Big Batch Honey Oat Bread is three loaves of soft, oat bread that have a hint of sweetness from honey in every bite. Try my Amish White Bread for another fluffy homemade loaf of bread.
Big Batch Honey Oat Bread
This recipe makes three loaves of honey oat bread so you will have a couple of loaves to store to enjoy after you devour the first loaf! I will let you know how to store it for the best results. The bread has a perfect golden crust, not too hard but with a little crispiness to it. Then, you will bite into a soft crumb with just a bit of sweetness. Toast a slice for breakfast with a little honey, use it for sandwiches, or simply enjoy a warm slice with some butter.
Bread Ingredients
This recipe makes three loaves of bread, so make sure you have plenty of flour and other ingredients on hand!
Flour: You will use 7 cups of all-purpose flour in this recipe. We have not tested this bread with other kinds of flour, so I can’t speak to their effectiveness. However, whole wheat flour should work.
Oats: Use old-fashioned oats (rolled oats), and be sure to have some oats to sprinkle over the tops of the loaves of bread before baking.
Honey: If possible, use raw honey for the best results. Raw honey has not been heated or pasteurized and contains a range of benefits from anti-oxidants to anti-viral to anti-bacterial properties. It can even be soothing for burns and wounds. Plus, it’s nice to support your local honey producers.
Water: The temperature of the water is important; 130°F is the ideal temperature when adding it to the other ingredients. But, then it does need to cool down a bit before adding the yeast (about 110°F).
Yeast: I used active dry yeast; this means it will need some time to bloom after being added. This is why the water does need to cool a bit before adding the yeast so it doesn’t kill it.
How to Make Big Batch Honey Oat Bread
Before making these loaves of bread, be sure you have a stand mixer with both a paddle attachment and a dough hook. In addition, be aware that there are two separate rising times for the bread for an hour each rise. To get started, in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add 2 cups of flour, salt, oats, honey, oil, and very warm water.
Using the paddle attachment, mix the ingredients on low until they are combined. Next, let the mixture rest a bit so the temperature cools to about 110°F. Once cooled a bit, add the yeast and mix on low (no higher than a 2 setting) for about 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, cover it with a towel, and let the yeast activate for about 10 minutes.
After the yeast has had time to activate, switch the stand mixer attachment to the dough hook. With the speed on low (setting 2), add a cup of flour at a time until the dough is smooth and soft. I needed the remaining flour to achieve the dough consistency I wanted. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes with the dough hook.
Once the dough is ready, place it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover the dough with a clean towel or a piece of lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for about an hour. It WILL get big!
When ready, punch the dough down and separate the dough into three greased 8 1/2 x 4-inch loaf pans. Each of my loaves measured about 700 grams each. If adding oats on top, brush the tops of the loaves with water and sprinkle on the oats. Again, cover each loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap to let rise another hour. (The oats are for decoration mostly, so this is an optional step.)
Bake the bread on the middle rack of the oven, evenly spaced, for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. The internal temperature of baked bread should be 190°F. Each loaf will also sound slightly hollow inside when tapped. Let the bread cool before slicing.
How to Store Bread
For the loaf you are going to eat right away, there are a few ways to keep it fresh as long as possible (up to a few days, anyway). Here are some tips for storing at room temperature: (I will get to freezing bread next.)
- Room temperature ranges from 60°F to 80°F. In addition to temperature, keep the bread in a darker place, away from sunlight.
- When cutting a slice of bread, first, cut the loaf in half (yes, in the middle and not at the end). Then, when you cut a slice or two, you can put the two halves of bread back together, limiting exposure to a cut end.
- Wrap the loaf in plastic or aluminum foil.
- Enjoy it within 2-3 days. Otherwise, your best bet is to freeze the bread.
How to Freeze Bread
If you are making this big batch of bread, you are probably planning to store some loaves to enjoy later. Freezing bread is the way to go! You can portion the loaves to what you would plan to eat in a day, or you can freeze the entire loaf. To freeze bread:
- Let the bread cool completely.
- Wrap the loaf (or portion of the loaf) in plastic wrap; then, store it in a sealed plastic bag.
- Place the bread in a colder part of the freezer, away from the door.
When ready to enjoy the bread, remove it from the freezer and unwrap it. Store it in a zipped plastic bag at room temperature.
Can I Make just One Loaf?
If you just want one loaf, that will be tricky with the measurements. However, if you have a kitchen scale, you could divide the ingredients a little easier. But, if you have the ingredients, just make the big batch and enjoy homemade bread for a while! After all, I have given you ways to store the extra loaves.
Can I Make a Bigger Batch?
Well, if three loaves of bread just don’t cut it, it’s easy to double the ingredients in the recipe and make six loaves! However, if you plan to do that, you do need the proper kitchen equipment. First of all, you need an industrial-sized mixer and probably two ovens. If you have the mixer but just one oven, you could stop the rising of three of the loaves by placing them in the refrigerator while the other three are baking.
Can I Make Honey Oat Bread in a Bread Machine?
Making this recipe in a bread machine might be tough. Most bread machines make just one loaf of bread, so, again, you would need some math skills to divide each ingredient in the recipe by three. If you do try it, please let me know how it turned out!
More Bread Recipes
Big Batch Honey Oat Bread
Ingredients
- 7 cups (875g) all-purpose flour, divided
- 1½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 cups (180g) old-fashioned oats, plus an extra ¼ cup for sprinkling on tops of loaves (optional)
- ½ cup (170g) honey
- ½ cup (109g) vegetable oil, plus 1 tablespoon for coating bowl
- 3 cups (500g) very warm water, 120°F-130°F
- 2 tablespoons active yeast
Instructions
First Rise
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add 2 cups flour, salt, oats, honey, oil, and warm water. Mix on low until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Once the mixture has cooled to about 110°F, add yeast and mix in the stand mixer again until the yeast is just combined. Do not go above a speed setting of 2. (Or mix on a low setting.)
- Remove paddle attachment and then remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Cover with a towel and allow the mixture to sit until the yeast blooms, about 10 minutes. The mixture will look foamy and will still be fairly wet.
- Switch the stand mixer attachment to a dough hook. With the mixer on low (or speed setting 2), add the remaining flour, one cup at a time, to make a smooth, soft dough (5-7 minutes).
- Knead the mixture with the dough hook for about 5 minutes.
- Coat a large bowl with the extra tablespoon of vegetable oil.
- Place the dough in the oiled bowl. Cover with a clean towel or loosely with a sheet of greased plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 1 hour or until doubled.
Second Rise
- When ready, punch down the dough and separate it into 3 loaves. (My loaves each measured to be about 700g.)
- Place loaves into 3 greased 8.5×4-inch loaf pans. Brush the tops of the loaves with water and sprinkle the extra oats on the tops of each, if using.
- Cover the pans loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough rises 1-2 inches above the pan edge.
Baking
- Arrange an oven rack to the middle position in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Evenly space the loaves of bread on the middle oven rack. Bake for 30-35 minutes (or until the tops are golden brown). The internal temperature of each loaf of bread should be 190°F. The loaves will also sound slightly hollow inside when tapped.
- Let the bread cool before slicing or storing.
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
Can you use real maple syrup in place of the honey?
If so, would you use the same amount of maple syrup as you do for the honey?
Thank you!
I cannot wait to make this!
I absolutely love this recipe. I have made it many times. Love it.
Fabulous!! I coarse grind my oats, and I use one cup of organic whole wheat flour, the rest organic unbleached all-purpose. This makes two sandwich-size loaves and they come out beautiful and light and fluffy with a fine texture every time!
Why vegetable oil and not butter ?
Is the 1642 calories for the 3 loafs?
Wow! Sooo good!
Only thing I did differently was I blended the oats so they were fine. I will make this again.
My stand mixer couldn’t handle kneeding the dough, but I’m really happy with how the bread came out! My bread devouring children have no complaints either.
Do the stretch-and-fold method so you don’t need to knead in a mixer – SO much easier.
Very happy with the taste and texture of this bread.
I made a loaf in my bread machine. As an engineer, it was no problem dividing the recipe into 1/3. The only issue was the recipe is a little dry for a bread maker. I had to add 2 tablespoons of water. Other than that, it was delicious. Monitoring the flour to water ratio is a constant vigilance during the kneading cycle. Especially when oats are used. (I make my bread substituting Cream of Wheat with 1/2 cup of flour). If too much water, the paddle will stir the dough like soup. If too little water, the dough will sit on the paddle and spin – no kneading taking place. Oats and other grains will absorb water and dry out the dough. Therefore, constant monitoring of the dough is necessary while kneading because you may need to add water/flour to get the dough to knead properly.
Great feedback, thanks Mark!
Could you use regular oats. Don’t like the big flaky ones!
Yes, you can!