Danish Oat Bread

I love a good, hearty rugbrød or a craggy, rustic sourdough bread. But sometimes you just want a soft, simple loaf. Something tender with just a touch of sweetness. This Danish Oat Bread is just that kind of homemade loaf.....comforting and soft and easy to make in the course of an afternoon.

The idea for this bread came from Beatrice Ojakangas's The Great Scandinavian Baking Book. She has a recipe for a Danish Oat Loaf which she describes as perfect alongside a bowl of pea soup. Indeed, this delightfully versatile bread would be lovely toasted, buttered and served with a hearty bowl of soup. Or perhaps simply sliced and slathered with peanut butter and jelly or, my personal favorite...toasted, buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Suddenly I'm 7 years old again and back in my parents' kitchen.

Yes, it's that kind of bread. Nostalgic and comforting in the best of ways. Kid-friendly and yet wholesome with the addition of both old-fashioned oats and whole wheat flour, this Danish Oat Bread is also as nourishing as it is delicious.

Ready to give it a try? I've got just a few tips to make sure your Danish Oat Loaf is perfectly tender and delicious every time:

• Make sure allow the milk and oat mixture to cool to room temperature before adding it to the dry ingredients. Mixing yeast with wet ingredients that are over 120 degrees Farenheit will cause the yeast to begin dying off (and your bread not to rise). If the mixture is just warm the touch, you should be fine.
• When you are ready to serve the bread, make sure any butter or other chosen spreads are nice and soft. This is very tender loaf. If you try to spread something cold on top of it, you risk a ripping and tearing situation.

I think this Danish Oat Bread would be very nice alongside a bowl of Herbed White Bean and Sausage Soup with Swiss Chard. Or perhaps Creamy Asparagus Soup would be a perfect seasonal accompaniment...I've seen lots of asparagus at the market lately. And this bread would be perfect for making Toasted Goat Cheese Sandwiches with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Olives! I feel a delicious springtime soup supper coming together already.

Please give this tender and delicious Danish Oat Bread a try and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!

Danish Oat Bread

A soft, tender and comforting yeast bread made with old-fashioned oats and whole wheat flour.  A real crowd pleaser, this oat bread is as nourishing as it is delicious.

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Course: breads

Cuisine: Danish, Nordic, Scandinavian

Keyword: easy oat bread, homemade oat bread, oat bread recipe

Prep Time: 3 hours 37 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours 37 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 12 servings (one loaf)

Calories: 169kcal

Author: Kristi

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup water
• ▢ 1 cup whole milk room temperature
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• ▢ ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• ▢ 2 cups bread flour
• ▢ ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons instant yeast

For the Topping:

• ▢ 1 egg lightly beaten
• ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
• ▢ Old-fashioned rolled oats

Instructions

• Heat water, milk, butter and brown sugar over medium heat until simmering.  Remove from heat and add oats. Stir to combine and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Whisk bread flour, whole wheat flour, salt and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add cooled oatmeal and milk mixture. Using the dough hook, mix on medium low speed until ingredients are fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Increase speed to medium and knead until bread is smooth and clears the bottom and sides of the bowl, about 5-6 minutes.
• Cover bowl and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
• Turn dough out onto a clean work surface.  Deflate and shape into a round disk about 2 inches high and place in a greased 9 inch round cake pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the loaf is puffy and slowly springs back when you press it with your finger, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk egg and milk together. Brush the top of the loaf with egg and milk and sprinkle with oats.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and the internal temperature of the reaches 205-210 degrees.  Cool completely before serving.

Notes

Inspired and adapted from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas and Bread Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen.

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 309mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 139IU | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg