What went wrong with Porridge Oats Bread?

Savvy_Sue

Sorry I don't get over here very often, but I know you people will be able to help me. Also sorry if there is a bread thread buried way down which it would be better to add this to ...

Anyway, I have a small Morphy Richards Breadmaker, makes 1.5lb loaves which works for me. I'm OK with white and wholemeal, but yesterday I tried a porridge oats bread, because it was quick (1 hr 40 min) and I needed it quick.

Recipe was:
1 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
1/2 tsp sunflower oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups plain flour
1 cup porridge oats
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

There was supposed to be sugar and golden syrup in too, but I really don't like sugar in my bread and it doesn't seem to matter when I leave it out of the other recipes, although I know the book says it will help it rise.

Anyway, what came out resembled nothing so much as a curling disc. Small, flat and heavy. It didn't seem to have risen AT ALL! It tasted OK-ish while it was hot, but it's not very palatable now.

So what went wrong? Or more important, what should I do next time?

1. zap the milk in the microwave to get it to room temp?

2. use SR flour? If so, do I keep the baking powder and/or bicarb in?

3. forget it, it will never work?

Thanks in advance!

squeaky

There's no yeast listed there.

???

Savvy_Sue

squeaky wrote:

There's no yeast listed there.

???

No, I assumed that's where the baking soda / bicarb came into it. And I assumed the lack of yeast was so it didn't need several rises. It only has one. Except it didn't. Rise, that is.

I think my next step will be to try it with SR ...

squeaky

Well, yes, there are plenty of breads that don't use yeast... maybe SR will help... how many loaves do you need for the curling set? Four isn't it?

raeble

Oats are heavy I'd put some yeast in it, or maybe some skimmed milk powder - that always made my bread rise too much when used in conjunction with yeast. So maybe that would help. Self raising flour should help.

pol

It's the syrup that made the difference. Combined with the bicarb and soda, it would have given it that extra boost. Some recipes use carrots or bananas to help with the rising, the moisture helps I think.

I have an oat bread recipe somewhere, I'll see if I can find it for you.

Found this from my recipe file
Cheesy Oat Bread

2 ½ cups bread flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp yeast
¼ cup powdered milk
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
1 egg whisked
1 cup warm water
1 cup cheddar cheese grated
1 small onion chopped fine (optional)

follow instructions for your machine


pol

Savvy_Sue

I think my confusion now is that if I add yeast, can I still do it as
a Quick bread? Because if I can't, I'm back to square one. I've only
got two "quick" recipes in my instruction book, one is for Banana and
nut bread which is useless because DH is allergic to bananas, DS1
won't eat nuts, and anyway I wanted a savoury bread in a hurry, not a
sweet one.

That recipe from pol sounds nice - but can you give me any clues about
how many rises and kneads it needs?

I wondered if adding the sugar would have helped, but didn't think the
golden syrup would have done much. I was obviously underestimating the
power of golden syrup!

I do add skimmed milk to the recipes I normally use. But for once in
my life I was trying to follow the recipe! Apart from the sugar, of
course, wouldn't do to go too mad, and because I'd left it out of my
other breads I thought I'd get away with it this time.

We live and learn.

carly

Well I'm not a bread maker user, although I make a lot of bread manually. Your recipe seems to be a variation of what we used to call soda bread. The main feature of this is that having no yeast and therefore not requiring kneading or rising it is quick to make ( and usually eateen quickly too. very good warm.

The main raising ingredients are the bicarb and/or baking powder which react with the liquid to give off CO2 gas which makes the bread rise. However, because there is a limited amount of raising agent , and therefore CO2,which evaporates away with time, it is imperative that the dough is cooked as quickly as possible after mixing to capture the gas in the bread whilst cooking. If all the rising happens before the bread is cooked then the dough settles back into a heavy lump and no amount of baking can make it rise again.
What I am trying to say is that it may not be an ideal recipe for a bread maker if there is prolonged mixing involved and then a long cooking time. Soda bread is usually put in a v. hot oven within minutes of the dough being mixed.

competitionscafe

Here are some recipes from Mornflake (a company who sell oats), 2 with yeast and 1 (soda bread style) without. I have also successfully added oats to normal bread, but only substituted about 20% of the flour for oats (So 80% flour 20% oats) which gives an oaty flavour and texture rather than an oat bread. As for sugar, I was told it helps the yeast to grow - I usually add a little bit of honey rather than using sugar. For recipes with yeast in any liquid [milk/water] needs to be lukewarm. By the way for the 2nd one (soda bread) you can use normal milk instead of soya, in fact I think it's nicer with 'proper' milk!

Oat Bread Recipes:

---

Cheshire Oatmeal Loaf
sent in by Pamela Roth, Cheshire

Inspired by a traditional recipe from North-west England, I have adapted this hearty loaf for the modern bread making machine. It is the perfect partner for strong cheese, washed down with real ale or a glass of red wine. At breakfast time, try it lightly toasted with honey.
Ingredients:
360 ml (12 fl.oz) Lukewarm Water
2 tbsps. Brown Sugar
1/2 tbsps. Salt
2 1/2 tbsps. Oil (Rapeseed, Corn, or Olive Oil)
2 tbsps. Skimmed Milk Powder
425g (15 oz) Strong White bread Flour
125g (4 1/2 oz) Mornflake Medium Oatmeal
1 Sachet (2 1/2 tsp.) Allinson Easybake Yeast or other dried yeast which has added vitamin C
Method:
Put the ingredients into the bread maker baking pan in the order listed left.

Bake using basic setting on your machine.

---

Oat Soda Bread
sent in by Pamela Roth, Cheshire

This is ideal for wheat-free, dairy-free and de-tox diets, since the only grain is Mornflake oats, and milk substitutes are used instead of dairy products. Serve wedges of soda bread with vegetable soup or with fresh fruit for breakfast time. Tastes great warm from the oven, but you could try making a double quantity and freezing some. You can then defrost and warm them slightly in the microwave.
Ingredients:
225g (8 oz) Mornflake Porridge Oats
50g (2 oz) Mornflake Medium Oatmeal
1 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp. Salt (optional)
2 tbsps. Rapeseed or Olive Oil
200 ml (7 oz) Soya Milk or Oatly Milk Drink or Rice Milk

Method:
Put the Mornflake Porridge Oats into a food processor or blender and mill to a fine flour.

Place in a large bowl with the Mornflake Medium Oatmeal, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Pour in the oil and milk and mix to a soft dough.

Tip the mixture on to a baking sheet, sprinkle the top with oatmeal and pat gently into a round, flat shape. With a knife, mark into eight wedges.

Bake in a pre-heated oven 200ºC (400ºF, gas mark 6) for 15 minutes, until light brown.

---

Oat Bread
sent in by Mr Brandon, Lancs

I have just had a tour around your excellent website and noted there is no recipe for Oat Bread. With the proliferation of bread making machines it is a simple matter to make Oatbread, below is a recipe I have used many times, it will make a 1 1/2 pound loaf.
Ingredients:
1 1/8 Cups (280 ml) Water
1 1/2 tbsps. Skimmed Milk Powder
2 tbsps. Sunflower oil
2 1/2 tbsps Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
1 Cup (250 ml) Strong Wholemeal Bread flour
1 Cup (250 ml) Strong White Bread Flour
1 Cup (250 ml) Mornflake Superfast Oats
1 tsp. Fast Acting Yeast
1 (75 mg) Crushed Vitamin C tablet Method:
Measure ingredients accurately and ensure they are at room temperature.
Add the ingredients to the baking tin in the order listed left. Use the 'Whole-wheat' setting on your bread-making machine.

Try it, the loaf has a light spongy texture and an excellent taste.
If you omit the Vitamin C tablet, the loaf will be more dense in texture and will not rise as much.

I have used 'Mornflake Superfast oats' in this recipe many times with excellent results.

http://www.mornflake.com/Pages/readersrecipes.html

Savvy_Sue

carly wrote:

The main raising ingredients are the bicarb and/or baking powder which react with the liquid to give off CO2 gas which makes the bread rise. However, because there is a limited amount of raising agent , and therefore CO2,which evaporates away with time, it is imperative that the dough is cooked as quickly as possible after mixing to capture the gas in the bread whilst cooking. If all the rising happens before the bread is cooked then the dough settles back into a heavy lump and no amount of baking can make it rise again.
What I am trying to say is that it may not be an ideal recipe for a bread maker if there is prolonged mixing involved and then a long cooking time. Soda bread is usually put in a v. hot oven within minutes of the dough being mixed.

Right, well, I suppose next time I could try just mixing and then using oven, that might help. It looked as if it was rising earlier (I have a window in the lid) but then it sank.

The quick setting does 7 minutes kneading, 5 minute rise, 8 minute second knead then bakes for 80. It does heat slightly during the rising, but because it only rises once I guess that may not be enough.

OK, NEXT TIME I am in a hurry I will warm the milk, use SR flour, and stick some honey or something in!

Thanks for the other suggestions, but I am after a QUICK recipe here, and my 'basic' setting is 3 hours!

Savvy_Sue

Partly because I've decided to upgrade my breadmaker and I'm passing the old one on to my sis, thought she'd appreciate a quick recipe which works!

Anyway, this time I read the recipe a bit better and realised that there should have been 1/4 cup sugar in it last time. If I'd realised there was that much, I wouldn't have left it all out, but I'm hopeless at following recipes religiously, and I'm used to it being tablespoons and the like for sugar.

So this time I used:

1 cup milk, warmed to blood heat in microwave
2 beaten eggs
1/2 tsp sunflower oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup plain flour
1 cup SR flour
1 cup porridge oats
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cooked on quick setting of bread machine, took 1 hour 40 minutes, and it's OK! A bit sweeter than I like, but not unpalatable.

I will suggest my sis tries it with all SR flour, especially if she wants to cut down the sugar, it's risen about twice as tall as it did last time but there's still no danger of it escaping the tin!