This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Natalie of Oven Love: oatmeal breakfast bread. I checked the P&Q’s on the TWD site before I baked this one to see if there were any good tips, and I was excited to see lots of early raves for the bread. The recipe was full of promising ingredients – applesauce, dried fruit (I used apples), lots of great spices – including cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and oats. Plus, it called for a sweet, crunchy topping – comprised of brown sugar, pecans (which I omitted) and cinnamon – and everyone knows a topping like that almost guarantees a delicious result! I was on a baking roll this past weekend and after having already made granola and cupcakes, I decided to get this bread out of the way too. It’s so easy it can be started at 11 pm and it’ll be in the oven by 11:15 – which may or may not be exactly what I did. Of course, I didn’t factor in the 60+ minutes of baking time as well as the cooling time so you probably don’t want to start this bread at 11 pm unless you’re a real night owl 🙂
Dorie mentions that this bread is a good keeper, which was perfect in my case, as I didn’t get around to cutting into it and trying a slice until this morning. The crunchy topping on my bread was a bit of a mess, scattering all over the counter and the floor the minute I put my knife near the loaf. Messy or not, it was definitely the most delicious part of the bread. Otherwise, this one was just ok for me. I can’t put my finger on exactly what I didn’t love though I think it may have been the texture. My bread was really dense and almost too moist despite definitely having been fully cooked. In general I’m not a huge fan of quick breads so I wonder if subconsciously that played a role too. With so many of the other TWD bakers raving about this recipe, I may try it again in muffin form and see if I have better results.
Thanks to Natalie for hosting this week! You can find the recipe on her blog or on page 44 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Such gorgeous pictures. Sorry it wasn’t a huge hit, I made muffins and bread and I liked it in loaf form better.
Your bread looks perfect!
And at least if you had to do this at a late hour, breakfast was ready the next morning with no hassle!:)
I’m sorry this wasn’t your favorite recipe “but” your loaf sure looks gorgeous and perfect!
I have to try this loaf! Looks fantastic!
Brianna and Gillian would prefer your version–neither of them like the nuts, and B doesn’t like the raisins in mine. =) Looks delicious!
I loved how dense and moist this bread was. And it was very esy to put together.
Love the board yours is one. Looks nice and rustic.
Tracey! I’m sorry it wasn’t your favorite, but it still looks amazing! Thanks for baking with me. 🙂
I think I would have felt the same way about a loaf of this bread – but as muffins, it works. Try it! Plus, muffins only take about 15 minutes to bake. Your bread looks delicious.
I want to try this as muffins too. Your photos are perfect!
Your bread looks beautiful! Great photos! Sorry you didn’t love this one, but it still looks lovely.
Your bread looks amazing! I enjoyed making this one, it’s one of my new favs!
It’s funny, sometimes a recipe full of promise falls flat. I really like this one, though. I’ve had a few nights where I’m pacing around waiting for something to be done so I can go to bed.
Well, it looks really great!
Looks like heaven!
love your pics. i enjoyed this one too
sounds like you had quite an evening of baking! sorry this one was just okay for you
My topping was a bit of a mess too. I saw someone made muffins with it and decreased the applesauce a bit to keep it from being quite so moist. Your pictures certainly look great, even if you didn’t love the bread!
It looks lovely. Too bad it wasn’t a huge hit for you. It did work really well as muffins.
While not my favorite either, I made the best of it and made it in to coffee cake with some other twists. It was GREAT!
Your photos are always mouthwatering.
Your bread looks delicious. Although I was unable to make this recipe on time because I was on vacation, I will have to make this recipe and catch up. Great pics!
Good call on the muffin idea. I’m sure this would be excellent in muffin form.
My ‘bread’ did sort of masquerade as a pound cake. But I loved it, but I’m with you… the topping was the star!!
Even though it wasn’t your favorite, it certainly looks great!
Looks good to me. I keep bumping into oatmeal bread recipes today. Maybe it’s a sign.
Plan B