Swedish Oatmeal Bread Recipe
by Tinky Weisbalt
This recipe, from my friend Elaine, is like Elaine herself—Swedish in background but now thoroughly at home in the United States. The bread not only is nourishing, but also a bit surprising because of the anise seed, which lends a delightful and unexpected flavor to this staple. The generous three loaves provided by this recipe can feed a big family and are a favorite at church bake sales.
Ingredients
2 cups old-fashioned oats (Do NOT use instant!)
Boiling water to cover the oats
3/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon shortening
2 teaspoons anise seed
1 egg, beaten
6 to 6 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 package of yeast
Instructions
1. Cover oats with boiling water. Add molasses, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, shortening, anise seed, and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix well.
2. Combine yeast with 1/2 cup warm water in which you have dissolved 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let stand 5 minutes.
3. Combine yeast mixture with oat mixture. Add enough of the remaining flour to make dough that begins to hold together. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until elastic.
4. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 4 hours (less if using rapid-rise yeast). Punch down, and shape into three loaves. Place in greased and floured pans and let rise for another hour. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Other Recipe Suggestions
If you liked this Swedish Oatmeal Bread recipe, then you might also like these other tasty recipes.
Discuss this Recipe
Here are some of the current comments about this recipe. To read more or post your own comments,
visit our message boards.
3/23/07 8:26 AM
The directions for this receipe are a little confusing. As I read this we're mixing two batches of ingredients. One is the oatmeal etc. and 2 cups flour and the second is yeast, water, and sugar. It's telling us to mix the remaing flour with the second batch or the yeast, water, and sugar. I'm going to assume that before we add the remaining flour we first add this batch to the batch with the oatmeal, etc. and after stiring to blend together we add the remaining flour and knead. Was I missing something here?
I'm going to try it anyway because the bread sounds delicious.
4/2/07 4:53 PM
You're right. These instructions are confusing. I've reworked the method--which is below.
1. Cover oats with boiling water. Add molasses, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, shortening, anise seed, and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix well.
2. Combine yeast with 1/2 cup warm water in which you have dissolved 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let stand 5 minutes.
3. Combine yeast mixture with oat mixture. Add enough of the remaining flour to make dough that begins to hold together. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until elastic.
4. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 4 hours (less if using rapid-rise yeast). Punch down, and shape into three loaves. Place in greased and floured pans and let rise for another hour. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Post your comments on this recipe
