Leftover Oatmeal Bread

The ultimate definition of thrift is taking something unusable and resurrecting it into something of real great value.

No one likes rubbery leftover oatmeal. We've tried to save helpings leftover from breakfast and reheat them later--maybe adding a little bit of milk to brighten it up--but it's still not the same as a steaming pot of freshly-cooked oatmeal. So we've tried giving old oatmeal to the chickens, and --truth be told-- they love it, but I just still feel like throwing it out to the chickens was a bit of an extreme sentence for the crimes of the old oatmeal.



I knew there had to be a better option. Adding them to bread seemed like a perfect idea. I consulted Alton Brown, for his food savvy, and adjusted the recipe to our own food preferences (whole wheat and honey). Our oatmeal was steel cut oats and included a little bit of dairy and honey, but rolled oat oatmeal could be used as well.



Leftover Oatmeal Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups leftover, cooked oatmeal, at room temperature
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for bowl and pan

1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour, plus 1/2 cup extra for kneading
1/4 cup toasted uncooked old fashioned rolled oats, plus 1 tablespoon extra for topping
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Toast the raw oats if desired.

Combine the leftover cooked oatmeal, warm water, honey, and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Combine the yeast, bread flour, 1/4 cup toasted, uncooked oats, and the salt in a small mixing bowl.

Add the dry mixture to the cooked oatmeal mixture in 3 installments and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon after each addition.

Spread last 1/2 cup of bread flour on a counter. Turn the dough onto it and knead by hand for 10 minutes, adding more flour, if needed. Dough will still be a little sticky. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or container. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, and put it into a lightly oiled 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the egg yolk and water in a small bowl. Lightly brush the top of the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon toasted, uncooked oats. Bake about 55 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the loaf from the pan to a cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Banana Oat Drops

When we could tell Wyatt was ready for some food of the teething biscuit variety I started looking for recipes. I found some recipes on this baby food website which is also where we got the info on making the rice cereal.  I wanted a non-wheat recipe, no extra sugar, and having no eggs was a good thing too.

The recipe we tried out recently --Oat and Banana Drops-- was a hit.  It made a biscuit that was soft and mushy in the baby's mouth (as opposed to the type that is hard and dissolves as the baby sucks on it).  They were delicious--tasting similar to a banana-walnut-type muffin but with 753 less calories a piece (estimated) and containing only happy baby ingredients.  And they made for one satisfied baby.

This is the only picture I have because the entire family ate up the half batch within 12 hours.  (Had to let the baby share his nourishing snack with the rest of us--we need it too!)


Oat and Banana Drops -- Baby Biscuit Recipe:


1 c old-fashioned oats
1 c ground oats (oat flour)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 t baking powder
1 c (2-3) ripe bananas, mashed
1 t vanilla extract
3 T oil


Mix dry ingredients together, set aside.  Mix wet ingredients, pour into to dry mixture. Drop by the spoonful onto parchment paper or greased baking sheet, or use a piping bag to make long bars. Bake 12-15 min at 350.

This is (before cooking) how I made mine.  I piped them into bars because Wyatt likes to be able to grab on and have something sticking out of his fist to chew on.  This was a half batch and made 16.  A full batch should make about 32 bars or 64 drops and should hopefully last more than a day. 

Homemade Granola

I will eat this granola with milk poured over the top as a replacement for store-bought cold cereals. (It's good when mixed half and half with crisp rice or "O" cereal too.) I also like to put it in the microwave for 30 seconds just to warm it but not make it soggy. This is great as a topping on yogurt, you could even try it as a topping on ice cream or a salad.

I don't put any dried fruit in my recipe. Those strong flavors tend to overwhelm me in granola.

This recipe calls for "Steel-cut Oats." You can often find them in the grocery store right by the other oats and oatmeal or by the grains in the "natural food" section. They are just oats processed by blades instead of rollers. They actually make for a really great porridge-style oatmeal as well.

Homemade Granola Recipe

3/4 C pure Maple syrup
3/4 C oil
1-3/4 C brown sugar

32 oz. container of old fashioned oats
1 C steel cut oats (also called Irish oats or “pinhead” oats)
4 oz. slivered almonds
1 1/2 C large flaked (shaved) coconut

Heat oven to 350°. Mix maple syrup, oil and brown sugar in large glass bowl--microwave for 1-1/2 minutes; stir; microwave 1-1/2 more minutes.

Put the oats, almonds and coconut in a large bowl. Pour syrup mixture over it and stir to blend.

Spread granola onto two half sheet pans and toast, stirring every 4 minutes until golden-crisp, about 12 minutes.

If you want it to be in nice clumps then do not stir it the last time you bring it out of the oven. After the last 4 minutes of cooking just pull out the sheets and leave them until cool. Cool completely before serving.

Store in airtight container.

Makes 20 cups

Homemade Granola Bars

I've been working on this recipe for a long time. This is an instance where I wanted to replicate my favorite store brand, so that's why it is the way it is. This includes the addition of crisp rice cereal (and peanut butter chips). This cereal really helps keep the bar light. Even with that addition these bars still have way less preservatives than what the grocery store sells. But if you want-- exchange them out for more oats.

Homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Recipe:

3/4 C butter, softened
1/2 C honey
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 C rolled oats
1 1/2 C crisp rice cereal
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C peanut butter chips
1/2 C peanut pieces (I put peanuts in a plastic bag and give my son a mallet and 60 seconds.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter one 9x13 inch pan.

In a large mixing bowl combine the butter, honey, and brown sugar. Add the vanilla, flour, and baking soda, mix to combine. Add the oats, crisp rice and remaining mix-ins. Firmly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. When you remove from oven, use the back of a spatula to press down and compact the bars. (This will make them easier to hold without them falling apart.)Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.

**For oatmeal raisin granola bars leave out chips and peanuts, add 1 cup raisins.

Makes 24 1 x 4 inch granola bars. Freeze extras--though I doubt there'll be any.

Sourdough Oatmeal Muffins

1 egg
1/2 C. oil
1 1/2 C. sourdough starter
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 C. flour
1 tsp salt
1 C. oats

Oil a muffin pan and preheat oven to 375*F.

In a small bowl mix together the egg, oil, and starter; set aside. In a large bowl mix together the brown sugar, flour, salt, and oats. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients in the well and stir just enough to moisten the dry mix. The batter will be lumpy.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 30 minutes.