Maple Oatmeal Bread

Having spent most of my youth in New Hampshire on the border with Maine I have a great affinity for maple syrup.  The real stuff is sooooo very good.  And while it’s nearly impossible to find American maple syrup in California (Canadian imports are readily available- go figure), my husband used to work in Vermont and actually did maple sugaring for a time.  So whenever we need maple syrup, we order a 1/2 gallon from Spring Lake Ranch (http://www.springlakeranch.org/support/order-now). Not only is it a taste from my youth and part of my husband’s past, but it’s also a good cause.  The proceeds go to support a therapeutic community that goes a long way to helping people back to wellness.  We get grade B cuz it’s yummy!!! 

This bread is different from other oatmeal breads I’ve had in that we soak the oatmeal in water for an hour before we even begin the dough.  That might be why the dough was so sticky. Either way, the maple syrup is what makes this bread.  The sweetness and special flavor that maple imparts is so good.  This bread is oh so soft and yummy.  A personal fav!!

Maple Oatmeal Bread [two loaves]

Ramona Stafford via Bernard Clayton

INGREDIENTS     

2 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup quick or regular rolled oats

1 package dry yeast

3/4 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon cooking oil

5 cups bread flour, approximately

BAKING PANS: 2 medium (8"-x-4") loaf pans, greased or Teflon

In a large bowl pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and set aside to soak for 1 hour.

Sprinkle the yeast over the cooled oatmeal and stir to mix. Add the maple syrup, salt, cooking oil, and 3 cups flour. Blend all the ingredients. It will have the consistency of a heavy batter.

FIRST RISING: 1 hour

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for about 1 hour.

Add additional flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dough that can be lifted from the bowl and placed on the surface to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if the ball of dough is sticky. The dough should clean the bowl in the final stages of kneading.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces and shape into loaves. Drop each into a prepared pan. Push the dough into the corners.

SECOND RISING: 45 mins.

Cover the pans with wax or parchment paper and leave at room temperature until the dough reaches the edge of the pan, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350° 15 minutes before baking.

Bake the bread for 40 to 50 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and turn the loaves from the pans. Place the loaves on a metal rack to cool before serving.

English Oatmeal Bread

This bread was good.  It didn’t rise for me as much as it should have. I think the house was too cold that day, so I made rolls.  They taste yummy but are dense.

English Oatmeal Bread [two loaves or two dozen buns]

INGREDIENTS     

2 cups oatmeal, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting

2 cups milk

1 package dry yeast

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup whole-wheat flour

2 cups bread or unbleached flour, approximately

1 egg, beaten, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

BAKING PANS: 2 small (7"-x-3") baking pans, greased or Teflon, or 1 baking sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal

In a large bowl soak the oatmeal in the milk for 2 hours.

Stir the yeast into the oatmeal mixture; add the butter, salt, and whole-wheat flour. Beat by hand 100 strokes. Add 1/2 cup white flour and continue beating for 2 minutes more.

Stir in the balance of the white flour, 1/2 cup at a time, first with the spoon and then by hand. The dough will be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides of the bowl. If, however, the dough continues to be slack and moist, and sticks to your fingers, the blade, or work surface, sprinkle with additional flour.

Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with the rhythmic motion of push-turn-fold.

The dough will become smooth and elastic. Occasionally change the kneading rhythm by raising the dough above the table and crashing it down hard against the surface. Wham! Knead by hand for about 8 minutes.

FIRST RISING: 1 1/2 hours

Place the dough in the mixing bowl and pat with buttered fingers to keep the surface from crusting. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and put aside at room temperature until it has risen to about twice its original size, as judged by how far it creeps up the sides of the bowl, 1 ½ hours. It can also be tested by poking a finger into it—the dent remains when the dough is risen.

Punch down the dough, turn it onto the work surface, and knead briefly to press out the bubbles.

For loaves: divide the dough into 2 pieces with a knife. Shape into balls, and let them rest under a towel for 3 to 4 minutes. Form each loaf by pressing a ball under your palms into a flat oval, roughly the length of the baking pan. Fold the oval in half, pinch the seam tightly to seal, tuck under the ends, and place in the pan, seam down.

For buns: roll the dough under the palms into a long sausage-like piece about 2" in diameter. With a sharp knife, cut it into equal lengths (perhaps 1 1/2" long). Roll the small pieces into balls between your palms, or under your cupped palm press the dough hard against the work surface. The buns can be made any size you desire. Place them on the baking sheet spaced apart to give them room to rise.

SECOND RISING: 45 mins.

Cover the pans or the buns with wax paper and leave at room temperature until they have risen to double in volume, and for the loaves, until the center of the dough has risen above the level of the edge of the pan, about 45 minutes.

Brush the raised breads with the egg wash and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons oatmeal.

Preheat the oven to 400° 20 minutes before baking.

Bake in the hot oven for 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 350°, and continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are a golden brown and test done. Turn one loaf out of its pan and tap the bottom crust with the forefinger. A hard, hollow sound means it is baked. If the loaves appear to be browning too quickly, cover with a piece of foil or brown sack paper.

Remove the breads from the oven and place on a metal rack to cool.

Butter Bran or Yummy, Buttery Goodness Bread

This is by far my favorite bran bread.  I think this is sooooo yummy!!!  Bernard Clayton wrote that he found this bread in a church cookbook with the “rather prosaic name Bran Cornmeal Bread.”  He changed it to Butter Bran Bread “to capture the richness of its dark, crisp crust and coarse- textured slice.”  Personally, I think Butter Bran Bread doesn’t begin to do this bread justice.  I think a better name would be Yummy, Buttery Goodness Bread.

Yummy, Buttery Goodness Bread [two small loaves or one large loaf]

Bernard Clayton

INGREDIENTS     

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 cups bran flakes

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons yellow or white cornmeal

1 cup milk

1 cup raisins, nuts, or dates or a mixture of all (I like to do a mixture of raisins and pecans!)

BAKING PANS: 2 small (7 1/2"-x-3 1/2") loaf pans or 1 large (9"-x-5") pan, greased or Teflon, lined with buttered wax paper along the sides and bottom. Leave paper tabs projecting so the loaf can be pulled from the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and add the bran.

On a length of wax paper sift the flour, then resift with the baking powder and salt. Add the cornmeal. Alternately, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the bran mixture. Add the raisins and/or dates and nuts. Mix thoroughly into the batter.

Spread the batter in the pans. Make a slight depression down the center of the batter to compensate for the expansion in the oven.

Bake the bread for about 45 minutes, or until the loaves test done when a toothpick or metal skewer inserted in the center of a loaf comes out dry and clean.

Remove the pans from the oven. Turn on their sides and gently slip the loaves out by pulling the wax paper. Place on a wire rack to cool.

This loaf will keep for several days wrapped in foil, and can be kept frozen for several months.

Hilo Bran Bread

This Hawaiian bran bread is good, but I would offer a note of caution.  I found that it rises a little in the oven, so you want to be careful with how much you fill the pans.

Hilo Bran Bread [three small loaves, two medium loaves, or six muffins]

Bernard Clayton

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups bran flakes

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon each salt and baking soda

2 1/2 cups milk

6 tablespoons molasses

BAKING PANS: 3 small (7"-x-3") or 2 medium (8"-x-4") baking pans, greased or Teflon, lined with buttered wax paper along sides and bottom. Leave the tabs of paper sticking out about 1/2" so the loaf can be pulled from the pan. Or 1 muffin pan, greased.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl measure the flour, bran, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Into a small bowl pour the milk and molasses. Stir well. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and let the mixture rest for 10 minutes.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the bread tests done when a wooden toothpick inserted in the loaf comes out clean and dry. If you are making muffins, bake for about 30 minutes and test, as above.

Remove the bread from the oven. Hot quick bread is fragile when taken from the pan, so do so with care.

It is delicious served warm with butter.

Bran-Nut Bread

So I was nervous about doing a bran bread. It sounds far too healthy, far too… fibery, but Eric wanted one of everything in this book, so I thought I would try it.  Turns out to be quiet good, and I would recommend it.  He says it’s not very pretty, and it’s not, but don’t let that dissuade you!

Bran-Nut Bread [one loaf]

Bernard Clayton

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole-wheat flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups bran flakes

1 1/3 cups milk

1 egg, room temperature

2 tablespoons shortening, melted

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup chopped walnuts

BAKING PAN: 1 medium (8 1/2"-x-4 1/2") loaf pan, greased or Teflon, lined with buttered wax paper to cover sides and bottom

Preheat the oven to 375°.

In a medium bowl measure the flour and sprinkle in the baking powder and salt. Blend well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the bran. In another bowl combine the milk and egg. Stir this into the flour, and add the shortening, molasses, and nuts. Mix to blend, but don't beat.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and allow it to stand for 15 minutes before putting in the oven.

Place the batter in the hot oven and bake until the loaf tests done about 1 hour. It is baked when a wooden toothpick or metal skewer inserted m the center of the loaf comes out dry and clean.

Turn the loaf from the pan with care and place on a meta1 cooling rack.

It will be a crusty loaf unless it is brushed with butter and covered with a towel. Most like it crisp. Regardless, it is better if allowed to age overnight before slicing.

Spiced Brown Sugar-Pecan Crumb Coffee Cake

I love coffee cake. I have a very set idea of what a coffee cake should be.  I’ve tried several and this one is my idea of a perfect coffee cake.  And no, I didn’t change the nuts to pecans in this. 

Spiced Brown Sugar-Pecan Crumb Coffee Cake

Beth Hensperger

INGREDIENTS

Topping

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground mace

6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Dough

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Parchment-line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan and grease the sides.

TO MAKE THE CRUMB TOPPING:

Combine the sugars, flour, and spices in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with your fingers. Add the pecans and set aside.

TO MAKE THE COFFEE CAKE:

In a bowl using a wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth about 1 minute. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Alternately add the dry mixture and the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Beat hard until the batter has a creamy consistency, about 1 minute. Do not overbeat or the cake will be tough.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with half of the crumb topping. Spoon in the remaining batter and sprinkle with the remaining crumb topping. Place the pan on a rack in the center of the oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes, of until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and cool in the pan. To serve, remove the sides of the springform and serve.

Portuguese Sweet Bread

This loaf is sweet and dense.  It’s very different from what I normally eat and that makes it a fun adventure.  I like the coil, but it does mean that center can be very thick.  I’ve made this a few times, and I like sharing it with friends.  You can braid it too for a change. I’ve done it both ways, but I love the coil!

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Bernard Clayton

INGREDIENTS

5 1/2 to 6 cups bread, approximately

2 packages dry yeast

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup condensed milk diluted with 1/2 cup water (120°-130°)

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 eggs, room temperature, plus 1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons coarsely granulated decorating sugar

PIE PANS: two 9" pie pans, greased.

In a large mixing or mixer bowl combine 3 cups flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour, pour in the diluted milk and add the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Break the 3 eggs into the mixture, and gently stir with a large wooden spoon or mixer flat beater until all the ingredients are combined. Add the 1/4 cup raisins. Beat in the butter; add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time. When the dough becomes difficult to stir by hand or with the beater, work in the flour with your fingers or dough hook until it can be gathered in a rough, soft ball.

Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with the heel of your hand or under a dough hook until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. When raisins fall out, push them back in.

FIRST RISING: 1 1/2 hours

Drop the dough into a bowl, pat with greased fingers, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and put aside in a warm place (80°-90°) until the dough has doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough, divide in half, and put aside to rest for 10 minutes.

The Portuguese call the coiled loaf caracois. Roll the piece into a 30"-long rope and coil it in a 9" pie pan.

SECOND RISING: 1 hour

Cover the loaves with wax paper and put them in a warm place to double in volume, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350° 20 minutes before baking.

Brush the coil with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarsely granulated decorating sugar.

Place the loaf or loaves in the oven. They will be baked when they are a golden brown and a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted in the loaf comes out clean and dry, about 1 hour.

A spatula will help in lifting the coils and braids.