JLMBBC Oatmeal Bread

I'm going to a party later today, and I asked if I could bring anything; the host requested bread if I had any.  Since I needed to make some, and I'd never tried any JLMBBC oatmeal before, I thought I'd give it a shot. 

I made one batch of three loaves using my more-or-less standard JLMBBC technique.  The loaves come out to about 1½ pounds apiece.  The pans were my favorite these days: they're oval enameled cast-iron roasting pans.  I luvs me some footboules.  :) 

Oven, pans, and lids preheated for 30 minutes at 450°F. 

Recipe (flours + oatmeal at 100%):

 durum flour            525 g	  39%
 KA bread flour 	525 g	  39%
 rye flour		100 g	   7%
 oatmeal		200 g	  15%

 water		       1050 g	  78%

 Morton kosher salt       2 Tb.
 yeast		     	  ¾ tsp.	


 butter			  2 Tb.
 oatmeal for topping	  6 Tb.

Sorry about the mixed units, but it's just what I do these days.  :)

I used the butter by cutting it into bits and dropping it around the perimeter of the dough after it's been dumped in the pot.  I then took about 2 tablespoons of oatmeal and strewed it on top of the dough.  I then put the lids on and put the pans in the oven for 30 minutes.  Then I carefully took the lids off and cooked the bread for another 30 minutes.  I carefully took the pots out and turned the bread out on racks to cool.  I then ate about a half a loaf for breakfast.  :)

I had a little less rise in the bowl than I expected, and a slightly smaller loaf.  The dough also seemed drier: I guess the oatmeal soaked up more water than an equivalent weight of flour would.  The crumb is also much more even than I expected, which supports the idea that the dough was essentially drier than I was thinking it would be.  But that's actually good here, because the bread is to be sliced for sandwiches.  About half the oatmeal I dropped on top fell off, but that's fine. 

The bread tastes nice, with a slightly sweet flavor I usually don't get.  There's also a mild sense of sweet spice, like cinnamon or something.  I have no idea where that came from.  The crumb, as mentioned before, is good for sandwich bread.  I think adding some wheat germ would have worked well here.

(Images are thumbnails.  Click for larger image in pop-up window.)   

Comments

[David Felton]

Yo Joe, It's great to catch up on reading some of your fine blog work. Seeing those lovely loaves makes me wish you could open a micro-bakery-cafe in the space at the Regulator. That makes me wonder if you have ever done a special post on 'cursed restaurant spaces' of the area. It seems like I remember some posts past which have spoken to the syndrome of a space which has been host to a string of failed food ventures. I enjoyed your 'food trail' piece greatly and maybe it is that post which makes me imagine that you would know about a handful of places around which have had multiple restaurants run through them, and that your musings on the phenomenon would make good reading... hell, reading your writing makes me think about getting back on the blog horse myself and taking a little ride again. Keep up the good work!

[Joe Eater]

D: Wow, that's odd -- I just called you, and then here's your comment.

That's a really good idea for a post. You know, you could write that yourself, or even write the Post That Shall Not Be Named.... I guess I know of maybe 3-6 places that would qualify for a post. I'll consider the matter. Thanks!