Heavenly Honey Oatmeal Bread

I got this recipe from my friend Rainey. I used half the recipe to make two loaves. I should have made all four loaves because we ate what we had way too fast!

2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

4 cups boiling water

2 packages yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2/3 cup honey

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon salt

11 cups flour

Place oats in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle the yeast over the ½ cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir to mix and let stand 5 minutes to dissolve. (If using quick rise or instant yeast, just stir dry yeast directly into the flour and add the ½ cup warm water to the oat mixture before mixing in the rest of the ingredients.)

Add the honey, butter, salt and yeast to the oats. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in enough of the flour so the dough can be handled. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Knead until dough is elastic but still rather sticky, adding flour as needed. Don’t add too much at a time.

Place dough in a greased bowl and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour). Punch down dough and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into quarters. Shape each piece into a loaf. Place the loaves into greased bread tins. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes or so.

Bake in 350°F oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack. Makes four loaves.