Sweetened with maple syrup and loaded with oats, this fresh maple oat bread is baked in a loaf pan, comes together in no time, and is so, so tasty. The oats give the bread a nice chew, and the whole wheat flour lends a heartiness, making it an excellent toasting bread.

Just-baked oatmeal maple loaf on a cooling rack.

One of the recipes from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs, that trips people up the most is the oatmeal-maple loaf. It’s a simple no-knead recipe, just like all of the others in the book, but the process is slightly different, and the written format, as a result, is also different.

In short, in this recipe, the water gets added in two phases: first, the oats, maple syrup, and salt soak in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes; then more water gets added along with the yeast and flour.

Because my publisher only includes water in the ingredient list if it is “boiling” or “lukewarm” or “ice cold”, etc., only the 1 cup of boiling water is listed in the ingredient list. You are instructed to add the remaining water at the end of step 1.

Many people over the years have missed this detail and have made the recipe using only 1 cup of water, and when their oatmeal-maple bread has baked into a doorstop, they’ve emailed me wondering why.

It always makes me sad, because I love this one so much — the oats give the bread such a nice chew, and the whole wheat flour lends a heartiness, making it an excellent toasting bread.

After sharing the recipe for the loaf pan peasant bread over on Cup of Jo, I thought it might be nice to revisit this one and re-write it for a single loaf pan, since most people have one, and include all of the water in the ingredient list to prevent the production of any more oatmeal-maple doorstops.

PS: No-Knead Three Seed Bread

A Note on Whole Wheat Flour

The original recipe calls for a mix of whole wheat flour and white flour. In this recipe, rather than using commercial whole wheat flour, I’m using stone-milled flour from Cairnspring Mills. I’ve written about the benefit of using stone-milled flour in this post, the most compelling reason being that stone-milling preserves more of the bran and the germ, which is where many of the nutrients, antioxidants, oils, and flavors are stored. Industrial mills remove this germ in order to create a shelf-stable product.

As an experiment, I made one loaf with commercial bread flour exclusively and one loaf with a mix of commercial bread flour and stone-milled flour, and while they both were good, the one made with stone-milled flour was superior in both flavor and texture.

I find locally milled stone-milled flours at a local co-op, Honest Weight Food Co-op, and I also order online from various sources. Here are a few I love:

A bag of Trailblazer bread flour.

How to Make Oatmeal Maple Loaf, Step by Step

First, gather your ingredients: flour, salt, water, oatmeal, maple syrup, and instant yeast (SAF is my preference).

Ingredients to make oatmeal maple bread.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, salt, maple syrup, and 1 cup boiling water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Then add 3/4 cup cold (or room temperature) water.

A bowl of oats, water, maple syrup and salt.

Sprinkle the yeast over the top and stir to combine.

Adding the yeast to a bowl of water, oats, maple syrup and water.

Add the flour or flours: I’m using a mix of 1 cup Trailblazer Bread Flour and 2.25 cups King Arthur Flour bread flour.

Adding the flour to a bowl of water, oats, maple syrup, yeast, and water.

Mix until you have a sticky dough ball — you may need to knead with your hands to get the dough to come together into a ball.

Mixed oatmeal maple bread dough in a bowl.

Cover the bowl and let rise in a draft-free spot for 2 to 3 hours …

A mixing bowl covered with a cloth bowl cover.

… or until doubled in volume:

Risen oatmeal maple bread dough in a bowl.

Once doubled, slick the surface with a little olive oil and release it from the sides of the bowl.

A bowl of oatmeal maple bread dough, deflated after the first rise.

Turn the dough over, roll it into a coil or a loaf shape, and place it in a buttered loaf pan coated with oats.

Sprinkle oats over the surface of the dough as well. Let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour or …

A loaf of oatmeal maple bread coated in oats unbaked in its loaf pan about to start its second rise.
A loaf of oatmeal maple bread unbaked in its loaf pan, starting its second rise.

… until the dough has risen considerably. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes at 375ºF.

A loaf of oatmeal maple bread unbaked in its loaf pan, risen and ready for the oven.
Just-baked oatmeal maple loaf in its loaf pan on a cooling rack.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Just-baked oatmeal maple loaf on a cooling rack.

This is a side-by-side comparison of a loaf made with all bread flour (on the right) and one made with a mix of stone-milled flour and bread flour (on the left). It’s a subtle difference but the loaf on the right is slightly loftier.

Two loaves of oatmeal maple bread on a cooling rack.

A board of sliced oatmeal maple bread.

A board of slices of oatmeal maple bread.

Toast and slather with butter.

A slice of toasted oatmeal maple bread on a plate.

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Just-baked oatmeal maple loaf on a cooling rack.

No-Knead Maple Oat Bread

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Description

Sweetened with maple syrup and loaded with oats, this fresh maple oat bread is baked in a loaf pan, comes together in no time, and is so, so tasty. The oats give the bread a nice chew, and the whole wheat flour lends a heartiness, making it an excellent toasting bread.

Adapted from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs.

Changes from the original recipe include:

  • The vessel: This one is baked in a single loaf pan as opposed to two 1-quart Pyrex bowls. You can use an 8.5×4.5-inch pan or a 9×5-inch pan. I prefer the 8.5×4.5-inch pan for this one because it creates a slightly taller loaf.
  • Flours: The original recipe calls for a mix of white and whole wheat flour. Rather than using commercial whole wheat flour, I’m using stone-milled flour, which is more nutritious and more flavorful. Read more about it here or up above in the post. 
  • Water: I’ve cut the water back by 1/4 cup because I was finding my finished loaf to be a little too damp for my liking. With this slightly smaller amount of water, the dough is a teensy bit stiffer and therefore requires a bit more time to rise. 

If you like this recipe, find 40 variations in my cookbook: 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (88 g) rolled oats plus another 1/2 cup (44 g) for coating the pan
  • 1 cup (227 g) boiling water
  • ¼ cup (86 g) maple syrup
  • 1.5 teaspoons (5 g) kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) room-temperature water
  • 1.5 teaspoons (5 g) instant  yeast
  • 2¼ cups (288 g) unbleached bread flour or all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (128 g) stone-milled flour or whole-wheat flour, see notes above
  • Softened unsalted butter, for greasing
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the oats, boiling water, maple syrup, and salt. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add the remaining 3/4 cup (170 g) water and stir to combine. Add the instant yeast, and stir to combine. Finally, add the flours and stir with a rubber spatula, until the liquid is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. You may need to knead the dough with your hands briefly to help the dough come together, no more than 15 to 30 seconds. 
  2. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 2 to 3 hours, until the dough has doubled in volume. 
  3. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease an 8.5- x 4.5-inch (or 9×5-inch) loaf pan generously with softened butter. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of oats into the loaf pan and turn the pan so that the oats coat the pan on all sides. Pour out the remaining oats and set aside. 
  4. When the dough has doubled, drizzle the tablespoon of olive oil over the top and use your hand to rub the oil over the surface to coat. Use your hand again to release the dough from the sides of the bowl, then flip the ball over so that the oil side is down. Roll the dough into a coil or into a loaf shape (see video in the post above), then transfer to your prepared pan seam side down. Pour the reserved oats over the top, then spread with your hand or shake the pan to distribute them.
  5. Let the dough rise on the countertop (preferably in a warm, draft-free spot) for 45 minutes to an hour or until the dough has risen significantly in the pan — it should be doming above the rim of the pan by about one inch. See photos for reference.  
  6. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is evenly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack. Let the loaf cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
  • Prep Time: 5 hours
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: bread
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: American