Grandma's Oatmeal Molasses Bread
Bread Machine Recipe - Oatmeal Bread Recipe

Check out Linda's Bread Making Hints: Secrets to using the bread machine, About yeast in bread making, Sourdough Starter, and Quick Breads.

Put the oatmeal, butter or shortening, molasses, brown sugar, and salt in the pan of the bread machine; add boiling water. Allow to stand for 30 minutes or until mixture has cooled to warm.

Add the flour and yeast. Select dough setting and press start. Approximately half way through the kneading cycle, add the raisins. Check the dough (don't be afraid to open the lid). It should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).

When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. Form dough into an oval, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten. Shape dough into a loaf and place in a loaf pan that's been coated with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for approximately 30 to 60 minutes or until doubled (time can vary depending on room temperature).

Oven Rising: Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again. This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can't comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit.

Cool or Refrigerator Rise: If I don't have the time to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. (A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees.)

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Makes 1 1/2-pound loaf.