and yogurt, or citrus-y oatmeal with raisins and apricots (thanks to Maria Speck and her wonderful book "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals".)

Whereas you can find rolled, steel cut oats or oat bran in many recipes, you will hardly see anything made with actual oat flour. I knew from experience that, in principle, I can treat oat flour like rye in mixed breads, since it doesn't have gluten. My German Feinbrot tastes great with oat instead of rye, too.

So I came up with a formula for a very "oaty" sandwich loaf, combining oat flour, rolled oats and oat bran in a nice fluffy, but hearty, bread that is also great for toasting.

The best of all husbands commented: "After eating this you will definitely feel your oats!"

Oat flour, rolled oats and oat bran

"FEELING YOUR OATS" - TRIPLE OAT BREAD

SOAKER
100 g oat flour
  27 g oat bran
100 g rolled oats (not quick cooking)
    4 g salt
198 g buttermilk

BIGA (*see note)
227 g bread flour
    1 g instant yeast
142 g water

FINAL DOUGH
all soaker and biga
 28 g whole wheat flour
   5 g salt
   4 g instant yeast
 19 g honey
 14 g melted butter (or canola oil)
egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
rolled oats, for topping

*) If you prefer preparing the dough with stretch & fold (without a biga, described here), it's fine, since the dough rises overnight in the refrigerator. But do soak the oat flour, rolled oats and oat bran, otherwise you might get in trouble with the hydration of the final dough.

DAY 1:
Morning:
In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients for soaker, until well hydrated. Cover, and let sit at room temperature.

Mix all ingredients for biga until they come together, knead for 2 minutes at medium-low speed  (or by hand), let rest for 5 minutes, and knead for another 1 minute. Place in oiled container, turn around to coat, cover and refrigerate (remove from fridge 2 hours before using).

Evening:
Mix final dough at low speed (or with hand) until rough ball forms. Knead for 4 minutes at medium-low speed. Let rest for 5 minutes, then knead for another 1 minute. (Dough should be tacky, but not sticky.) Place dough ball in oiled container, turning it around to coat, cover, and refrigerate overnight*)

*) I like overnight bulk fermentation, because I can do most of the work in the evening before the baking day. But you can, also, let the pre-doughs ferment overnight, and do the mixing of the final dough on baking day.


DAY 2:
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using, to warm up.

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Grease sandwich loaf pan (I use a 9-inch one)

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough into sandwich loaf, and place, seam side down, in prepared pan.

Brush with egg wash, score, and sprinkle with rolled oats, pressing the flakes gently into the dough (it's important to score first, otherwise the flakes obstruct the slashing.)

Mist with oil spray, cover, and let rise at room temperature, or until it has grown to 1 1/2 its original size, about 45 - 60 minutes.

Bake bread at 350ºF for 25 minutes, rotate 180 degrees for even browning, and continue baking for another 30 minutes. The bread should be golden brown, sound hollow when thumbed at the bottom, and register 195 F.

Remove bread from pan, and let cool on wire rack.

November on Mount Desert Island - quiet time in Bar Harbor

Submitted to Yeast Spotting

Re-written and updated post (originally posted 1/5/1202)

Submitted to Panissimo:  Bread & Companatico                                       
                                        Indovina chi viene a cena                                             
This month's Panissimo is hosted by Menta e Rosmarino