Catching up with a friend, she told me about a new bread she'd just tried, Oat Porridge Bread. My inner recipe geek immediately went hunting on my favorite sites and more.
First, I had to figure out what Oat Porridge Bread is. Then I had to dust off my bread-baking muscles. I've made 5 loaves to date. This week's is the best so far. My friend is not a good judge; she tells me every one of them is good. And they are not bad or inedible, just not how I think they should be. In the image, the loaf on the right is number 4, and the loaf on the left is number 5. Can you tell the improvement?
While the name implies that Oats are a key ingredient, I didn't expect that they would be cooked, not dry oats thrown into dry ingredients. The recipe I ended up trying was from ... you guessed it, King Arthur Baking. The ingredients include:
- Golden Wheat Flour
- Bread Flour
- Table Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- Instant Yeast
- Cooked porridge or oatmeal
- Unsalted Butter
Note the Table Salt. The first couple of loaves, I used kosher salt without adjusting the amount, and they came out a bit salty, still good though. I also let the oats sit in water for 15 minutes before cooking. Not a part of the recipe, but I found it made the dough softer.
Loaf number 5 came together better, rose better, and browned better. It will be a couple of weeks before I do loaves 6 and 7 - keeping number 7 for myself. I am thinking I've got this nailed now. We will see.
Happy Baking!
