Oat and Wheat Bread
This oat and wheat bread is a simple, hearty sandwich bread that is easy to make with a kid’s help as it isn’t temperamental to the practice-kneading of a toddler just learning to bake. It is also egg free so if they really want to try a bite pre-baking, they can. The recipe is loosely inspired by Smitten’s wheat bread.
This bread was my 2 year old’s first, and she loved helping me make the dough, shape the loaves, and bake it. It also happens to be my 1 year old’s absolute favorite bread to eat. He doesn’t participate in the baking yet as he is not stable enough standing independently to work at the kitchen helper, but he will devour two full slices (untoasted and plain!) in a single sitting and still sign for “more” with great enthusiasm! All of this to the delight of his older sister who is such a nurturer and incredibly proud having made something her brother enjoys so much.
I love the dough for this oat and wheat bread because the kneading time is not particularly long and it can all be done by hand. With just a bit of shaping and smoothing the loaves come out looking fairly decent, so it’s a wonderful hands-on baking experience for any toddler. It also happens to be fairly healthy (high in protein and fiber, low in sugar).
One note– in between short periods of active time, there are two, long rising times. Both are 1-2 hours, so this is not a quick bread. I found that it worked out well for my toddler’s attention span as we could come back to the activity at different points during the day but were never sitting for too long as to bore her.
Oat & Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flax seeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 1/2 cups warm milk
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 5 cups wheat flour
- 2 cups oats
Instructions
Make the dough.
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First, prepare the chia egg. Mix the chia seeds and water in a small cup and let sit.
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Warm the milk and mix in the brown sugar. Add in the yeast and stir gently.
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In a large bowl combine the yeast mixture with the chia egg and olive oil. Stir.
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Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir until completely combined, about 1 minute.
First (mini) rest.
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Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
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Knead for 4 minutes, gently on a floured surface. Dough will start out sticky, but come together as you knead.
Second rest.
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Return dough ball to bowl.
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Oil dough and bowl lightly with olive oil.
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Cover and rest at room temperature (70F) for 1 1/2-2 hours.
Shape dough and final rest.
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Grease two loaf tins (I used an olive oil spray).
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When the dough has doubled in size, remove it gently from the bowl and cut it in half.
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Shape each half to be roughly the shape of the loaf pan. Smooth the top by rolling dough under itself, if necessary.
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Place dough in tin, seam side down. Let rest for 1 hour or until the dough is just rising above the top of the tin.
Bake.
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Preheat the oven to 350F.
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Bake the loaves on the center rack for 40 minutes. Turn them if you notice uneven browning.
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When loaf sounds hollow when tapped, it is done. Remove from tin and let cool completely before cutting.
