Can we just take a minute to fist-pump here?

I’ve made sandwiches on bagels and sandwiches in pitas, but how about sandwiches on bread?

For the longest time, I thought I couldn’t make sandwich bread in an moven (oven range). This was due partially to my various quickbread failures–burnt on the outside, raw inside because of the shorter distance to the heating element and the wetness of the dough, etc. (Solution: muffins. Though I succeeded with the banana bread.) Most importantly, so many bread recipes call for either a breadmaker or a bread paddle attachment for a Cuisinart to assist with the kneading, neither of which I own. That’s the problem with moving around so much, especially internationally–trying not to acquire too many appliances that are too expensive to leave behind if need be. Someday, Cuisinart!

Luckily, if you’re also sans an electric kneading device, you can make this yeast bread with your own two hands and, despite the long rise times, a surprisingly minimal amount of time of kneading: 10 minutes, no worse than any other of the bread recipes here. Using a yeast-based dough means the dough will be far less wet and thus will actually cook through, even in the oven range. Ha!

“Less wet” doesn’t mean it will be the same consistency as a pizza dough, though. A note on the kneading process: Take off your jewelry and knead this in the bowl. Kneading this dough by hand is more like using your hand as a mixer attachment than the fold-and-push method. Using bread flour makes this less sticky than the original recipe, which calls for all-purpose, but don’t bother adding extra flour whenever your hands stick. Resistance is futile. Just go with it, scrape off the dough from your hand with a spoon when you’re done, and wash up. (If you do have a mixer or bread appliance, see the original recipe below for instructions, you lucky dog.)

This dough does rise a lot, both before cooking and during. I bought this bread pan, which is tall and narrow at (97×198×H96 mm) ; because the dough rises so much, I had to put the square plate on the bottom of the moven to get it to fit!* However, if you’re working with a smaller model moven, you could divide the bread between two tall loaf pans or one wider pan to get the loaf to a more manageable size; if you reduce or divide the amount of dough, be sure to check the bread after 25-30 minutes so it doesn’t burn.

Also, I’d advise against a silicon loaf pan–the bread will expand horizontally! I had to cut these slices in half to make sandwiches.

This recipe can be vegan if soy-milk is used. See notes for instructions on how to make buttermilk out of cow’s milk or soy milk.

Also, this bread uses a lot of flour. It’s a big loaf. The two of us can have sandwiches for lunch and some bread for breakfast for a week on about 20 slices. If you live alone or don’t eat a lot of bread, I would recommend freezing half of the loaf after it cools completely. The loaf stays fresh for 4-5 days in an airtight container or plastic bag, though I’ve been refrigerating mine lately because we don’t have central air.

Whole-Wheat Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
Adapted from “Whole Wheat Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread” on Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Time: 3 hours
Active time: 25 minutes (mixing, kneading)
Rising time: 1.5 hours
Baking time: 50-60 min.

Nutritional information below

Ingredients
Dough
330 mL (1.5 cups minus 2 TBSP) milk**, at room temperature
2 TBSP lemon juice (remon shiru, レモン汁) or apple-cider vinegar (ringo su, リンゴ酢)
(or substitute 360 mL yogurt)

195 g (1.25 cups) rolled oats (ôtomiru, オートミール)
240 mL (1 US cup) boiling water

60 mL (1/4 cups) room temperature water
2 tablespoons honey (hachimitsu, ハチミツ, 蜂蜜)
2 teaspoons instant yeast (insutanto îusuto, インスタントイースト)
120 mL (1/2 cup) applesauce
340 g (2.5 cups) whole-wheat flour (zenryûhun, 全粒分)
340 g (2.5 cups) bread flour (kyôrikiko, 強力粉)
2 teaspoons salt (shio, 塩)

Topping
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon water
40 g (1/4 cups) rolled oats

Equipment
1-2 large bowls
A medium bowl
1 ~97×198×H96 mm/1.7 L (9-10 in.) bread pan (see above) (pan yaki gata, パン焼型)
A clean surface for shaping the loaf
Clean towel
Foil (foiru, フォイル)
Bread knife

Procedure
1. Make buttermilk by combining milk and lemon juice or vinegar in a small bowl. Stir to incorporate and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

2. While the buttermilk is processing, make the oatmeal by adding oats (dough portion) and boiling water to a medium heatproof bowl. Stir to combine and let sit uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. In a large bowl, add the room temperature water, honey (dough portion), and yeast. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to activate the yeast, then add buttermilk, oatmeal, olive oil, both flours and the salt. Mix until dough comes together, then, leaving the dough in the bowl, mix/knead by hand 10 minutes–it will be sticky. When the dough is ready it will have firmed up a little, but it will still be somewhat wet and sticky.

4. Grease a large bowl (could be the same one, depending on how much the dough sticks) with oil or nonstick cooking spray, then add the dough, turning to coat. Cover with a clean cloth or cling wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

5. Punch dough down to release excess air. Shape dough to fit the pan by turning it out onto a floured surface and shaping into a rectangle the length of the pan, with the long side facing you. Grab the ends and fold them in so they meet in the middle, like a rounded M, then roll it into a log, pinching the dough closed at the seam.

6. Grease the loaf pan(s) and insert dough seam side down, pressing it to fit the pan.  In a small bowl, mix the topping: add water to the honey, then brush the mixture over the top of the loaf; sprinkle with oats.

7. Let sit uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the loaf rises just over the top of the pan. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 190° C (375 F). Bake the bread for 50-60 minutes. If using a moven, after about 20-30 minutes, place a piece of foil over the side nearest the heating element to prevent burning. Resume cooking. Let cool completely before slicing.

More Bread Revolution here.

Notes

*I have a Hitachi PAM FF6-H, measuring 48.3×38.6×33.0c m.

**For cow’s milk (gyûnyû, 牛乳), use lemon juice, apple-cider vinegar, or vinegar. For soy milk (tônyû), use apple-cider vinegar.

Nutrition

1/20 of the loaf (~90 g)