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.

This no-knead maple oat bread is a variation of a favorite recipe in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs. It’s a simple recipe, just like all of the others, but the process is slightly different than the main peasant bread recipe.

In short, in this recipe, you add the water in two phases: first, the oats, maple syrup, and salt soak in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes; then you add 1 more cup of water with the yeast and flour. Unlike many of the recipes in Bread Toast Crumbs, which are baked in two Pyrex bowls, this recipe is baked in one standard loaf pan.

I love this bread so much — the oats give it a nice chew, and the whole wheat flour lends heartiness, making it an excellent toasting bread, though it works for sandwiches, too.

PS: No-Knead Three-Seed Bread

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 it stand for 10 minutes. Then add 3/4 cup of 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. For this recipe, I love using stone-milled flour from Cairnspring Mills. Other mills I love include: 

  • 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