4ozrolled oatsnot instant or quick-cook, 113 grams or 1 cup
11ozwater312 grams or 1 1/4 cups plus 3 Tablespoons
3 ozbutterdivided use, 87 grams or 6 Tablespoons
4ozwhole milk113 grams or 1/2 cup
1.5ozmaple syrup43 grams or 4 Tablespoons
2teaspoonskosher saltI use Morton's, 10 grams
15ozall-purpose flourI use King Arthur, 425 grams or about 3 1/2 cups
1teaspoonyeast4 grams
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, bring oats and water to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. The oats will be very thick and stodgy.
Remove the oats from the heat and scrape them into the bowl of your stand mixer.
Add 2 oz/57 grams cold butter, milk, maple syrup, and salt, and whisk to combine and completely melt the butter.
The mixture should now be warm but not hot, about 100F.
Dump all the flour on top of the oat mixture, and add the yeast last.
In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix until all the flour is incorporated and you have a shaggy dough, about 1 minute.
Increase mixer speed to medium-low (Speed 4 on a KitchenAid) and knead for 10-12 minutes until the dough mostly clears the sides of the bowl but is still sticking in the bottom. Dough should be smooth (oatmeal notwithstanding), somewhat sticky, and very supple and stretchy.
With oiled hands, gather the dough into a smooth ball, put it back in the mixing bowl, spray the top lightly with pan spray or brush it lightly with neutral oil, and cover.
Let the dough rise in a cozy place (I like to use the microwave with a mug of boiling water next to the dough) until doubled in volume, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Spray a clean countertop with a little pan spray or rub it with some neutral vegetable oil
Scrape the risen dough out onto the prepared surface and evenly press out the gases and shape the dough into a rough rectangle.
Fold the long ends of the rectangle in towards the center and then tightly roll up from a short end. Place the loaf, seam-side-down, into a 9" x 5" loaf pan, and lightly spray the top.
Cover and let rise again in a cozy place until the dough rises about 1" above the rim of the pan, about 45 minutes-1 hour.
Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350F/160C while the dough is rising.
Make a shallow slash all along the center-top of your loaf and place in the hot oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. The internal temperature of the bread should be between 195-200F. My bread was done in 42 minutes.
During the last 5 minutes or so of baking, melt the remaining 1 oz/28 grams of butter in the microwave.
Remove the baked loaf to a cooling rack and brush the top of the loaf liberally with butter.
Allow the loaf to cool in the pan *turned on its side* for 15 minutes. Then remove it from the pan to cool on a rack, right-side-up, to cool completely before slicing and enjoying.
Notes
To Substitute Bread Flour
Increase the water from 11 oz to 12 for cooking the oats and substitute 14 oz bread flour for the 14 oz of all-purpose.Note I use King Arthur all-purpose which has relatively high protein for all-purpose flour. If using Gold Medal or similar, decrease the water to 10.5 oz.
For an Overnight Rise
Make the dough, let it rise, shape it, put it in its loaf pan, and then refrigerate it overnight.Bring it out the next day and let it sit out in a cozy place for about an hour, or until it rises above the rim of the loaf pan by about 1", before baking.You could also make the dough, spray and cover it, and refrigerate overnight. Shape it the next day and let it rise in a cozy place until it reaches 1" over the rim of the pan, and then bake.