Oatmeal Sourdough Bread

Remember that overnight oatmeal I made last week? In searching for something fun and creative to do with the leftovers, I came across the perfect recipe - Oatmeal Sourdough Bread. I mean, what could be better - a delicious bread that uses not only my leftover steel cut oats, but sourdough as well? Perfect!

This recipe was actually super easy.

It starts with the two main ingredients - leftover cooked steel-cut oats and sourdough starter.

Then, right in the bow of my stand mixer, I added water, salt, oil and maple syrup (the recipe called for molasses or honey, but I used maple syrup to match the flavoring in the oatmeal).

Then, as that mixed with the dough hook, it was time to add the flour. The recipe called for three and a half to four cups, but I needed almost another full cup in order for the dough to come together nicely.

I then kneaded the dough by hand for a few minutes. I was amazed at how smooth the dough was. I mean, other the pieces of oatmeal you could see throughout the dough. And then we were ready for the first rise.

Now, this being sourdough, the key ingredient is time. The first rise is supposed to be a minimum or four hours. I chose to let mine rise overnight. And considering that I started the dough in the afternoon, that "overnight" turned into almost 16 hours.


The good news is that I learned that my sourdough starter is nice and healthy. Because man did this dough rise!

I actually hadn't expected to see quite this much dough - I'd only expected to make one loaf. But there was plenty to make two good sized loaves.

Which then rested for another couple of hours.


The hardest part of the process was deciding what pattern I was going to slash into the top of the loaves before popping them into the oven.  The dough was so soft, though, that, in the end, I went simple.

It was interesting to see how the two loaves baked up. I'd intended to rotate the pans halfway through the baking, but got busy playing with the kiddos and forgot.  So the crusts baked up a little unevenly... the loaf on the top rack darkened much more than the one on the bottom...

But I was more curious to see the inside.

Holy holes! 

And it tasted delicious. It was a really interesting combination of sweet, from the oatmeal and maple syrup, and tangy, from the sourdough.

And with the crisp crust and airy crumb, this bread made a great side for soup or base for sandwiches.  I will definitely be making this again.

Oatmeal Sourdough Bread

(slightly adapted from Baking Bites)

1 cup sourdough starter

1 cup cooked oatmeal (steel cut are recommended)

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon salt

3 1/2 - 4 cups bread flour (I needed almost a cup more)

Combine starter, oats, water, syrup and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. With mixer on low, slowly add the flour until the dough comes together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, adding extra flour if necessary. Knead until dough is smooth and somewhat firm.

Place the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least four hours, or overnight.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface. Gently deflate the dough and shape it into a round loaf (I made two). Transfer the loaf (loaves) onto a parchment lined baking sheet (or two...) and cover loosely with plastic wrap (I sprayed my plastic wrap with non-stick spray so that it wouldn't stick to the dough). Allow loaf (loaves) to rise for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Just before baking, slash the top(s) of the loaf (loaves) with a sharp knife.

Bake for 40 minutes. When the bread is done, it will sound hollow when tapped.

Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

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