Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Oroweat OatNut bread (that's some serious lovin' y'all)! So when I saw this recipe a few months ago on Baking Bites I bookmarked it. I kept thinking about it and when Rachel announced that July's theme for Rach's Baking Challenge was nuts, I immediately thought of this bread. I had everything I needed, or I adapted it the way I wanted to, I just lacked the nuts.

I'm not going to link to the original post because there are some mistakes in the recipe that haven't been fixed despite me and someone else asking questions. I had to improvise and hope it turned out well since she never got back to me. Thankfully, it did. But please don't think I'm "bad mouthing" her or her blog because she has some tasty recipes and yummy pictures and I've had success with her recipes in the past, this recipe just seemed to need some editing.

Moving on, the original OatNut bread incorporates hazelnuts, so that's what I used, but you could use pecans or walnuts. My hubby doesn't like hazelnuts (or so he says) so I didn't tell him they were in the bread and guess what? He liked it! He even asked me later on when I was going to use the hazelnuts and I told him they were in the bread and he said, "nu uh!" It's not quite like the store bought variety, but it's equally as good. It's nutty and slightly sweet, soft and hearty, but with a nice crust. And it's good for you, there's no butter, oil or eggs in this bread. Just yeast, flour, oats, nuts, honey and a sprinkling of salt. That's it!

I served this warm out of the oven with a schmear of salted butter and Debby's homemade olallieberry jam She sent me a jar and it is so good! It tastes like a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, like a boysenberry- it's tart and sweet and bright. Thanks Debby! I only thought it was appropriate to serve this homemade jam with homemade bread. It was so worth it.

OatNut Bread adapted from Baking Bites

• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (100-110F)
• 1 cup bread flour
• 2-3 cups unbleached AP flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats (not instant)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.

Stir in 1 cup bread flour, the oats and honey, and mix well. Add in salt, hazelnuts and an additional 1 1/2 - 2 cups all-purpose flour. Stir, adding remaining flour gradually, until the dough comes together into a ball and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl (this can also be done in an electric mixer with the dough hook attached).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead, adding flour a tablespoon at a time as necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes. You don't want the dough to be sticky, but it shouldn't be dry or tough either.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside.

After dough has risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface again. Deflate dough, by gently punching down and pressing into a rectangular shape (approx. 10 1/2 x 8 1/2) Roll up the dough into a loose log, starting with the shorter end and place the seam side down into the greased pan.

Cover the bread with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes. While the bread is going through its final rise, preheat oven to 375F.

Bake loaf for 35 minutes til golden and a skewer inserted in the center is clean. Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.

NOTE: You can use All-Purpose flour for this recipe and omit the bread flour if you want.

Also, I sprinkled oats on top of the bread before baking and they all fell off when I sliced it, so don't waste your time.

Go check out Rachel's blog to see what she made!