Scottish Oatmeal Bread
A mildly fruity and homey bread, with a chewy-crisp crust. The original recipe called for currants, and I substituted dried cranberries.
A mildly fruity and homey bread, with a chewy-crisp crust. The original recipe called for currants, and I substituted dried cranberries.
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2.5 cups unbleached white bread flour plus 1/4 cup more as needed
- 1.75 teaspoon table salt
- 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1.25 cups ice water plus more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest finely grated
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup old fashioined oats
- 2/3 cup boiling water
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 2/3 cup dried currants or cranberries
- Carbohydrate 48.9818560698036 g
- Cholesterol 26.1685714285714 mg
- Fat 11.0892664866793 g
- Fiber 1.90200817007082 g
- Protein 5.82657326332022 g
- Saturated Fat 6.3599906701714 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (99g)
- Sodium 297.430232700508 mg
- Sugar 47.0798478997328 g
- Trans Fat 1.43906610762049 g
- Calories 316 calories
Step-by-step
- using the dough hook on a mixer combine flour, salt, yeast, allspice, and nutmeg. add ice water and orange zest. brush with butter or olive oil.
- refrigerate for 3-10 hours and let rise for 12-18 hours or let rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- in a separate bowl, stir oats into boiling water until blended. let stand 5 minutes, stir in butter and sugar until dissolved. add to dough and mix until thoroughly incorporated. add in 3/4 cup flour and currants until evenly distributed.
- butter a loaf pan and coat with 2 tablespoons oats. add dough to pan, press into pan evenly. brush with melted butter and sprinkle with oats. press down to imbed them. slash loaf down center 1/2 inch deep. cover with plastic wrap.
- let rise until nears plastic, then remove plastic and continue rise until dough extends just to the pan rim.
- preheat oven to 375 degrees. bake 65-75 minutes until center registers 204 degrees.
- cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. remove loaf to the rack and cool thoroughly.
When the baking time reaches sixty-five minutes, evaluating the internal structure determines whether the loaf is finished. Relying solely on the clock risks removing dense, underbaked crumb from the oven. Tapping the bottom of the pan produces a hollow sound when the loaf is fully baked, signaling that moisture has sufficiently evaporated from the center. Inserting an instant-read thermometer into the middle of the loaf provides absolute certainty when it registers 204 degrees Fahrenheit.
Achieving the characteristic chewy crust and tender crumb depends entirely on how the starches hydrate during mixing. Pouring boiling water directly over the old-fashioned oats gelatinizes the starches before they meet the flour, creating moisture retention that keeps the bread soft for days. Conversely, adding too much extra unbleached white bread flour during the final mixing stages creates a heavy, dense loaf by disrupting the delicate gluten network required for an open crumb structure.
Cooling the bread properly preserves the final texture. Leaving the loaf in the loaf pan on a wire rack for ten to fifteen minutes allows the internal steam to redistribute without making the bottom crust soggy. Transferring the loaf directly to the wire rack afterwards ensures air circulates freely around all sides as the temperature drops to room temperature.
