snow day

today is a great day to stay inside and play in the kitchen as the view outside turns into a winter wonderland. we know everyone in nyc is sick of the snow but the beauty and stillness of the white powdery stuff is still exciting to these west coast kids! cookbook santa was very good to us this holiday and we have loads of inspiration to share. a few books at the top of our list that we received are noma, tartine bread, my sweet mexico, and baked explorations. the oatmeal sandwich bread recipe for today's post comes from another wonderful cookbook, good to the grain, filled with recipes that bake with whole grain flours. it's a perfect loaf to toast, smear with butter and jam & nibble with a cup of tea on this snowy day. enjoy!

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

(from Good to the Grain)

makes 1 large loaf

1 pkg active dry yeast

3 tbs unsulphered molasses

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled

1 tbs kosher salt

add 2 cups warm water, yeast and molasses to the bowl of a standing mixer. stir, allowing yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes, until it begins to bubble. add flours, oats and butter to the yeast mixture. stir together with a wooden spoon, cover with a towel and let sit for 30 minutes. attach the bowl and the bread hook to the mixer. add salt and mix on medium for about 6 minutes or until the dough slaps around the sides of the bowl without sticking. if the dough is sticking at any time, add one or two tablespoons of bread flour. the dough will be soft, supple and slightly tacky.

scrap the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a towel. let it rise for about one hour or until it's doubled in size.

to shape the dough, scrape onto a lightly floured work surface. press down, working into a square shape and depressing any air bubbles. fold the dough down from the top to the middle, then up from the bottom to the middle. next, bring the newly formed top and bottom edges together and pinch the seam in the middle, sealing the seam with your fingers. pinch the sides together and roll the shaped dough back and forth, plumping it so that it's evenly formed and about the size of your loaf pan. place the dough in a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and press it gently into the corners of the pan. cover and let it rest for about 1 hour or until dough rises to half it's size or puffs up over the edge of the pan.

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. bake for 40 minutes, rotating halfway through. the loaf is ready when the top crust is dark as molasses and the bottom crust is dark brown. give the top of the loaf a thump to see if it sounds hollow. remove the loaf from the pan and cool for at least 2 hours on a baking rack.