Thick Chunky Bread

I have made a lot of bread over the past few years. This recipe has to be the thickest I have made.

Combining the oats, molasses, shortening and salt with the boiling water does a few things.

First, it cooks the oats a little. This softens them up nicely, so there are crunchy bits of oats in the bread.

Second, it melts the shortening. This helps it spread evenly throughout the dough.

Thirdly, it helps infuse the oats with the molasses. This gives the bread a lovely dark color.

The kneading process was a little difficult to be honest.

The dough was so thick! I will not have to do an arm workout this week - making this bread was it!

The bread did rise nicely. The dough did not get light and fluffy like most doughs do durning the rise.

The end result was a very thick bread. It had little chunks of oats throughout.

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OATMEAL BREAD

2 Cups Rolled Oats

1/2 Cup Dark Molasses

2 Teaspoons Salt

2 Tablespoons Shortening

1 Cup Boiling Water

1 Package Active Dry Yeast

1/4 Cup Warm Water

3/4 Cup Milk, Scalded and Cooled

5 Cups Flour

Measure oats, molasses, salt and shortening into a bowl. Add boiling water, blend, and let stand for 1 hour. Soften yeast in water and stir into first mixture with the cooled milk. Work in half the flour, beating thoroughly. Knead in remaining flour gradually. When dough is smooth and elastic, round up, placing in a greased bowl, and brush the top with melted fat. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Knead down, shape into 2 loaves, and place in greased bread pans. Let rise again until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.