If you are looking for an easy recipe for a crusty and satisfying loaf of bread – this is the one! Oatmeal Honey No-Knead bread is definitely easy but it is also a little time consuming but so worth it. I wanted to make a bread to go with the home-made Tomato Macaroni Soup we were going to be having for dinner so it needed to be substantial. The dough was mixed together by 9 a.m. and the final loaves came out of the oven and 1 p.m. so 4 hours in total, but probably only 20-30 minutes of hands-on work.
The trick is to realize that working with no-knead dough it is going to be a little messy any way you end up handling it. So just get your hands and counter a little sticky and the end result will be absolutely beautiful and delicious. I had left the house with the loaves cooling on the counter and came back in 2 hours later and the aroma in the house was so amazing that I could have eaten the entire loaf right then and there. In fact we did end up eating the entire first loaf with our soup for dinner. The honey gives such a unique flavour to the dough. For this batch of dough I used the honey that I had bought on our trip to Greece earlier this year and it was definitely the perfect match.
A slice slathered in butter with a drizzle of the honey on top is tasty enough to count as a dessert but makes an amazing breakfast. Wish you were here to enjoy it with me!
- 4½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups quick oats (not instant)
- 1½ tbsp instant yeast
- 1½ tbsp fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup liquid honey
- 3 cups warm water (about 100 degrees F)
- In a very large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, oats, yeast and salt.
- Add the honey to the warm water and stir until the honey dissolves. Then add all at once to the flour mixture.
- With a wooden spoon mix together until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough is very even. It will be a very sticky dough and does not form a dough ball at all.
- Cover with plastic wrap and then drape a towel over top and put in a draft-free spot for 2 hours.
- Grease 2 loaf pans very well right up to the tops.
- Flour your work surface well and using a rubber spatula or bowl scraper turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Now using a bench scraper divide the dough in half.
- Sprinkle the surface of the dough with a few teaspoons of flour and using the bench scraper form one half into a loaf shape. Carefully using your hand and the bench scraper transfer the dough to the greased pan. Repeat with the second half of the dough.
- Let the uncovered dough rise in the pans for at least 90 minutes or until it reaches the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Carefully transfer the pans to the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is dark brown or an instant read thermometer inserted in the middle of the loaf reads 190 degrees F.
- Remove the bread immediately from the pan. Slide an offset spatula around the outside first to ensure the bread has not stuck to the sides, then turn out on to a cooling rack to cool.