Description
A delicious, chewy sandwich bread that’s full of flavor from the oats, whole wheat flour, and pure maple syrup. It’s delicious slathered with peanut butter and jelly, or eaten on its own with a smear of margarine.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 oz (1/4 cup) + 1 Tbsp vegan margarine, divided
- 6 oz white whole wheat flour*
- 6 1/2 oz (scant 1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 3/4 oz (heaping 1/2 cup) old-fashioned rolled oats*
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 7 oz (3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp) warm water (not hot!)
- 2 3/4 oz (1/4 cup) pure maple syrup
- Cooking spray oil
Instructions
- Melt the margarine in the microwave, and set it aside to cool slightly.
- Combine both types of flour with the salt, cinnamon, and oats in a large bowl. Mix together well. Add the yeast and stir again until everything is incorporated.
- Add the water and maple syrup, and stir into the flour a bit with a wooden spoon (if you are using a mixer to knead the dough, just use the dough hook to mix it together). Add the melted margarine and quickly mix it together to form a shaggy dough.
- Knead for 7-8 minutes, until the dough is tacky but not sticky and it holds together nicely. If needed, add flour 1-2 Tbsp at a time until you reach the tacky point. When you’re finished, the oats will prevent it from forming a completely smooth dough, but it should look rather smooth when pressed with your palm.
- Coat a bowl with oil, shape the dough into a rough ball, and place it in the bowl. Spray the top of the dough with more oil and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise for 60-75 minutes.
- When the dough is finished proofing, it will be just about doubled in size and should maintain an indent when poked gently. Lightly spray a large wooden cutting board with cooking spray and turn the dough out onto the counter.
- Pat the dough into a rough rectangle about 15×8 inches. Starting at one end, tightly roll the dough up into a log. Seal the long edge with your fingers by pinching it gently with the dough beneath it, and orient the dough so this seam is on the bottom. Tuck the short ends under the bottom so you get a nice fat log shape. If desired, roll the top of the dough in a pile of oats for a nice presentation.
- Oil an 8×4″ loaf pan and place the dough seam-side down in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 60 minutes.
- About 15 minutes before you plan to bake the bread, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- When the bread has finished rising, it should be puffy and domed on the top, and should have roughly doubled in size. It won’t quite have taken over the pan, but it should be mostly filling it up.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, rotating once halfway through, until it is a dark golden color on top and registers 190°F in the middle. I use a digital meat thermometer to check the temperature.
- Turn the loaf out onto a wire cooling rack and rub the top with about 1 tablespoon of margarine. Let cool for at least 2 hours, and don’t cheat – it’ll be gummy and undercooked if you cut into it before it’s cool!
Notes
If you have a kitchen scale (or are willing to buy one), I definitely recommend weighing your ingredients. It is more accurate and much easier, especially for baking.
Do not use instant oats! You want the big flaky ones.
King Arthur Flour makes a wonderful white whole wheat flour that I use in all my whole-wheat cooking. It’s a bit more mild than regular whole wheat (made from red wheat berries) and has a softer texture. If you can’t find white whole wheat, you can use regular whole wheat, but you may want to use a bit less of it.
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 50 minutes