Oat Bread Recipe (Amish Oatmeal Bread with Honey)

This Amish recipe for Honey Oat Bread makes a delicious and wholesome homemade bread that combines the natural sweetness of honey with the hearty texture of oats.

This simple recipe requires basic ingredients like bread flour, active yeast, and honey. The addition of oats not only enhances the nutty flavor but also gives the bread a delightful texture.

When baked to a golden brown, you'll have a fragrant and hearty honey oat bread that is delightfully soft with a chewy crust. Enjoy slices with your favorite spreads like Amish peanut butter or use it for sandwiches and toast.

This recipe yields three soft loaves with a perfect balance of sweetness, making it a great choice for nutritious and tasty homemade bread.

Ingredients

1. Quick Oats provide a hearty texture to the bread and enhance its nutritional profile with whole grains.
2. Boiling Water plays a role in activating the oats, creating a softer texture.
3. Honey adds natural sweetness to the bread, providing a delightful flavor that complements the hearty oats. (If desired, honey can be replaced with molasses or maple syrup.)
4. Milk contributes richness and moisture, resulting in a tender crumb, while also enhancing the overall nutritional value with dairy goodness. (For dairy intolerance, replace it with almond milk.)
5. Canola or Vegetable Oil adds moisture, tenderness, and a subtle richness to the bread. It also aids in the overall softness of the loaf. (If desired, you can substitute the oil with melted butter or light-tasting olive oil.)
6. Egg Yolk adds moisture, tenderness, and richness to the texture of the bread, while also contributing to a golden-brown crust. Adding an egg yolk is optional. However, its fat content contributes to the moisture of the bread, making it softer and more tender.
7. Active Dry Yeast Dissolved in Warm Water acts as the leavening agent, helping the bread rise and develop a light, airy texture. "Dissolving yeast in warm water" is crucial for activating the yeast properly.
8. Bread Flour provides the necessary structure for the bread, ensuring a well-formed loaf with a chewy texture. (You can use all-purpose flour or substitute some of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. However, white bread flour yields the best results.)
9. Salt balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavor profile, creating a well-rounded taste.

All of these ingredients work together to produce hearty oatmeal bread.

How to Make Amish Oat Bread

This recipe for oat bread can be made with a large mixer using a dough hook attachment, or you can knead it by hand.

1. Activate Oats:
   • In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), pour the boiling water over the quick oats. Let them sit for approximately ten minutes, allowing the oats to absorb the water and soften, while also giving it time to cool.
2. Dissolve Yeast:
   • In a separate bowl, dissolve the active dry yeast in warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes until it's frothy, showing that the yeast is activated and ready to work its magic.
3. Sweeten It Up:
   • Add honey to the softened oats, stirring well to incorporate sweetness. Add the milk, oil, and egg yolk, and mix to combine.
4. Mix Yeast In:
   • Add the activated yeast mixture to the warm oat mixture (make sure it's not hot). Add the salt and approximately 5 cups of the bread flour, then mix until a dough forms.
5. Knead and Rise:
   • Knead the dough with your mixer on speed 2 for several minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and elastic.
   • By hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface for about 8 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
   • Place the bread dough into a greased bowl, cover it with a light cloth, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
6. Shape and Second Rise:
   • Punch down the risen dough and divide it into three even-sized pieces. With buttered hands, roll each piece of dough into a loaf shape, tucking in the ends, then place them into greased loaf pans. (If desired, you can line the pans with parchment paper.)
   • Lightly cover the pans with a kitchen towel, set them in a warm place (room temperature), and let the dough rise again until it reaches the top of the pan.
7. Bake to Perfection:
   • Preheat your oven, then bake the bread until the top is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches around 195 - 200°F. (Insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of the loaf.)
   • Thirty-five minutes is perfect in my oven, but there is a difference in ovens and pans, so you'll have to figure out what is the right amount of time for your loaves. Thinner pans require less baking time.
   • Brush the tops of the bread with butter, and let it rest in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing.
8. Cool and Enjoy:
   • Cool the bread on a wire rack. Once cooled, slice, and enjoy your homemade nutty oat bread - perfect for sandwiches or as a delightful side!
   • (Honestly, my bread never waits to get sliced till it's cool, because it's never better than fresh and warm out of the oven. Lay a warm loaf of bread on its side and carefully slice a few pieces, using a sharp bread knife with a sawing motion. Enjoy it slathered with butter and honey. So yummy!)

Storage

Some people will tell you to completely cool your homemade bread before bagging it. However, I do not wait until it is completely cool. I bag my bread when it's still slightly warm because it helps to keep more moisture in, and the bread won't dry out as quickly.

Place whatever you won't get eaten within three or four days into the freezer.

Homemade bread is amazing when it is fresh. But it does tend to dry out and get moldy sooner than commercial bread because it doesn't have all those preservatives.

Freezing it, however, helps to keep it fresh. Just remove it from the freezer an hour or so before you want to slice it.

It might take a while to eat three loaves of bread if you're living by yourself. You can slice the bread and wrap a few pieces in separate portions. Make sure though, that you wrap it tightly in freezer bags or containers.

I find that bread freezes better as a whole loaf versus sliced. But if properly stored it will still be fine.

Refrigerating your bread is another option to lengthen the shelf life.

Homemade Bread

Amish women are known for their delicious homemade breads and baked goods. My Amish mom baked at least five loaves of bread every week, and it was on the table with almost every meal.

The most common kind was regular homemade white bread. Sometimes we also had honey wheat bread, quick dinner rolls, or oat bread.

Store-bought commercial bread doesn't even come close to comparing with homemade bread, especially when it's fresh out of the oven. So I challenge you, if you've never tried homemade fresh bread before, do yourself a favor and make some.

Amish Bread Recipes

There are many different kinds of bread, and I love all of them. Bread is simply an amazing creation, whether it's fresh homemade yeast bread, French bread, croissants, quick bread, etc. There are too many delicious breads 🙂 .

Yeast breads are typically used for sandwiches and toast. (Homemade yeast bread, Cinnamon Swirl Bread, and Iced Raisin Bread make the very best pieces of breakfast toast.)

Some of my favorite quick breads are banana bread, pumpkin bread, cinnamon friendship bread, and apple bread. These sweet quick breads are delightful with a cup of morning coffee or tea.

Homemade Oatmeal Bread

In summary, this oat bread recipe combines the heartiness of quick oats with the softness and structure provided by bread flour. The sweetness from honey complements the richness of milk, while yeast helps the bread rise. The addition of oil and egg yolk contributes moisture and tenderness, and salt balances the flavors. The boiling water activates the oats, ensuring a delightful texture.

Incorporating these ingredients in precise amounts results in a wholesome, flavorful, and well-textured oat bread. This homemade bread recipe makes three loaves, giving you plenty of slices to enjoy.

If you try this Amish recipe for honey oat bread, I would love it if you left a comment and star rating below. Thank you and Happy Baking!

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