Happy 2013 to one and all!

I'm so excited to be starting this blog that will eventually help my family out financially (fingers crossed). I am a stay-at-home mom and want to continue to be until my youngest goes to Kindergarten, so I have 4 years. My goal with this blog is to document my everyday endeavors in homemaking and to learn different things that I have always wanted to learn and just haven't taken the time to do so.

That brings me to today. It's the first day of the new year, so why not start off learning something brand new...like, say, baking bread?! I recently got a new Kitchen Aid mixer from my oh-so-wonderful Sister and mother, to whom I am sooooo grateful for!

Baking bread used to scare me to death! It seemed like such a chore to have to mix it together and then knead it by hand for what seemed like hours! Because of my fears, and the lack of Kitchen Aid, I never did...or if I did, I didn't do it right. Yeast was not my friend, but now we're total bff's!

I had to start the morning, of course, with my Santa mug full of delicious hot chocolate!

Where was I now? Oh yes, the bread. Honey Oat bread to be precise. I got this recipe from Darla here at Bakingdom.

This bread turned out so soft and delicious, I can't even describe it. My house smelled so good during the baking and for hours afterward! Also, this was the quickest loaf of bread that I have ever baked from start to finish. Who doesn't like that?

I started out by putting all of the dry ingredients in the mixer in order.

Then I heated up the milk in the microwave...or you could use a pan on the stove...just hot enough to melt the butter though. Don't boil it. Put the butter into the milk and stir it around until the butter melts and add the water and honey and mix it.

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until it's well combined. After that's done, you'll need to knead with your mixer for 10 minutes. If the dough is still sticky after about 5 or 6 minutes you'll need to add some more flour. With Darla's recipe, she said to add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it's not sticky anymore. I use the "hand" method though. :-) I add a light handful at a time, watching the sticky dough become unsticky. (Is that even a word?)

When the 10 minutes are up, you need to put your dough into a greased bowl and cover. Put it in a warm place and let it rise for about an hour until it's doubled in size. I like to put mine in my oven after it's been heated to 250 degrees and then turned off. I leave the door of the oven opened slightly. (Pay no attention to the filth in the bottom of my oven. That's a resolution all in it's self!)

I love opening the oven and seeing the monster glob of dough that has grown. I know it doesn't look that monsterous, but believe me, it doubled and a half in size. It's in a large bowl.

The next step is to turn your dough out on a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle. Roll up your dough on the long side and tuck the ends under. Place it in your bread pan that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Darla used parchment paper but I chose not to and it still turned out just fine with no sticking.

After it's in the pan, cover it again and put it back in the warm place until it doubles again. Darla said 1 1/2 hours but it all depends on your kitchen's temp. Mine only took about 45 minutes to double in size.

Time to drizzle the warm honey on top of the dough.

Make sure you get it evenly drizzled so that you can get the oats that you need to sprinkle ontop to stick.

Bake your bread in a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes. Put a pan of about 2 cups of boiling water on the top rack in the oven for moisture so that the bread stays soft on top. The bread is done when you tap on the top and it sounds hollow. It will also be this beautiful golden brown color.

After the bread comes out of the oven, turn it out of the pan onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing.

Slice, butter and enjoy! My Ginny, who is 7, took one look at the bread when it came out of the oven and said, "Ewww!" I made her try the first slice and she loved it! In fact, the whole family loved it!

We loved it so much that we cubed some of it up and used it in our cheese fondue for our New Year's Day dinner. I highly recommend this recipe!

This doesn't contain any eggs and only 2 Tbsp of butter! This is one loaf of bread that won't last long in this house.

A special thanks to Darla over at Bakingdom for sharing this recipe!

Honey Oat Bread
Makes 1 9×5-inch loaf

Ingredients
3 cups (381 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cups oats (I have used instant and old fashioned, both work great)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup (250 ml) milk (almond or soy milk for vegan/dairy free)
1/4 cup (62 ml) lukewarm water
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey (agave for vegan)
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons honey (or agave), warmed
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons oats

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, oats, yeast, and salt.
In a small bowl, or two cup (450 ml) measuring cup, warm the milk so that it’s hot enough to melt the butter, but not boiling. Add the butter, stirring until melted, then stir in the water and honey.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, mixing until it just comes together to form a dough.

Knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic (if you’re making this recipe by hand, the dough will be very sticky at first; flour your hands and work surface generously and be patient). If the dough is still very wet and sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is barely tacky. If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) at a time, to soften it up.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Once doubled, place the dough on a clean, dry work surface. If the dough is too sticky, lightly flour the surface before continuing. With your fingers, flatten the dough into a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Tightly roll the dough, tucking the ends as needed, into a loaf. Place the shaped dough into a 9×5-inch loaf pan, cover with a clean dry towl, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Place an empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven and bring 2 cups of water to a boil.

When the loaf is doubled again, brush the top with the warmed honey and sprinkle with the oats.
Place the bread in the oven and pour the boiling water into the empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190 degrees.
Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Recipe by Darla