Nothing beats homemade bread

The finished oatmeal loaves

     

      It was after I had just consumed an egg-in-a-basket prepared by Caroline using my homemade oatmeal bread, that it dawned on me that nothing beats homemade bread.  The morning before, I had made toast at work using my favorite store-bought bread, and it was clear to me that there was no comparison.  Even the best store-bought bread can't compare to a homemade loaf.  While I completely encourage people to make their own bread, I know that we all lead very busy lives and that it can sometimes be difficult to carve out the time to slow down and make something by hand.  Perhaps buying our loaves directly from a local bakery is a happy medium in between making our own, and buying it from a grocery store.  

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     I am lucky in Santa Cruz, because there are a dozen or more amazing local bakeries to choose from; Sumano’s in Watsonville, Kelly's on the Westside, The Buttery, Gayle's in Capitola, Beckman's, Emily's...the list goes on. I am living, quite literally, smack in the middle of some fine baked goods.  I want to explore these bakeries, find out how they retain the flavor and integrity in each loaf.  I am also interested in taking tours of commercial bakeries that operate on a large scale.  I imagine them to be full of people (or maybe even machines) that pour large containers of flour and vats of yeast and water into enormous standing mixers, but to be honest, I can't even fathom how that many loaves are made in one day.  It is a difficult feat to double a recipe, so centupling a recipe must require some interesting techniques or tricks.  In the same way that gardening and researching about food has made me a better cook, I hope that learning more about bakeries (small and large scale) and perhaps the ingredients of bread can give me a deeper understanding of the art of baking.

Measuring the flour

Oatmeal dough after the first rise

Kneading the dough

My favorite sight to see: dishes done and two loaves waiting to be consumed

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     Here's the recipe that inspired it all.  This oatmeal bread makes a delicious sandwich or toast and an exception egg-in-a-basket.  The oatmeal provides a confetti like appearance in each slice and also a satisfying chewy texture.

#8 Oatmeal Bread

Tassajara Bread Book  

3 cups lukewarm water 

2 packages dry yeast

1/4 cup honey or molasses

1 cup dry milk

2 cups unbleached white flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup oil

1-3 cups rolled oats

2-3 cups whole wheat flour for forming the dough and kneading

Proceed with the directions for recipe #1.