Rustic Oat Bread

In a small saucepan, add milk, water, oil and brown sugar. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Once boiling, remove from heat.

In a large bowl, add 1 cup of oats, salt and cinnamon. Pour milk mixture over oat mixture and mix ingredients. Let stand until lukewarm.

Then add yeast and flour and mix completely.

On a lightly floured surface knead dough by hand for approximately 7 minutes. Place in a large bowl that you’ve greased lightly with squash seed oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size (roughly an hour).

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut it in half, briefly knead each half into a ball.

Place each ball a distance apart from each other on a floured cookie sheet. Cover with a clean dish towel and let it rise until doubled.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Brush each ball of dough with honey, and sprinkle lightly with oats. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes until bread is golden brown, and sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer to wire baking rack to cool.

Baker’s note: I made this hearty bread with Stony Brook WholeHearted Foods Butternut Squash Seed Oil that’s produced in Geneva, NY. I like using squash seed oil because it gives food a deliciously light nutty flavor. If you don’t have squash seed oil you can always substitute it with olive oil.