Oat Nut Loaf
Intro
If you want sugary, soft grocery store bread — skip this.
In a few hours your kitchen will be filled with one of the world’s greatest aromas.
You don’t need anything fancy to make this recipe.
And if you’ve never made bread before,
This beginner recipe is exactly where you need to start.
It smells like toasted wheat with a sweet bourbon chaser.
The crust cracks when you press it.
The crumb is light, but hearty.
Slice it thick. Toast it mid-rare (you know what I mean).
Drag it through butter or your favorite dip
Create a world class sandwich.
It’s by far my favorite everyday bread, miles apart from the grocery store stuff.
It’s so good you’re gonna want to double the recipe and share with a friend.
A Dollar and a Dream
This recipe goes back to 2003, when my mentor, Chef Eardley became part owner of a small Brooklyn restaurant.
He needed to gut everything and start over.
He replaced his baker, grill cook, cold line cook and pastry cook with one hire.
That hire was me.
Most of those responsibilities landed on my shoulders.
The days were very, very long.
I was young, exhausted, and having the time of my life.
Being in charge of bread and pastry, I had to learn quickly.
At the time, I didn’t yet understand how to make dense bread fluffier.
I was learning bread the only way I knew how — by doing, failing, and repeating.
Eventually I got it where I wanted, or never stopped trying.
Years later, when I started SCRATCHbread (2009), I came back to this bread.
I added a small percentage of sourdough starter.
I adjusted flour ratios.
I started soaking dried fruit in bourbon.
I experimented with different yeasts and sweeteners to coax more lift and complexity.
And btw, not because I knew what the hell I was doing,
I was mastering what not to do..
I developed a unique oat mash to bring nutrients and extend shelf life.
Flavors are layered and burst as you keep chewing.
Toasted pecans and date syrup add to the intoxicating aroma.
Every sandwich gets elevated,
My personal favorite is dragging it through a smoky baba ghanouj dip (recipe here)
That sweet–nutty–savory complexity is why this bread is a go-to everyday loaf.
THE RECIPE
Tools
Digital scale | Large mixing bowl | Parchment paper |
Dutch oven or lidded baking vessel | 1 lb Loaf Pan (optional)
TIP:
Prepare the oat mash at least an hour before making this recipe, preferably left overnight at room temperature.
I suggest making a double batch and keeping it in the fridge for future loaves.
PREP:
OAT MASH
20 g rolled oats (about ¼ cup)
20 g steel-cut oats
110 g hot water (1/2 cup)
Stir, cover, and cool completely. Let sit at least 1 hour at room temperature (I recommend overnight).
Texture should be thick and porridge-like.
PREP:
BRAN MIX
30 g rolled oats (about ¼ cup)
30 g wheat bran or wheat germ (about ¼ cup)
15 g ground flaxseed (about 2 Tbsp)
15 g ground chia seed (about 2 Tbsp)
Stir together well.
Weigh out 60 g for the dough.
Reserve the remainder (30 g) for shaping loaf on table.
THE DOUGH
Dry Ingredients
90 g whole wheat flour | about ¾ cup
120g bread flour | about ¾ cup
50 g rice flour | about 4 Tbsp
60 g Bran Mix | about ½ cup (*recipe above)
Wet Ingredients
150 g water | about ⅔ cup (150?)
75 g barley malt syrup | about ¼ cup
150 g oat mash (use all prepared mash)
10 g Active dry yeast | about 2 Tbsp)
To Finish
15 g extra-virgin olive oil | about 2½ tsp
10 g fine sea salt | about 1¾ tsp
55 g pecans, chopped | about ⅓ cup
Table Flour:
Remaining Bran Mix (approx. 30 g)
20 g Sunflower OR pumpkin seeds | about 2 Tbsp
METHOD
Mix the Dough
👉 Hand Mix
Combine all wet ingredients and all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix until no dry flour remains.
Squish together and clean sides of bowl.
Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Add olive oil and salt.
Fold until evenly incorporated.
Knead in bowl for about 5 minutes, or until salt in evenly distributed.
—> PRO TIP: Pinch a tiny piece — you should taste even seasoning, not salt pockets.
Add a Tablespoon of flour to work table, knead dough for 2 minutes till surface is smooth
Cover and rest another 1 hour 30 minutes, or until double in size.
Shape and Coat
Combine remaining Bran Mix with sunflower seeds- this is your table flour.
Lightly flour the surface of your table.
Turn dough onto table.
Flatten into a rectangle.
Book fold dough into 1/3rds. With seam side up, flatten again into a rectangle, lengthwise moving away from you.
Repeat two more times, using Bran Mix to prevent it from sticking to the table.
The Last book fold is more of Rollup into a tight “sleeping bag” shape.
Roll to coat all sides with bran mix.
Place seam-side down in a non stick 1lb loaf pan.
Cover and proof 1.5 - 2hrs at room temperature.
The loaf should noticeably puff and spring back slowly when pressed.
Bake
Preheat Dutch oven at 450°F (230°C) for 30 min.
Place loaf pan inside the preheated Dutch oven and drop 2–3 ice cubes between the pan and the Dutch oven wall (not on the dough).
Cover and bake 20 minutes at 450°F.
Reduce to 360°F (180°C), uncover, and bake 25 minutes more.
Internal temperature should reach 205°F (96°C).
Remove from Loaf Pan and Cool on rack at least 1 hour before slicing.
Share Your Bake
Slice thick. Toast if you like.
Butter. Almond butter. Honey.
Or go savory with dips, salumi, cheese,
Build all the sandwiches
If you bake this, tag me or reply and tell me how it turned out!
Emilia! She also worked for me at Tiny Cup for a little while. What an amazing woman.