Oatmeal Raisin Bread

I made oatmeal raisin bread again.  This time I skipped the swirl and just did the bread.  It turned out awesome, which is surprising since I haven't made bread more than a half-dozen times in my life.  Anyway, here's the recipe:

Oatmeal Raisin Bread

1 cup oats 
1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)

2 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup raisins

To begin, put the oats in a heat resistant bowl.  Add boiling water. Stir until just incorporated.  Set aside to cool.  Once the oats are cool, put the yeast into small bowl and add the warm water. Stir until incorporated.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, and salt.  Cut the butter into 4-6 chunks, add those to the flour mixture, and using your hands, rub the butter into the mixture until you can't find any chunks of butter.  Still using your hands, squish in the oatmeal until it's entirely incorporated.  Stir in the yeast mixture.  Once you've got it all mixed together, it's time for kneading.  I knead in the bowl, dusting with flour from time to time to get the goo off my hands and into the dough.  Otherwise, turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead for 5 minutes.  It will be a wet, sticky dough but it gets better as you close in on 5 minutes.  Knead in the raisins.  Butter a clean, large bowl and drop the dough ball into it, turning the ball so it gets coated all over with the butter.  Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and push into a square (roughly a half inch thick) to get all the air bubbles out.  Fold the left and right sides of the square in so you have a rectangle that's about as wide as a 8x4" bread pan.  Fold or roll the rectangle into you've got something that looks like a loaf.  Butter the bread pan.  Set the loaf in the bread pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and let rise for another hour.  While you're waiting for it to rise, preheat the oven to 375F.  When it's risen above the edge of the pan by about an inch, put it into the preheated oven.  Right now, turn the oven down to 350F.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and firm.  (The original recipe says the internal temp should be 210F, but I go by feel.)  Remove from oven and turn out onto a rack to cool.  Slice and serve.  I've been either nuking it or toasting it, and slathering it with butter.  

Making this takes me most of the day, by the way.  I start in the morning making and cooling the oatmeal, which takes a couple hours, then there's the mixing, the kneading, the rising, etc.  If you have the time, though, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Next bread I'll make is a chocolate bread recipe that sounds yummy.  Wish me luck.