Honey Oat Bread with Honey Vanilla Bean Butter

For the bread:
1. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, yeast, and salt and whisk together. Set aside.

2. Put the milk in a small bowl and heat it in the microwave until just warmed (30 seconds or so). Place the butter in the warmed milk to allow the butter to melt. Make sure the milk isn’t boiling. Stir until the butter has melted. Add the water and 1/4 cup honey to the milk mixture.

3. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and use a dough hook on a standing mixer or blender to mix until the dough is completely mixed and has formed a dough ball. Let the dough hook continue to knead the dough for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth. If the dough is still sticky add a tablespoon of flour to the dough until it is smooth but not dry. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm place and allow the dough to double in size. This should take about an hour. Depending on how warm your area is, it may take a little longer.

4. Now that the dough has doubled in size, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and mold the dough unto a 9X12 inch rectangular log. Prepare a 9X12 loaf pan by spraying with baking spray and placing the dough into the pan. Cover with a dry tea towel and allow to double in size for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

5. Drizzle the warmed honey over the dough and, using a pastry brush, brush the honey over the loaf to make sure that it gets spread evenly. Now, sprinkle the dough with quick oats and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

For the butter:

In a medium bowl, add the butter. Split the vanilla bean seed in half lengthwise and scrape the vanilla beans out of its pod. Add the seeds to the bowl, as well as the honey, rum, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt and beat with a handheld mixer until the butter looks like whipped butter. Place in a mason jar or plastic container and place back in the refrigerator until time of use.

Bread recipe adapted from Bakingdom.