It’s difficult to find a true sourdough oatmeal bread recipe. Most oatmeal bread recipes are for either straight doughs (using dried yeast) or for recipes that use a combination of sourdough starter and yeast. So I ended up creating my own recipe. And it is a winner! Sorry – I try to be humble but this bread was so good that I ended up making two large loaves in one week. I’d like to say that the whole family was over but that would be a lie. My husband and I ate both loaves ourselves. It really is that good. So I can’t tell you how long this bread lasts before it dries out or gets moldy because it didn’t hang around that long in my house. I bet it won’t in yours either.
Start by mixing the following ingredients in a large bowl or your stand mixer.
- 2 cups sourdough starter
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (either old-fashioned or quick)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 – 1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk
Combine until a loose dough forms. Cover and let sit 30 minutes.
Knead dough 5 – 10 minutes or until dough is smooth. The dough will still be quite wet. That’s ok if you are using a stand mixer. If you are kneading by hand you my need to add a little more flour to keep the dough from sticking. Just add as little as possible as we want to keep this a soft dough.
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place, about 2 hours.
Shape dough and place in a large greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise for an additional 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
If you are using a regular metal or glass loaf pan bake at 375 degrees for 50 – 55 minutes or until the interior reaches 200 degrees (I use my trusty digital thermometer for this). If you are using an unglazed terra cotta pan (like I do, shown above) follow the directions that come with the pan. For example, I soak the pan in water for 15 minutes and then place the bread in a cold oven, set the temperature to 475 and bake for about 50 minutes.
When done, remove from pan and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. This is important to let the crumb set so you will get nice even slices.
As I noted above, this recipe is the “best ever.” I have made hundreds of sourdough breads and this is by far my favorite. It’s a great combination of of whole grains (oatmeal) without being heavy, a nice light but well-textured bread, with the extra tangy flavor of sourdough. What about you? What is your favorite sourdough bread?
Check out some of these other great sourdough recipes too:
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes at Rural Spin
Sourdough English Muffins: JuJu’s Kitchen
Lots of great recipes over at the Wild Yeast blog, Yeastspotting:
I recently made a sourdough starter and have been looking for different recipes. I really like the sound of the oats in this, so this will be the next recipe I make! Thanks
Posted by Karen | March 6, 2012, 12:53 pmKaren, I hope you love it as much as we do here! The only down side – this sourdough oatmeal has ruined my taste for regular oatmeal bread. It just seems so blah now. Let us know how your loaf turns out!
Posted by winebarrelgourmet | March 9, 2012, 1:05 pmLove, love, loved this recipe!! I used the lidded pot from my crock pot and it worked beautifully. The family I made this for was astounded that it looked exactly like your picture and the taste was divine. I love oatmeal breads and this was perfect to use my sourdough starter. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Sarah | April 4, 2012, 12:15 pmSarah, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. What a great idea to use the crock pot pot!
Posted by winebarrelgourmet | April 5, 2012, 9:32 pmDo you think I can use a banneton and cook it on a stone? How would I adjust the heat in that case? So delighted to find an all wild yeast oatmeal bread recipe! Thanks
Posted by Siobhan | May 17, 2012, 11:54 amSiobhan, using a banneton and cooking on a stone should work out great. I would bake at 400 – 425 degrees for about 25 minutes (if you make this recipe into 2 loaves, one loaf will take longer) or until the internal temperature is somewhere between 200 – 210 degrees. Let us all know how it turns out – I’m sure it will be great!
Posted by winebarrelgourmet | May 17, 2012, 3:26 pmThe bread was already in the process when I wrote, so I saw your kind response too late for this batch. Unfortunately I did not follow my instincts and located a rather unsuitable pan, cooking at the lower temperature. I fear it was a rather a homely loaf, but it still tasted terrific. My daughter, home for grad school and a fine baker, just made a whole wheat Tartine loaf, so when it is consumed, I will try again. My thanks for the suggestions. I will let you know the results. Cheers!
Posted by Siobhan | May 22, 2012, 7:30 pmSiobhan, the best thing about baking bread is that even when it doesn’t turn out the way we want, it still tastes great!
Posted by winebarrelgourmet | May 23, 2012, 4:34 pmI wonder if you could clarify – when you say oatmeal, you mean prepared oats, correct? Not rolled oats? I think of oatmeal as the prepared cereal. Thank you!
Posted by Mary | June 4, 2012, 7:51 amMary, sorry for the confusion. I actually mean rolled oats. I like old fashioned rolled oats, but you could use quick rolled oats in this recipe too. Have fun making the bread!
Posted by winebarrelgourmet | June 4, 2012, 7:56 amThank you for the quick response. The bread turned out beautifully! It has the complex flavor that comes with a slow rise, is very tender but not too soft, and the crust is gorgeous. The oven bloom was amazing! I used 8×4 metal pans, and have two tall, lovely loaves of bread.
Posted by Mary | June 5, 2012, 4:01 amMary, I am glad that you had a good result. I just LOVE this recipe! Good to know that it works just as well with regular loaf pans. Thanks for sharing your results.
Renee
Posted by winebarrelgourmet | June 9, 2012, 11:04 amDelicious. Thank you for sharing. I had leftover cooked oats in the fridge, so used those up in here.
Posted by Jamie | February 4, 2013, 7:08 amI’m trying this recipe right now, so excited. Should it work fine when making a round loaf on a flat pan, rather than in a loaf pan? Or are the sides necessary? Thanks!
Posted by David | March 19, 2013, 7:46 pmDavid, I am sure you are already enjoying your loaf of bread, but yes – it should work very well in a round. It just might not rise quite as much as. Good luck!
Posted by winebarrelgourmet | March 19, 2013, 10:15 pm