Bake up a loaf of soft and chewy maple oatmeal bread that turns out perfectly sweet and tender with just a few simple ingredients. You can even use leftover oatmeal!
Making homemade bread can be a little intimidating. I was once there too, as I thought that it must be too time-consuming, too difficult, or it might not come out right.
But after I started learning which ingredients to avoid in food, and also started grocery budgeting, I realized that the learning curve would be worth it. And it was – for the health of my family, but also for our pocketbooks!
I started with quick and easy breads like No-Knead Overnight Artisan Bread and 90 Minute Man Bread.
After I found out that my daughter is sensitive to gluten, we started using einkorn (which is great for many people who have gluten sensitivity) in breads like my No-Knead Einkorn Sourdough Bread and my Little Bother Oat Bread.
That first oat bread recipe was crazy easy, super moist, and perfect for sandwiches. We love using it for lunches and even snacks, but we wanted a sweeter bread…something maple-y, especially during the fall season.
Enter this amazing recipe for Maple Oatmeal Bread! Oh my goodness, it’s hearty, soft, sweet and savory, and perfect for fall!
MAPLE OATMEAL BREAD RECIPE
Not only did this maple oatmeal bread recipe bring a delicious change from the norm, but I also LOVE that it’s:
- Made with oatmeal. We’re using fresh or leftover oatmeal instead of oat flour for this recipe which means it contains LESS gluten AND I can save money on einkorn flour.
- Better than storebought. This oatmeal bread recipe uses maple syrup instead of high fructose corn syrup for a light sweetness, and there are no preservatives or names of ingredients that you won’t recognize!
- Versatile. You can use all-purpose flour or whole wheat einkorn (I use this one), and it’s easy to make dairy free (just omit the butter when making the oatmeal or use coconut oil instead).
- Slices well. This oatmeal bread recipe makes great sandwiches and fantastic French Toast.
MAPLE OATMEAL BREAD RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You only need a few simple ingredients for this oatmeal bread recipe.
- water
- oats (rolled oats or steel-cut)
- butter
- salt
- active dry yeast
- maple syrup
- all-purpose or whole wheat einkorn flour
Psst! Not all salts are made the same! I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because it doesn’t have microplastics (gross, right?) and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt (just pay shipping and handling!).
Can I use leftover oatmeal in maple oatmeal bread?
Yes! You can use leftover oatmeal in this recipe! Go ahead and make a little extra Instant Pot Oatmeal and save it for Leftover Oatmeal Chocolate Cake and this maple oatmeal bread.
Oatmeal made from old fashioned oats, quick oats, or instant oats works wonderfully!
HOW TO MAKE MAPLE OATMEAL BREAD
Step 1. Make oatmeal with 1 ½ cups water + 1 cup oats + 1 Tbsp butter + ¾ tsp salt. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until the oatmeal is no warmer than 115° (or use about 2 cups of leftover oatmeal).
Step 2. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast and ¼ cup warm water. Let sit until the yeast has proofed.
Step 3. Add the oatmeal mixture to the yeast, along with the ½ cup room-temperature water and maple syrup. Stir.
Step 4. Gradually add flour and knead on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Step 5. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Step 6. Spray two loaf pans with cooking spray and divide the dough in half. On a very lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a ball and loosely cover it with plastic wrap. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Step 7. Form into two loaves and place seam side down into pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. You can sprinkle additional old-fashioned oats on top before baking if you would like.
Alternatively, use a cookie sheet or cupcake tins for rolls. Shape the dough into rounds for oatmeal bread rolls.
Step 8. Preheat the oven to 375° and score each loaf with a sharp knife before baking. Bake until golden brown, for 40 to 45 minutes. (Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes). Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving. Yields two loaves of maple oatmeal bread.
This maple oatmeal bread is amazing served fresh and slathered with butter, but it will keep for a few days at room temperature in a resealable bag or airtight container. You can also make a double or triple batch and freeze some for later. I suggest slicing the loaf before freezing – see my Ultimate Guide to Freezing Baked Goods for all my tips.
SERVE RECIPES FOR OATMEAL BREAD WITH
Enjoy this oatmeal bread recipe sliced up and slathered with butter, jam, peanut butter, or honey! Eat it toasted, or make a yummy sandwich!
Maple oatmeal bread is also a great side option for all sorts of meals:
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
- Kale Salad with Blueberries, Walnuts, and Feta
- Instant Pot White Bean and Sausage Soup
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie
Or bake a loaf to serve as part of your Thanksgiving dinner!
FAQS FOR BREAD RECIPES WITH OATS
Does this oat bread recipe contain wheat?
Yes. Bread recipes with oats typically contain oatmeal and wheat flour. You can use either all-purpose flour or whole wheat einkorn flour, which is what I use. If you are gluten-free, you can try an all-purpose gluten free flour, but I haven’t tested it in this recipe myself. Often, people who have a gluten sensitivity to hybridized wheat can tolerate einkorn flour. Of course, einkorn wouldn’t work for someone with celiac.
Is this maple oatmeal bread recipe easy to make?
If you are an experienced baker, this recipe will come naturally to you. If you are a new baker, I recommend No-Knead Artisan Bread and Man Bread to get the hang of baking your own bread first.
Why are oats unsuitable for bread making?
Oats work wonderfully as PART of the bread dough – they add a slightly sweet, almost nutty flavor to the bread. However, oats don’t have the gluten proteins that whole wheat flour does, so if you only used oats in recipes for oatmeal bread, your bread wouldn’t rise and develop that pillowy soft, fluffy texture.
MORE YUMMY BREAD RECIPES
- Very Little Bother Oat Bread
- Potato Buttermilk Bread
- No-Yeast Bread
- Homemade Pita Bread
- Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread
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Maple Oatmeal Bread
Bake up a loaf of soft and chewy maple oatmeal bread that turns out perfectly sweet and tender with just a few simple ingredients. You can even use leftover oatmeal!
- Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
- Category: Breads
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 cup oats (steel-cut or rolled)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water (105°-110°)
- ¾ cup maple syrup (room temperature)
- ½ cup water (room temperature)
- 3 ¾ – 4 cups all-purpose or whole wheat einkorn flour
Instructions
- Make oatmeal with 1 ½ cups water + 1 cup oats + 1 Tbsp butter + ¾ tsp salt. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until the oatmeal is no warmer than 115° (or use leftover oatmeal).
- In a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl, combine 2 ½ tsp yeast and ¼ cup warm water. Let sit until the yeast has proofed and creates beer-like foam (5 to 10 minutes).
- Add the oatmeal mixture to the yeast, along with the ½ cup room-temperature water and ⅓ cup maple syrup. Stir or mix until it is well combined.
- Gradually add flour and knead on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Transfer to a greased bowl, turn over once to coat, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
- Spray two loaf pans (or a cookie sheet or cupcake tins for rolls) with cooking spray and divide the dough in half. On a very lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a ball and loosely cover it with plastic wrap. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Form into two loaves (or several rounds for rolls) and place seam side down into pans. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume (1 to 1 ½ hours). You can sprinkle additional old-fashioned oats on top before baking if you would like.
- Preheat the oven to 375° and score each loaf with a thin blade or sharp knife before baking (basically make 3-4 small, shallow cuts in each loaf). Bake until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, and your baked bread is golden brown, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving. Yields two loaves of maple oatmeal bread.
Notes
- Don’t skip the scoring!
- You can use leftover oatmeal in this recipe! Go ahead and make a little extra Instant Pot oatmeal, and save it for chocolate oatmeal cake and this maple oatmeal bread.
- To make maple oatmeal bread rolls: Use a cookie sheet or cupcake tins for rolls. Shape the dough into rounds for oatmeal bread rolls. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 slices
- Calories: 145
This made a delicious loaf! Not too dense, but hearty, and the cooked oats added the right amount of moistness while still having a good crumb. Instead of maple syrup I added blackstrap molasses.
I only got one loaf.
Hi
Could you use YL Einkorn flour in place of the whole wheat four in this recipe?
Have you tried it with the healthy Einkorn flour!? TY!
Hi Maureen,
You can definitely replace the whole wheat flour in the recipe for YL Einkorn flour. I’m sure it will come out great!
Delicious bread! The only drawback is how long you have to wait! Haha.
My kids (5,3,1) loved it. The sweetness at the end is just subtle enough to be used on savory sandwiches and delicious enough to eat plain.
Hi Ashlee!
We’re so glad your family loved this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
This is amazing! I am so glad I found this recipe while trying to find what to do with leftover steel cut oats. I must have had over two cups of leftover oatmeal because the dough was quite sticky. I had to use an extra cup of flour. I used 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat. The end result is perfect! It’s crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
Hi Andrea,
That sounds so YUMMY! We’re glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Could this be made in a bread machine?
I don’t have a bread machine Renee, but it probably can!
FYI, there seems to be a glitch on your forward/backward post link on this page (goes “back” to oatmeal packets in August 2015 and then never gets back on the 2012 thread), as does the “forward” button from the August 2012 Healthy Benefits of Oatmeal post. I was trying to read the posts for the August 2012 pantry challenge, and I could not easily click forward through the pages.
I made this and it’s so sticky and I don’t know why 😔 I’m trying so had lol. I followed everything in the recipe.
This is happening to me too 🙁 I just added more flour, and I’m hoping for the best :/
I agree. The ratio of wet to dry ingredients seems off. The dough is much too sticky. I did knead another cup of all purpose flour trying to make it workable, but the results went directly into the compost. I followed the recipe as I had no experience with either oatmeal or Einkorn flour. It doesn’t make sense. 2 loaves need more than 3+ to 4 cups of flour. Did anyone make this successfully?
If I’m truly using leftover oatmeal how much cooked oatmeal should I use? Thanks!
About 1/2 cup of raw oats makes 1 cup cooked, so you’ll need about 2 cups of oatmeal.
If I was going to use this recipe for buns, what temperature/how long should I bake them?
Approximately how many buns would it make? I’m new to bread baking and only own one bread pan, I figure I should start with buns before I go out and buy another bread pan ?
Hi Victoria! One loaf of bread makes abut 12 rolls. If you can, try one bread pan + one muffin pan, because the texture isn’t exactly the same in muffins. Still good though, just different. Bake them for about 20-25 minutes before pulling one out to test for doneness.
Thanks!
Could you give directions for the crockpot baking method? Just grease the crock and bake on high for how long? Maybe 4 hours? What do you do. It looses so much heat to open and check it, I think a ballpark figure would help.
I’d like to make this with freshly ground whole wheat, do You think it will work?
Thanks for your recipes, I love your approach.
Here you go, Spring: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/when-life-gives-you-a-broken-oven-bake-bread-in-a-slow-cooker/
And yes, freshly ground whole wheat will work!
This sounds delicious! I have both oat flour and flax seed meal that I am trying to use up and I think it would be delicious in this bread. Any ideas or tips on how to compensate for those being a good bit denser than flour?
Thanks Sally! You’ll need some wheat flour in there somewhere since there’s no gluten (i.e. no rise properties) in oat flour. You could treat the flaxmeal like an egg substitute and add, and it will give some fluffy chew to the bread. I hope this helps!
This bread looks absolutely scrumptious! And with cinnamon butter? Oh my! Only question is, do you know if this recipe can be adapted to a break maker? I have two, so I could put half the ingredients in each machine, but I don’t know if it would work or not.
Ooh! Partner in crime!
haha to the quako comment!!! This bread looks yummy and very healthy!!!
Thanks for linking up to last week’s Tuesday Confessional link party! You’ve been featured and pinned to my Tuesday Confessional board on Pinterest!
Congrats!
~Macy
Thanks Macy!
Saw your recipe link at Petite Hermine Sunday Linky Party. Maple Oatmeal is my favorite. Bet your bread is delish.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can only imagine how good this bread will smell while it’s toasting.
Quak-o ha ha ha ha! Well, I don’t mind a few days of oats, especially if this tasty sounding loaf of bread is included. I want to toast it up and slather it with apple butter! Thanks for adding it to the BYOB bread basket this month 😀
Mmm… apple butter! How about using this for french toast with an apple compote? YUM!
Mmm! I love homemade bread! This looks yummy!
I love baking with yeast, and this is a very unique loaf
It looks great and sounds wonderful!