Soft Oatmeal Bread

We eat a lot of peanut butter in our home and for a long time, my husband and I differed on the best bread to use for a quality peanut butter and honey sandwich (yes, we tend toward honey over the more traditional jellies and jams). He argued that soft (nutrition-void) white bread was the best format for peanut butter; I countered that a hearty slice of wheat was a much better option. For me, white bread that sticks to the roof of your mouth just compounds the adhesive qualities of peanut butter; for him, wheat bread was too distinctly flavored to provide a neutral base. Luckily for us, we discovered oatmeal bread a few years ago, which is hearty enough for the sticky goodness of peanut butter but subtly-flavored enough to let the peanut-honey flavor combination take center stage.

I attempted to recreate the standard oatmeal loaf in our bread machine this afternoon, and while the flavor and texture of the interior was pleasant, the crust was too crunchy. A proper oatmeal loaf should have a soft crust that complements the pillowy inside. I reluctantly used the recipe's recommendation for a "dark crust" setting, which delivered a much tougher crust than I prefer. Despite the crunchy outside, it was still pretty tasty and we'll be enjoying some peanut butter and honey sandwiches on thick slices this week.

*OATMEAL BREAD*
Yields one (1) one-pound loaf

Ingredients
3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 T maple syrup (or honey)
2 t butter, softened and cubed
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup oats (I used Quaker Oats)
2 t vital wheat gluten
1 t salt
1 1/4 t yeast

Combine all ingredients, in the order listed above, in the bread machine, making sure to keep wet ingredients separate from the yeast (added last).

I used the white bread program on the darkest crust setting. Next time, I may double the amount of maple syrup and bake it on the lightest crust setting for a slightly sweeter and softer loaf.