Oat and Raisin Buttermilk Loaves

The ultimate breakfast bread: moist, a little-bit-sweet but not over-the-top, whole grain so it stays in the tummies for a while, and super easy. You do have to plan ahead a little if you want to make it (the oat soaking part), but otherwise, the recipe comes together very quickly. And yes, the measurements for the dry ingredients are in grams; it's just so much easier to weight the ingredients than it is to measure.

 Yield: 2 loaves
 

Ingredients

120 g rolled oats
 2 cups buttermilk
 100 g dark brown sugar
 3 eggs, beaten
 240 g whole wheat flour
 2 teaspoons baking powder
 1 teaspoon baking soda
 2 teaspoons salt
 3/4 cup canola or coconut oil
 170 g seedless raisins or other dried fruit (we especially like dried berry mix)
 1 tablespoon butter, melted, for brushing
 1 tablespoon honey, melted, for brushing
 

Directions

1. Soak the oats in the buttermilk for 2 hours. Grease and flour 2 8 x 4 loaf pans. (Just fyi – if you line the pans with foil, and grease that. It’ll be easier to remove from the pans and then wrap up to store.)
 

2. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put raisins in a small bowl; pour boiling water over the raisins and set aside while preparing the rest of the batter.
 

3. Stir the sugar and eggs into the oat-and-buttermilk mixture. Keep stirring until the sugar melts.
 

4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix with the oat mixture and stir in the oil.
 

5. Drain the raisins and stir into the batter.
 

6. Turn the batter into the loaf pans.
 

7. Bake for 45 minutes or until brown, risen and cooked through – if the loaves seem to be getting too brown, cover with foil.
 

8. Brush with melted butter and honey, then cool for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the tins.
 

9. Serve. It’ll be easier to slice when cool, if you can wait that long.