Easy Homemade Oatmeal Bread made with rolled oats, whole wheat flour and sweetened with honey. We love this delicious healthy bread recipe.
I love rolled oats, especially in baked goods because it gives them a nice texture, flavor, and some added fiber. Don’t miss other recipes using oats, like Carrot Muffins, Oatmeal Cake, and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Why I LOVE this Recipe:
- Adaptable: throw in some nuts, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips. See tips below.
- Freezer friendly: My motto is always “make one and freeze one”.
Ingredients in Oatmeal Bread:
- Milk: any kind will work.
- Rolled oats: not quick or instant oats.
- Butter: for flavor and to help the bread rise.
- Honey: adds natural sweetness and helps keep the bread moist.
- Instant yeast: active dry yeast will work as well.
- Water
- Whole wheat flour: or whole wheat white flour. The half and half flour mixture ads some nutrients while still allowing the bread to be fluffy rather than dense.
- All-purpose flour: Bread flour or all-purpose flour can both be used with no changes to the recipe. The exact amount of flour used will vary depending on different factors (altitude/humidity etc.). What matters is the texture of the dough. It should be soft and smooth, slightly sticky, but pull away from the sides of the bowl. It’s important not to add too much flour or your bread will be dense. The dough should be just slightly sticky when touched with a clean finger.
- Egg wash: for a golden brown crust and to help the dried oats stick on top.
How to Make Oatmeal Bread:
1. Soak the oats: Add oats and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or to a large mixing bowl. Heat milk to a simmer and pour on top, stirring to combine. Set aside for about 1.5 hours. Mixture should be at room temperature.
2. Make bread: Add honey, warm water, instant yeast, salt to the bowl and stir well to combine. Add the whole wheat flour and mix on medium low speed until combined. Add the all-purpose flour, a little at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Only add enough flour to make a dough that is soft, and not overly sticky (don’t add too much flour!). Knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
3. Let rise: Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
4. Shape loaves: Punch down the dough and divide into two. Shape into loaves and place in two lightly greased loaf pans. Make egg wash and gently brush some over the top of each loaf. Sprinkle a small handful of dry oats on top.
5. Second rise: Cover with a well greased piece of plastic wrap gently laid on top and let rise in a warm place until risen about 1 inch over the loaf pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes. Loaves are done when tapping lightly on the tops produces hollow sound (or when instant read thermometer registers 200° F). Cool for 15 minutes on wire rack, then turn out of pans and cool completely.
Variations:
- Add Raisins: Add 1 cup in step 4 (after the first rise), and gently knead them into the dough.
- Add Nuts: Add 1 cup in step 4 (after the first rise), and gently knead them into the dough.
- Other dried fruit: dried blueberries, dried cranberries, apricots, or dates. Add 1 cup in step 4 (after the first rise), and gently knead them into the dough.
- Add chocolate chips: add 1 cup in step 4 (after the first rise). Gently sprinkle the chocolate chips on 1 dough ball, then press them into the dough. Fold the dough over and repeat, slowly kneading them into the bread.
- Cinnamon sugar topping: mix 3 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the bread in step 6, just before baking.
To make in a bread machine: You may want to halve the recipe to make one loaf, depending on the capacity of your bread machine.
Vegan/Dairy-free oat bread: Substitute dairy free butter and almond milk, and omit the egg wash.
For Active dry yeast: If you know your yeast is fresh it’s not necessary to proof the yeast in this recipe. Simply substitute an equal amount and add it in place of instant yeast.
Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions:
To make ahead: Make the bread dough through step 2, before the first rise. Place in a large airtight container, and refrigerate for up to one day. Remove from fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Proceed with punching down and forming loaves.
To freeze bread dough: Prepare the recipe through step 3, before the second rise. Place the shaped loaves into a freezer-safe or disposable aluminum bread pan. Cover tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, allow the loaves to thaw and complete the second rise, at room temperature (about 5 hours). Bake as directed.
To freeze baked bread: Allow baked bread to cool completely. Place each loaf in a freezer-safe resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature on the countertop, or overnight in the refrigerator.
More Delicious Bread Recipes:
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Recipe
Oatmeal Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk , brought to a simmer
- 1 cup rolled oats (not quick or instant oats)
- 4 tablespoons butter , softened
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 ¼ -3 cups all-purpose flour
- egg wash: 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
Instructions
- Add oats and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Heat milk to a simmer and pour on top, stirring to combine. Set aside for about 1.5 hours. Mixture should be at room temperature.
- Add honey, warm water, instant yeast, and salt to the bowl and stir well to combine. Add the whole wheat flour and mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add the all-purpose flour, a little at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Only add enough flour to make a dough that is soft, and not overly sticky (don’t add too much flour!). Knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- First Rise: Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough and divide into two equal pieces. Shape into loaves and place in two lightly greased loaf pans. Make egg wash and gently brush some over the top of each loaf. Sprinkle a small handful of dry oats on top.
- Second rise: Cover with a well greased piece of plastic wrap gently laid on top and let rise in a warm place until risen about 1 inch over the loaf pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes. Loaves are done when tapping lightly on the tops produces hollow sound (or when instant read thermometer registers 200° F). Cool for 15 minutes on wire rack, then turn out of pans and cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!
Nutritional information is for 1 loaf of bread (recipe makes 2 loaves).
Recipe adapted from a reader submission; Joan Klingler, Moscow Idaho
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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Can you replace the rolled oats with steel cut oats?
This is my new go to bread recipe! Absolutely delicious!
Thank you for this great recipe! The only change I made is that I only used soft wheat flour type “0” by Caputo and it worked out.
Can you use bread flour? I don’t have whole wheat flour.
How long can it keep without refrigeration or freezing?TIA
I have been looking for an oatmeal molasses bread recipe that has whole wheat flour in and I can’t find one I like. I subbed a half a cup molasses for the half cup of honey in this oatmeal bread recipe and it’s perfect! I enjoyed it toasted with peanut butter and a drizzle of honey and had a wonderful breakfast treat! I’m going add raisins and cinnamon with the molasses next.
I love this bread but my dough is too soft even after adding 1/2 cup of flour. This happens every time. It’s delicious but I have no clue what I’m doing wrong. I measure everything with a scale and grams??
I have four different bread recipes on rotation and this oatmeal bread recipe is my husband and my daughter in laws favorite. We love it!
I made this today–home with the sniffles–and it came out beautifully. The crust is lovely and crisp, and the crumb is denser than a regular bread but definitely not heavy. This is a really nice loaf-Thanks for this excellent recipe!
Can I substitute buckwheat flour for whole wheat four?
I make my oatmeal bread with steel cut oats I cook up with milk, salt and butter. Use 2 cups for my bread and rest gets saved for breakfast
‘Oat Bread’ might be a better name, as this recipe doesn’t have any oatmeal in it.
I want to make this bread, but do not have a stand mixer, very expensive on a tight budget. Have you every tried doing it the old fashion way?
Yes, of course–just mix by hand on a floured surface for several minutes until smooth and elastic.
Hi Lauren, love this recipe. Some of my bread recipes, I bake in glass and some in metal pans. Which do you recommend for this recipe. Thanks for the recipe, Diane
Can I use oat flour instead all purpose flour
Hi Lauren, love this recipe. Some of my bread recipes, I bake in glass and some in metal pans. Which do you recommend for this recipe. Thanks for the recipe, Diane
I love cooking and often baking but I do not usually make bread much but this oatmeal bread recipe delivered what it promised in time to make and taste! Will make again and share with friends!
Great recipe. I was astounded by the amount of yeast it calls for, but it rose very well when I used the Kitchen Aid. I did need to use 3 1/2 cups AP flour, but it still turned out very soft. I added dried figs to one batch. Yum!
What a great bread! I added a couple of tablespoons of vital wheat gluten and the texture was perfect. The dough was nice and smooth and it rose a ton. It made two large loaves. I will be making this bread a lot!
Absolutely delicious! So glad I made this. Made exactly t your recipe. Will become a favorite. Thank you
Forgot to rate this when I asked questions. Will try the molasses and egg that you recommended.
I have the same result as another reviewer, in that bread top is sunken after it bakes. I followed the recipe exactly both times I have made it. Too much yeast? It tastes good though!
cut the honey to 4 table spoons at best pickin up too much color
Loved the flavor of this bread. Two questions though
1. Can you substitute some molasses for some of the honey? I have a cast iron palatte and love stronger flavors.
2. Is there a way to make this denser without destroying it? As someone else posted, it is a bit crumbly for toasting.
Yes you could add molasses. For a denser bread try adding an egg or egg yolk.
Loved this bread! The texture was on the soft side. I think I should have added more flower because when I toasted it and tried to butter a slice it fell apart. I also did not have. whole wheat so I used ap totally. I bought hole wheat and plan on making this again. Should the result be soft or more dough like!
The flavor was incredible!!!!
I wanted to try this recipe, but I only had quick oats and I didn’t want to wait for more than an hour for the milk and oats to soak. So I warmed the milk in the microwave until it was warm but not hot. Poured it in with the quick oats, immediately added everything else and followed the rest of the recipe. It turned out amazing! Warm, soft and delicious!
This bread recipe is exactly what I have been looking for, thanks so much , can’t wait to prepare it.Josephine
This was really good. I did use quick oats and only ended up letting it soak for 15 and it was still delicious. The kids were big fans.
This will be my first time.it’s hard to find a soft wheat bread I hope these will work
I can’t have honey, what would be best to substitute in this recipe?
Could I use something like maple syrup to keep the moisture content or would I have to use sugar and add more liquid??
Maple syrup should work great!!
Tried it twice. Very good but the result is incomprehensible. The top comes out flat instead of round.
Hi, it sure sounds delicious and can’t wait to try it. I would also love to make it for my daughter but she is allergic to gluten, can this recipe be adjusted to be gluten free?
Thank you 🙂
This recipe is easy and makes delicious bread. I used unbleached whole wheat and freshly ground whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose (I didn’t have any all-purpose on hand). My family loves it, I’ll be making it regularly.
Hi there…can I make this bread without a stand mixer? I don’t own one but would love to try this recipe 😊
Yes! Just use a mixing bowl, and be sure to knead the bread by hand really well.
Hiiiii! Mine came out super sticky? I’m letting it rise but it was really hard to get out of the bowl… any tips?
It sounds like it needs a little more flour!
Husband and I love this bread. My go to recipe as it turns out great every time. Question, do you think if would work to use maybe 1/2 cup ground oats in place of AP. Just for additional fiber and oat taste. Hate to mess with a winner.
Yes, that should be just fine!
Do you use the dough hook on the stand mixer for the entire mixing time?
Hi Donna! I use a wooden spoon up until the flour is added and then use the dough hook for the remaining time. (You can see this in the video in the post above!) Enjoy!!
I would love to try this recipe but am confused with carb count. I see it makes 2 loaves, but how many slices and how many carbs per slice?
The nutritional info is per loaf! Just divide by the number of slices you have to get counts per slice. Enjoy!!
This bread is delicious and so soft. You can really taste the honey in it too. I will definitely be making this often!
How much flour in grams? I have a challenging time knowing how much flour to use, so I like to have exact measurements. Your flour has a wide range (2 ¼ -3 cups all-purpose flour). What do you recommend? Thanks!
This is the first bread I made with my new KitchenAid, in my new retirement. I followed the recipe to the letter. It came out GREAT. The instructions are clear, the times all are spot on. My adult daughter and husband tell me they really love it. Thanks for such a great recipe!
I made this once and it didn’t turn out. The dough didn’t rise a second time in the pans. Not sure what I did wrong. Trying again today.
I’m making the bread! It’s my intention to follow the directions to the letter. I had to do a little math to convert my package yeast to 4.5 tsp. I ended up using (2) 1/4 pkts. It seemed really sticky after adding flour, so I was glad for your instruction, which included the word “overly”. Hopefully I didn’t overdo it. It seems very dense. It’s rising beautifully now. The recipe not too complicated, but there is a lot of time involved. Also, the whole wheat and honey make it a little expensive if it doesn’t work. So far I’ve enjoyed the process. I’ll report again once I’ve baked the bread and tasted it.
Can I use just regular flour, no wheat flour?
Yes, that’s fine.
I love making this bread. It’s taste so fantastic and so easy to make. It’s never enough when I make it in my home. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe to the public. ,👌👌🤗
Added pumpkins seeds and sunflower seeds just before the second rise. Yummy!
I’ve added one cup of coconut cream and one cup of milk instead of 2 cups of milk so that my bread can have some of that coconut tastes in it and it was delicious. Thanks for the recipe👍
All oatmeal is rolled oats regardless of whether it’s instant, quick, old-fashioned, steel-cut, whatever. Rolled oats is just another word for oatmeal.
Steel cut oats aren’t rolled; they’re cut.
I made this bread for the first time and it turned out perfectly! I did not use a stand mixer so I kneaded by hand for almost ten minutes. So worth it! My family loves it and finished off a whole loaf by the end of the day! Thank you!
I made a slight variation. I added 2 cups of sourdough stater substituting for the warm water and a cup of white flour.. then adjusted the flour as I mixed and kneaded. It came out perfect and was so good warm from the oven with butter and honey.
Loved it! It came out soft and sweet. Thanks for sharing the recipe. How long can I keep it at room temperature? Thanks!
This bread is delicious!! The perfect amount of sweetness. I only soaked the oats for 5 minutes (I was impatient), and I used room temperature water so I wouldn’t kill off the yeast, and it was still great.
I made this today,, my question is why does it have a sour taste to it.????
Used buttermilk, added some vinegar and left out honey – made a great sourdough oat bread!
How much vinegar did you use ?
Did you substitute vinegar for something?
Can you explain how you used with sourdough starter ?
Hope I did not overwhelm you with ????
Please tell us exactly how you made your sourdough bread without the sourdough starter so we can all enjoy it without messing up our bread. Thank you so much!!
How long can it keep without refrigeration or freezing?
TIA
Best recipe ever , thank u .
What size loaf pans 8×4 or 9×5
For taht amount of flour I would use 2 8X4 pans or you could use 4/5ths of the recipe in a 9X5 and make rolls with the rest
Can I replace the honey with sugar?:)
This bread turned out great. I would definitely give this recipe 5 stars!
can you make this bread without a loaf pan. As free form
Just wondering if you think you could turn this recipe into dinner rolls…
Just made this for the first time…..AMAZING! I am not an expert bread baker by any means, and this turned out perfectly. The texture is so soft and tender, and the taste is as I said AMAZING! I just found my new favorite bread! It’s so easy to make, it just takes time to rise and you are good to go.
My whole wheat breads often come out dense but this was light and had great flavor. Perfect for sandwiches. Easy enough, it might actually replace store bought sandwich bread for our family!
Loved this bread! I added dried cherries and walnuts, I think next time I should add more.
My rise did not keep after being in the oven for 5 minutes or so!
Mine too…my rise did not keep. Although, the dough really did rise quite quickly during the 2nd rise. I will use this recipe again….but lighten up on either the milk or water. Bread is heavy….but lots of flavor.
Turned out perfect!
Hi…can the whole wheat flour be substituted with rye flour?
I haven’t tested it myself but I think it would work fine (obviously just change the flavor 🙂 ). Enjoy!
Just made this bread it’s yummy, especially toasted. However, is it meant to be made without any salt? Thank you for your great recipes!
It does have salt — 1 1/2 teaspoons.
So odd! My print out does not list salt. I see it in the online instructions but not the printed versions. I can send you a photo, it’s bizarre! Thanks so much and just so you know it’s also great without salt! Gave a loaf to my low-sodium diet father in law and he was ecstatic! Thanks.