Vacation Bread

Right now I’m on a rare vacation in rural Vermont: taking walks, looking at leaves and hosting house guests; and while house guests are really just friends, when then are staying with you they become something else. They become people whose needs are your problem. They become people who require coffee and sustenance. Hopefully they can make coffee. All you need to do is make some Oatmeal Bread.

This bread is an old-school American sandwich loaf--the kind we have all but forgotten about in our current mania for crusty, European-style breads. There exists a powerful collective nostalgia for this type of bread, and yet it is the type of all-purpose loaf that is almost impossible to find. It’s soft and homey, perfect with butter or as peanut butter toast, equally delicious when made into grilled cheese or as the foundation for glorious leftover-roast-chicken sandwiches. In other words, it will feed your guests for several meals a day and leave you time to do the crossword.

Made with rolled oats, a bit of honey and milk (or buttermilk!), this dough is relatively stiff and thus easy to knead by hand, in case your stand mixer is back in Seattle. I like to bake it in a loaf tin, but if you are without one, it’s just as happy baked freeform. As far as breads go, it’s pretty quick: about two and half hours from start to finish. Make it for yourself, make it for your friends. And if you’re lucky enough to be going on vacation this Columbus Say weekend, don’t forget to pack the recipe.

Oatmeal Sandwich Loaf

Makes one 8 or 9” loaf

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

2 T unsalted butter

1 cup cold buttermilk or whole milk

3 tablespoons honey

1 envelope or 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

2 3/4 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons salt

Bring the water to a boil, add the oatmeal and cook for an additional minute; remove from heat and stir in butter. When the butter is melted, add the milk or buttermilk, honey and yeast. Transfer oatmeal mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer, add the flour and salt and mix with hook attachment on low until dough is smooth and wraps around the hook (5-6 min.). If you are mixing by hand, put 2 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl, pour the oatmeal mixture on top and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is stiff. Turn the dough out onto a surface that has been dusted with the remaining 1/4 cup flour and knead by hand until smooth.

Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover and lest rest in a warm place until doubled, about one hour. Turn dough onto a floured surface and press all air out of the dough, then shape into a rectangle, roughly 6” wide. Roll the rectangle tightly starting on the 6” side and pinch in the end of the dough, making sure not to roll excess flour up into the loaf. Grease an 8 or 9” loaf pan and fit the dough into the pan, press the dough as needed so that it fits snugly. Let dough rise, covered for an hour or until doubled in bulk. Just before baking, make a 1/4” deep slit down the middle lengthwise of the loaf. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until golden brown (an instant read thermometer should read 200 F). Let rest in pan for 15 minutes, then unfold the loaf and let cool completely on a rack.