Oat Bread

I got this recipe off the back of a package of Bob's Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats.

I love Bob's Red Mill. Not only do they make a huge assortment of grains and beans, but they were also underwriters on my favorite PBS reality show, "Colonial House". This is a show where a bunch of people went to live in a faux 16th Century New England colony for five months. They had to live completely in period: clothes, tools, food, houses, bathroom situations etc... I don't imagine it comes as a surprise I am a fan... anyway, Bob's Red Mill made it possible, so I buy his oats.

I am currently in the process of making my second loaf of this bread. I thought the first one turned out really nicely. It is a much better contender as a sandwich bread than the Simple Bread recipe I have been using. (I'm not saying it's better, the simple bread is denser and a more suitable companion to soups and stews.) I am going to put this recipe down as it is given by Bob's Red Mill, but in my current effort I have made a couple changes I will note below.

1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
11/2 Tablespoons Turbinado Sugar
11/4 cup warm water (95º-105ºF)
11/2  teaspoons Sea Salt
11/2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Oat Bran
1/4 cup Rolled Oats (I doubled this to 1/2 cup the second time because I didn't think it was "oaty" enough the first time.)
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups Unbleached White Flour (The second time I switched it to 2 cups whole wheat flour and one cup white flour)


In a large bowl mix the yeast, sugar and warm water. Let rest for a few minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients in the order given. Turn dough out on a well-floured pastry cloth (I have never heard of a pastry cloth before, I just kneaded the dough in the bowl.) and knead until smooth and elastic, adding more whole wheat flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Place dough in a large oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Set bowl in a warm place and let dough rise until doubled in bulk. (About 1 hour). Then punch dough down and turn onto lightly floured pastry cloth, shape into loaf.

Place in an oiled bread pan, cover with towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place oven rack in the center of oven and place bread pan on center rack. Bake for 25 minutes, or until done.

Makes 1 loaf (13 slices).

 

Granola

So I didn't drink the last beer. It will probably remain in the fridge for the whole month next to the can of Sofia that has been there since election day and the Coke Zero from my in-laws visit in March. We will look at it every day, comforted by it's presence, secure in the knowledge that there is a beer to be drank if you really want it.

But I did make granola so we can have it for breakfast. We have various breakfast cereals and some Quaker Oatmeal on-the-go pastry that have been grandfathered in, but I think something home made for the inaugural meal is important. I also love this granola. This is the third time I have made it, so I did not have to make multiple trips to the store in a panic, and it didn't take me three hours. Also, I have significantly adapted the recipe from the original one I found on Epicurious, and I now feel that it is my own.

Some Assembly Required Granola Cereal

3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup almonds
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 wheat germ
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 tsp fine salt
2 egg whites
1 cup chopped dried white peaches
1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the overn to 375ºF. Line a large shallow baking dish with foil. Spread the pecans and almonds on the sheet and roast for 8-10 minutes, until lightly toasted. Transfer the nuts to a cutting board. Let cool, then chop and set aside.

Reduce the oven temperture to 300ºF. Pour the oats and the wheat germ in a mound on the baking sheet. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over the stove, or in a bowl in the microwave. Stir in the honey, salt and egg whites. Drizzle over the top of the oats, stirring to mix it in as you go with a rubber spatula. Then spread the oats out in an even layer.

Bake the oats for about 30 minutes, stirring once with the spatula halfway through, until the oats are lightly colored. Let cool. The mixture will crisp as it cools. Add the fruit and nuts and toss.

***Notes***
You can use any combination of dried fruit and nuts that you have or like. I love the flavor the peaches give it, especially when eaten with milk. I made this once with peanuts, and that wasn't really a good choice. But another time I used walnuts instead of almonds and that was delicious. Instead of honey you can also use maple syrup or cane syrup. I never have good luck getting the granola to cluster, but I don't really care. I use it mostly as a cereal, so the looseness is fine with me.

Notes on the ingredients and their origins
Pecans - Trader Joes - these were salted, so I guess that is contraband, but I bought them before the deadline. I'm pretty sure they sell unsalted versions
Almonds - These came from backstage at the Flogging Molly show at the Greek Theatre... that is another story, but they were raw and unsalted, and I didn't buy them so that's good all around.
Oats - Trader Joes. Organic Whole Grain Rolled Oats
Wheat Germ - I think I got this at Vons or Pavillions, it was a while ago.
Butter - Organic unsalted butter from Trader Joes. Sweet Cream is the only ingredient.
Honey - 100% local organic honey from Tierra Miguel Farm. I get a CSA box from there. They are wonderful.
Salt - table salt. I have had it for years.
Eggs - I get these from Gammil Farms, which is a lady who keeps chickens in her backyard in Altadena, which is about 9 miles from me. They are free-range and vegetarian fed.
Dried Peaches - Trader Joes. They contain sulfur dioxide. Is that an ingredient? or part of the process of drying fruit? I will have to figure that out.
Golden Raisins - Trader Joes. Same question.

I now have an hour and thirty-two minutes to buy multi-ingredient foods. I'm not worried about my resolve. I'm just going to go to bed.