Irish Oatmeal Bread!

There's so much happening this summer!! Among the Perkins' clan, we've got a lot of wonderful things going on........A baby due in a couple of weeks; A new house for my son's family; A house to sell (for my son's family); A bus trip to Greenfield Village; A baby shower to prep for my youngest daughter; Sunday school renovations at the church.......busy, busy, busy! But it all makes for a "wonder-FULL" summer season! It's a privilege to be this type of busy! 

Another wonder-FULL thing about the summer is all the fresh veggies and fruit - I just can't get enough! And fortunately, we live near several seasonal produce markets! The other night, I was really hungry for "summer stuff" - a lovely salad, corn-on-the-cob, chicken on the grill......  I also wanted a slice of fresh, substantial bread! Fortunately, I had prepared ahead - earlier in the week I had purchased some steel-cut oats and had made some oatmeal (I had come across this recipe and knew I wanted to try it...), so I stirred this up and it did not disappoint me! The texture, the taste.....it was all a perfect fit with a summer meal! 

I hope you're enjoying a WONDER-full summer also! May this loaf make it even lovelier! 

Irish Oatmeal Bread!

1 packet/Tbsp. Red Star Platinum yeast

½ Cup warm water

¼ Cup warmed milk

2 Tbsp. butter

1 egg

¾ Cup prepared steel-cut “Irish” oatmeal

1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar (sweeten to your taste)

1 tsp. salt

3 Cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Deflate dough and remove from bucket. Roll into a rectangle, roll up jelly-roll fashion, pinch seam, tuck ends under and place in a greased 9x5” loaf pan. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let rise until loaf has risen well over the lip of the pan. Preheat oven to 350. Uncover and place loaf in preheated oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack at least 15 minutes before slicing.  

Irish Oatmeal Bread!