Sweet Oatmeal Bread

———————ONE AND ONE HALF-POUND LOAF———————
3/4 c Old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 c Water *
3 c Bread flour
1 1/2 ts Salt
3 tb Molasses
1 1/2 tb Sugar
1 1/2 ts Red Star brand active dry
-yeast **

ONE-POUND LOAF
1/2 c Old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 c Water (for Welbilt machine
-add 1 tablespoon more
-water)
2 c Bread flour
1 ts Salt
2 tb Molasses
1 tb Sugar
1 1/2 ts Red Star brand active dry
-yeast for all machines

* For Welbilt/Dak machines add 2 tablespoons more water. ** For all
machines except 1 1/2-pound Panasonic/National machines (use 3
teaspoons yeast) and 1 1/2-pound Welbilt/Dak machines (use 2
teaspoons yeast)

What a nicely shaped loaf this is! To enjoy this lush bread at its
best, cut a thick slice and toast it.

Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Light Crust setting, and
press Start.

After the baking cycle ends, remove bread from pan, place on cake
rack, and allow to cool 1 hour before slicing.

From “Bread Machine Magic”, Linda Rehberg & Lois Conway, St. Martin’s
Press, N.Y., 1992. ISBN 0-312-06914-6

With the dry ingredients, I use brown sugar (in the same amount)
instead of molasses and I put in two tablespoons of white sugar. Here
at sea level, I find that I have to use three slightly heaping
teaspoons of Red Star to get any kind of decent rise out of the dough.

With the wet ingredients, Instead of water, I add a beaten egg to
milk to make up the required amount of moisture. I also sometimes add
some powdered buttermilk for a nice variation. Just add the amount of
powder necessary to make up same amount buttermilk as water called
for. It’s not necessary to mix the powder with the water++I just toss
it in with the dry stuff.

My next variation is going to be to add gluten to the mix and see if
that will give a higher loaf. The taste of what I’m getting is great,
but the texture isn’t as light as I would like except near the top of
the loaf.