Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Bread

I love making bread, especially wholesome, hearty bread. It's downright delicious.

This is my first bread with whole wheat flour, and it came out great. It may not have risen as well as I thought it would, but it tastes fantastic. It's also exactly what we wanted: a loaf of sandwich-style bread that's perfect for lunches. It's almost too good to put anything between though!

The oats gave this bread a great crunch, and helped add to the whole grain profile as well. More whole grain = more wholesome. I'm particularly impressed, as you may be able to tell.

A few notes: It is very important to let the dough double in size each time. It will need a warm place for this, so try a low-heated oven if you need to. Also, take out of the pan (used a 9x5, but size doesn't matter too much) and tap the bottom after baking. If it sounds hollow, it's done! Let cool before devouring.

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/6 canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Directions

1. Soften the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water for 5 minutes.

2. Add the sugar, 1/2 cup of the flour, 1/2 cup of the whole wheat flour and the rest of the water. Mix well and allow to stand for fifteen minutes.

3. Mix in the salt, the oil, the oats, and the rest of the flour until a soft dough is formed. Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Dough will be sticky.

5. Place in an oiled bowl, turning to oil all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or so, until doubled in bulk.

6. Punch down and form into a loaf. Place in a lightly oiled loaf pan and allow to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

7. Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes. Take out of pan and tap the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it's done! Let cool before devouring.