Oatmeal-Honey Wheat Bread

Why do I love bread? Because it is, for me, the act of creating food from nothing. I need to go grocery shopping. I really do. I have oats, and peanut butter, and some frozen lasagna. I'm very weary of eating oatmeal, or uncooked oats with milk, or both of these things mixed with peanut butter. But for this pre-shopping evening, I've realized that I can make something new and warm. All I need is flour and yeast; and, in this case, some oatmeal and honey.

A dribble of honey

You'll notice I've decided to tackle wheat bread, something that previously led to tragedy and several unflavorful meals. This recipe calls for half white and half wheat, so it's not going full frontal on the wheat. I also kneaded it for quite a while (through half an episode of Downton Abbey), which made for the chewy, dense texture I love in my bread. The bread has highlights of sweetness from the honey; good for pairing with peanut butter, of course, but equally tasty with cheese and mustard.

Oatmeal-Honey Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups water, divided
1 cup non-instant oats, plus extra for topping
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 TBSP yeast
1/2 cup honey, plus more for yeast
1 egg

Directions:
--Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add oats and let soak, at least an hour and a half.
--Mix together flours and salt. In a small bowl, combine yeast and a squirt of honey. Heat 1/2 cup water until warm, and pour over yeast. Let sit ten minutes or until yeast is foamy.
--To flour mixture, add oatmeal, yeast mixture, 1/2 cup honey, and egg. Stir until dough begins to hold together. Knead with hands for at least ten minutes, but as long as you'd like (I kneaded for about half an hour; it's an excellent TV-watching activity).
--Let dough rise, covered and in a warm place, until doubled, or one hour.
--Lightly grease two loaf pans. Divide dough in half and form each half into an oblong shape by stretching and smoothing dough around itself. Place, seam side down, in pans. Let rise 1/2 hour, preheating oven after about 20 minutes.
--When dough has about ten minutes left to its second rise, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle tops of loaves with oats. Bake loaves 40-45 minutes, or until they sound hollow when tapped. Bread can be eaten immediately upon removal.