Naked Cupcakes: Honey Oat Bread

Thats right! I finally did it. I got over my fear and tackled the art of making bread. And you know what? It wasn't that bad! In fact, it was a delicious adventure and I can not wait to try it out again.

I found this recipe on tastykitchen.com and the actual recipe from that site can be found here. This recipe had a ton of awesome reviews, and they were all very well deserved! If you are looking for a tasty and healthy bread recipe, then I will definitely recommend this one.

Another bonus? Trying out this recipe also gave me a chance to use the dough hook attachment on my KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer (oh how I love that machine) for the first time, which I found very exciting!

This is a whole wheat bread, so it is a little bit heavier than if you are used to white bread. It is fantastic for making sandwiches, or for toasting in the morning for breakfast (or for supper, like I may have done today). I think this recipe can also be tweaked to add other fun elements, maybe something tasty like sunflower seeds! This recipe produces two loaves, so you can easily freeze one for later.

Honey Oat Bread

4 1/2 tsps Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cups honey
4 tbsps butter
2 1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
2 3/4 cups flour
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats (the quick cooking variety)
1 egg

Heat the butter and the honey in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter is completely melted.
Remove from heat and add the warm water
Test the mixture to make sure it is warm to the touch (but not hot), and then add the active dry yeast
Stir in the yeast, and let it sit for about 10 minutes until it is really bubbly. Note: If your yeast is not producing bubbles at this point, the liquid may have been too hot, not warm enough, or your yeast may be expired. These things happen to the best of us! If your yeast expiry date has not passed, then try again and really monitor the temperature of the liquids before adding the yeast, the bubbles are key to fluffy bread.
Pour the bubbly yeast mixture into a bowl, and then add the salt, 1 cup regular flour, and 2 cups whole wheat flour. If you have a stand mixer, you can mix this up with the dough hook attachment
After it is mixed, beat the mixture for 2 minutes
Add the egg, and then 1 cup whole wheat flour, and beat for another 2 minutes
Add the oats, the remaining whole wheat flour, and 1 cup regular flour
Knead with your hands on a floured surface (or with the dough-hook attachment on your mixer) until it is nice and soft. I had to add all of the remaining regular flour to get it to the correct consistency (it was originally really sticky)
Grease a bowl with butter and place the ball of dough inside the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour
After the dough has risen and doubled in size, punch it down and then place it onto a floured surface.
Cover, and let rise for about 15 - 20 minutes
Split the dough into two equal pieces, and place each piece into a loaf pan
Cover the loaf pans with a tea towel and let the loaves rise for another hour
Bake the loaves at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes