The Hungry Skier: Whole Wheat Oatmeal Maple Syrup Bread (Now That’s a Mouthful!)

Note: This is part an occasional series of heart-healthy and fitness-ready recipes for skiers. The following was submitted by U.S. Ski Team member Ida Sargent, who bakes this bread regularly with her Craftsbury Green Racing Project teammates in northern Vermont. Have a favorite recipe of your own? Share it with us by emailing alex@fasterskier.com.

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“At Craftsbury, the GRP lives together and we make all of our own bread.  So that means we go through a lot of loaves! A bunch of us take turns making it and sharing recipes and this bread is one of our favorites.

It’s really quick and easy to make and the cinnamon and maple give it great flavor.  I usually follow the recipe pretty closely but substitute maple syrup for the honey which it calls for.  Also some of my best results have come from lots of kneading so make sure to get at least ten minutes.”

— Ida Sargent, U.S. Ski Team/Craftsbury Green Racing Project

Vermont Whole Wheat Oatmeal Honey (or Maple Syrup) Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup maple sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Saigon-type cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
• 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, oats, maple sugar, honey or maple syrup, butter, salt and cinnamon. Let cool to lukewarm.

Add the yeast and flours, stirring to form a rough dough. Knead (about 10 minutes by hand, 5 to 7 minutes by machine) until the dough is smooth and satiny. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.

Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a loaf. Place the loaves in two greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch bread pans. Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow the loaves to rise till they’ve crowned about 1 inch over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.

Bake the loaves in a preheated 360°F oven for 33 minutes.*

Remove them from the oven when they’re golden brown, and the interior registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Yield: 2 sandwich loaves.

*If your oven can’t be set at 360°F, set it at 350°F and bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes.