We've been trying to get away from buying bread for a long time. It just isn't convenient to plan, proof, and bake a loaf every time we need one, but now that I am baking bread almost everyday it just seems odd to buy those bland loaves from the store. (Can you say run-on sentence?) It doesn't really save money, because bread is cheap and good flour isn't. Another thing is that we just haven't ever found a recipe that is reliable and good every time...until now. I think we have finally found our loaf...Bernard Clayton's Sourdough Oatmeal loaf. This bread is very good, and relatively easy to make. As you can see from the pics, it is a very nice loaf.
The crumb is very moist, but holds up as a sandwich. There is a little tang from the sourdough, but a sweetness from the honey. The crust is golden and colorful. The recipe is very reliable...so far.
There are little tender chunks of oats throughout the bread, that give it just a little texture. I substitute about a cup of fine ground whole wheat flour for some of the bread flour to make it a little more healthy.
If you haven't seen Bernard Clayton's book I would highly recommend it. The name of it is The New Complete Book of Breads. I actually don't have it yet...I got it from the library, but it has a bunch of nice looking recipes and new ideas for bread. If Sandy will let me get another book (I've purchased several bread baking books in the last month) I will be getting this one. I thought I had all of the books that I wanted, but there always seems to be just one more...
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