i'd rather be baking

I have never quite understood the fear and intimidation so many folks feel about baking bread. I guess I know the feeling — it’s the same one I have when thumbing through Julia Child’s cookbook — this just isn’t my particular fear.

I’ve never been a science-y girl, but I understand bread. There will always be variables, like which type of grains you choose, what binding agents do the trick, and which seasonings make sense. But the main things remain constant — yeast, salt, flour. It’s really pretty simple.

And it’s especially simple with a gem of a recipe like this. And a stand mixer, but good old elbow grease works just as well. Spend just a few minutes getting the dough ready and let it rise while you do the laundry, chase the kids, or watch your favorite reality show, and you’ll have beautifully moist, earthy bread all week (or two weeks, if you’re us).

Oatmeal-Molasses Bread
From Williams-Sonoma’s Essentials of Baking*

I don’t usually mess with recipes on the first try, but I couldn’t help myself this time. I had this 8-grain cereal mix on hand that was pretty much begging to be substituted for the oats, so how could I refuse? If you can find one of these beauties at your local health foods store (or gourmet-grocery-slash-gas-station if you live in Northwest Arkansas), feel free to follow in my hacking footsteps.

Makes 2 loaves

2 1/3 cups water
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (or multigrain cereal mix)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
2 packages active dry yeast
5-6 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 teaspoons salt

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Put the oats into a heatproof bowl, and pour the water over the oats. Add the butter and molasses, and let the mixture cool to warm.

In the 5-qt bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm oat mixture and let stand 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of the flour and the salt. Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed. Add the remaining 2- cups flour as needed for the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl after a few minutes of kneading. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl.

Form the dough into a ball (ish) and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl (one sprayed with non-stick cooking spray does the trick perfectly). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.

Butter (or oil) two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Punch down the dough and scrape it out onto a clean work surface. Cut it in half with a sharp knife or a bench scraper.

For each half, evenly flatten the dough with the heel of your hand. Roll the top third down onto itself and seal it by pushing it gently with the heel of your hand. Continue rolling and sealing he dough until you have an oval log. Place the logs, seam side down, into the prepared loaf pans. Press on them to flatten them evenly into the pans. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm, draft-free spot until they double in size, 45-60 minutes.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 375°F. Bake until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on top, 40-45 minutes. Carefully remove the loaves from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks before slicing.

*I promise this isn’t the only cookbook I have. Would you believe it’s actually the most neglected? I’m currently rediscovering its brilliance.