This Oatmeal Bread recipe will give you the most delicious, moist, and fluffy bread you’ve ever tasted! Simple and easy recipe for beginning bakers. Enjoy with homemade soup like Minestrone or Chicken Noodle.
In our house, we like to eat homemade bread. It’s healthier than store-bought bread, made of real food ingredients, and it’s simply delicious.
However homemade bread sometimes takes time. Between work, family obligations, kids’ school activities, and household duties, who has all of the extra time to make bread from scratch?
Enter oatmeal bread. Not only are oats really, really good for you, but making oat flour is incredibly easy.
I started making homemade oat flour quite some time ago. I often substitute a cup or two for all-purpose flour in muffin and cookie recipes without a huge impact on flavor. In fact, it often keeps the baked goods from drying out so quickly.
This bread was delicious plain and with butter. So good in fact that those slices were all I was able to capture before the rest of the loaf was gobbled up. The slightly sweet and chewy texture also inspired another bread recipe – cinnamon raisin swirl!
Oatmeal Bread
Not only will your family devour this delicious oatmeal bread, but it’s also a perfect recipe because:
- Oats are healthy, which increases the nutrition of your homemade bread!
- It’s easy! Without complicated ingredients and techniques, this oatmeal bread is perfect for beginning bakers.
- It’s versatile! With a slightly sweet and nutty flavor, oatmeal bread is perfect plain, with butter, or even as sandwiches.
What is Oat Bread made of?
- Water** (see notes below if you’re not using einkorn)
- Granulated sugar
- Yeast
- Oat flour (how to make homemade oat flour)
- All-purpose einkorn flour** (see notes below if you’re not using einkorn)
- Vital wheat gluten
- Salt
- Butter, soft or melted
Is Oatmeal Bread good for you?
Yes! This article from The Harvard School of Public Health talks about how healthy oats are. Not only that, but this oatmeal bread recipe is made from simple real food ingredients from scratch. Simple, unprocessed real food ingredients provide the best fuel and nutrition for our bodies.
How do you make oatmeal bread from scratch?
- In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, water, and sugar and let sit until foamy. Add remaining ingredients until the dough is slightly sticky but thick, smooth, and elastic.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes; punch down.
- Cover the bowl and let rise again for 30 minutes; punch down.
- Preheat the oven. Split the dough and shape into two loaves. Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to completely cool before slicing (if you can!).
What Does Oatmeal Bread Taste Like?
Oats have a naturally nutty and sweet flavor. This bread is soft, moist with the most perfect chewy texture. It’s so versatile that it would go well with butter as an accompaniment to my homemade minestrone soup, or perfect as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
More Easy Bread Recipes
- No Yeast Bread
- Homemade Pita Bread
- No-Knead Overnight Artisan Bread
- 90 Minute Man Bread
- No-Knead Einkorn Sourdough Bread
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This Very Little Bother Oat Bread recipe will give you the most delicious, tasty, moist, and fluffy bread you’ve ever experienced! Easy recipe novice bakers.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 35 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours, 5 mins
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
- Category: Breads
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups water** (see notes below if you’re not using einkorn)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp yeast
- 2 cups oat flour (how to make homemade oat flour)
- 3 – 3 ½ cups all-purpose einkorn flour** (see notes below if you’re not using einkorn)
- ½ cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup butter, soft or melted
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl, combine yeast, water, and sugar and let sit until foamy. Add salt, oil, oat flour, 3 cups bread flour and vital wheat gluten. Mix until a sticky dough forms. Gradually add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is slightly sticky but thick.
- Cover bowl with a towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes; punch down.
- Cover bowl and let rise again for 30 minutes; punch down.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On the work surface, split the dough and shape it into two loaves. Place the loaves seam down into lightly greased loaf pans. Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Bake the bread for 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before slicing (if you can!).
Notes
** If you’re using modern wheat (whole wheat, bread flour, or all-purpose flour), increase the water to 2 ¼ cups. You may also need to increase the flour to up to 5 cups.
What’s your favorite variation of oat bread?
Heather
Hi,
I want to try making this bread but I have a son who can’t have dairy. Eliminating dairy is a new thing for us so I am not used to figuring it out yet. Is there something that I can replace the butter with?
Tiffany
Hi Heather,
Melted coconut oil will work in place of butter in just about any baking recipe. Here’s a link with more great information on the health benefits of coconut oil. Almost more than butter! 😉 Let us know how it turns out! ~Tiffany
Cassandra
Hi there, I’m a newbie here on this blog, but I’m already addicted! I downloaded your 22 days to a Fresh Start Series and have been happily humming along through the steps. Thank you so much for breaking it all down into bite sized morsels for me! I’m always stressed about trying to do it all at once (all or nothing mentality) and doing it perfectly, ugh. I’m overwhelmed before I can even start! But, now I’ve already done the first 7 steps and I’ve followed the trail here for baking bread. I’ve never made a loaf from scratch in my life, true story, lol. I have a bread machine and have used that before, but that’s cheating I’m sure, haha! I’d really like to try this recipe, but I don’t have any bread flour, is all purpose doable? Have you ever tried it? And, I have old fashioned oats and also steel cut oats, do either work for making into oat flour? Thanks so much!
Tiffany
Welcome Cassandra! So glad you’re HAPPILY humming! 🙂
Bread machine definitely counts. I’d probably use one if I had one, but I don’t and I’m too frugal to buy one (even used!).
Here’s some bread basics: gluten is what makes bread soft and spongey. Bread flour has more gluten than AP, which is why it’s preferred for bread purposes, although it doesn’t have THAT much more. Long story short, you can use AP if you have vital wheat gluten. If you don’t have VWG, reduce the ground oats to 1 cup for the first batch. The VWG counteracts the heavy weight of oats. If you use the full 2 cups of oat flour and AP without any additional “oomp” to help it rise, you may end up with a brick (although still tasty!).
Use whichever oats cost you the least for oat flour. Steel cut oats typically cost a bit more so I’d use those specifically for oatmeal. For recipes where you don’t actually eat the oat itself (i.e. cookies, cakes, this bread…) use the old fashioned and grind away!
Best of luck Cassandra! Happy to have you on board! ~Tiffany
Kinzie
White sugar being bad and all… do you use a natural sugar? Or since the sugar is mostly food for the yeast, does it really matter what kind you use? Just wondering. 🙂
Tiffany
Kinzie,
Changing to a more natural sugar is on the horizon. Baby steps. 😉 When it comes to bread, I tend to use white sugar because it’s typically a small amount (2T – 1/4 cup for 2-3 loaves), and because it’s mostly for the yeast to feed. It does have some rise properties, but I don’t know exactly how much since I’ve never tried these recipes without the sugar (afraid they’d do kaput, which would make a frustrated Mama who was needing some bread!).
I have successfully subbed honey and maple syrup in this particular recipe and each gives a slightly different flavor and compliment the oats REALLY well (makes an AWESOME PBJ sammy). When it comes to white sugar, I’m more concerned about sweet foods that use a larger quantity of it. Our first line of defense is to cut back on the quantity of sugar in each recipe, and making them less frequently – the latter helping the most. I recently make a chocolate cake and accidentally forgot half the sugar – came out delicious and couldn’t imagine it being any sweeter. I’d like to get the bulk of my sugar experimentation out of the way before I start spending the money on the good stuff. 🙂 ~Tiffany
Becky
Can I sub honey for sugar and use all purpose in place of bread flour as well?
Tiffany
Yes to the honey for sugar, but if you use AP I’d add vital wheat gluten. There’s no gluten in oats and you need the extra oomph for rise. 😉
Jen
Is there something I can substitute for the gluten?
Tiffany
Jen,
I originally added the gluten because I didn’t know how adding oat flour would affect the rise. Each time I make this I’ve used less and less (currently at 3T). If you didn’t use any gluten, may not rise as high after baking but you should still be ok. Be sure to use white sugar and not honey or any other sweetener – without the gluten you’ll need the extra rise property that white sugar gives. ~Tiffany
Michelle
Mmmm, I love homemade bread and this looks really good. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Lea H @ Nourishing Treasures
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
April @ The 21st Century Housewife
I love the flavour of oat breads, and they are so good for you too. Thank you for sharing this easy and delicious recipe.
Miz Helen
Hi Tiffany,
That bread looks delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a great weekend and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Sheryl @ Lady Behind The Curtain
I love your recipe! Thanks for sharing it with us at Cast Party Wednesday!
~Sheryl~
Nancy Roberts
Looks really good…I love to make bread and I’m sure the family appreciates it! Thanks for posting, Nancy from livininthegreen.blogspot.com
Beth
I like the way you think. There are a lot of ways to improve our nutrition but it’s impossible, and impractical, to do them all at once, or maybe not even all at the same time. Making little improvements here and there is how we change our habbits for a life time. We actually don’t even eat that much bread. Still, I love to make some every now and then, and that makes it a little more special. Thanks for sharing.
Tiffany
I couldn’t agree with you more Beth!
Annette
This looks so yummy!
Winnie
I love working with yeast, and this bread looks great.
I definitely want to try it
Pinning this
nicholl
that sounds incredible!
Have a great night! Stop by nichollvincent.blogspot.com and say hello! xo
Allyssa
Yum. I love fresh bread! Thanks for sharing!
Krista@EverydayMom'sMeals
Mmmmm, I’m such a bread fiend! I’m the girl who fills up on bread and is too full by the time my entree comes. LOL Thanks for sharing at Church Supper. Have a blessed week & come bacon soon!
Rebecca
This looks great! I’ve been making an oatmeal bread that also has white flour in it. This looks like a more wholesome recipe. I will definitely give this one a try!
Wendy
I made this bread yesterday. It was easy and pretty tasty. Except it seemed a little too salty. I went over in my mind the recipe and remember thinking, wow, 2 tablespoons of salt?! Then this morning I looked at the actual recipe that I printed out and realized I’d misread it. 2 teaspoons, Wendy! When I make this again I will be more careful. 😉
Tiffany
Oh Wendy! I have to admit – I thought of you when I made another batch a couple days ago. I had to check and recheck the salt measurements, just in case. Oh well, worst case scenario you have seasoned breadcrumbs!
Mary Katherine
This one looks pretty good. Will definitely have to try this one !
Steph (The Cheapskate Cook)
Yay! So glad you guys liked it. We totally think the same, because I turned it into cinnamon raisin swirl too (http://thecheapskatecook.com/2010/08/02/healthified-sweets-cinnamon-raisin-swirl-bread/). I really want to see your version with the oat bread! Sounds delicious.