*oatmeal bread

I have made bread twice now in our new house. The kitchen is so nice and big and well-lit that it is really so much fun to be in there cooking and baking. I am so happy with it!! Anyway, I made my mom's oatmeal bread today and it turned out really well.  This is the bread that I grew up eating - my mom made about nine loaves of it weekly! I think she did it on a specific day, like the Ingall's "Bake on Mondays." I even wrote about it here.  I would love to get into that rhythm myself ... we'll see.  

Here is the recipe. It's kind of loose, my mom just knows what to add when and how to adjust here and there. I'm not that good, but here's what I did to make two smallish loaves. This is what fits into my dinky kitchen aid without spilling over.

2.25 tsp yeast
2 cups boiling water
1.5 cups rolled oats
~4 cups flour (this time I used 3 white, 1 white whole wheat)
scant 1/2 tsp sugar
1 T salt
2 T oil or softened butter (I used butter)
1/4 cup molasses or honey (I used honey this time)

-Pour the boiling water over the oats and let it sit until cool [if it's too hot in later steps you kill the yeast!]
-I poured off about half a cup of the oatmeal water into a glass measuring cup, let it cool to tepid and then added the yeast and sugar, let the yeast 'proof' or bubble.
-Add oatmeal and salt and yeast mixture to mixer.  Using the dough hook, start on low to combine then and add half the flour.
-Add the honey/molasses and the oil/butter while continuing to mix.
-Add the rest of the flour, scraping the sides between each cup.  Continue to stir on setting 2-3 for a minute or so. If the dough looks really sticky add a little more flour, maybe 1/2 cup. It's supposed to clean the sides of the bowl on its own.
-After the mixer kneads for about 3 minutes [I think my mom said it's possible to over mix in the kitchen aid], take out of the bowl and knead a few times on a floured board or countertop.
-Butter or oil the mixer or another bowl and put the dough back in and cover with a plate until it doubles in size.  Punch it down and then divide into two little loaves. Put them in greased loaf pans and let rise again [I think I hurried the two risings and my bread was a little too dense]
-Bake at 375 for 40-50 min [that's what her recipe says, but it seems to be a little too hot..] until the bread sounds hollow when you tap it. Turn out onto baking racks to cool.

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