An easy no knead recipe for high altitude oatmeal bread. This oatmeal raisin bread is a little dense and hearty, made with oats and whole wheat flour, lightly sweetened with honey, cinnamon and plump raisins. It’s great for making oatmeal raisin toast, but can also be made without the raisins for sandwiches.
You might also love these high altitude bread recipes for no knead rye sandwich bread, walnut zucchini bread, and Irish brown bread.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No Knead, No Mixer. If you’re new to bread making, this is a great recipe for a beginner to start with. You won’t need a mixer, and you won’t need to knead the dough. Simply stir the dough together with a spoon, then let it rise before baking.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
That said, most of my yeast dough recipes for rolls, buns and bread can be made at any altitude without adjusting the ingredients. The main difference will simply be on how long it takes your dough to rise, since dough tends to rise faster at higher elevations. If making this recipe at sea level or low altitude, you’ll likely need to use the whole packet (2 1/4 tsp) of yeast, and your dough will take much longer to rise.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Oats. You’ll need old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats or steel cut oats.
- Raisins. You don’t have to add the raisins, but I love the flavor, texture and sweetness that they add. You could even add some chopped walnuts or pecans, too.
- Honey. I used honey to lightly sweeten the bread, but you can use pure maple syrup, or any other preferred sweetener.
- Water. The water adds moisture and hydrates the oats and raisins.
- Flour. You’ll need both a high protein bread flour, as well as whole wheat flour, preferably stone ground.
- Cinnamon. Flavor, to complement the oats and raisins.
- Yeast. Leavening agent, so the bread rises. I use and love this instant or rapid rise yeast. Note that you won’t be using a whole packet of yeast.
- Salt. Adds flavor or the bread would be bland.
- Milk. Gives the top of the bread a golden brown crust.
Instructions
Make and Rise the Dough
- In a saucepan, bring one cup of water to a boil. Remove from the heat, and stir in the oats, raisins and honey/maple syrup. Let stand for 10 minutes for the oats and raisins to soften, then scrape the mixture into a large bowl.
- Stir in 1 1/4 cups of the lukewarm water.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the bread flour, wheat flour, cinnamon, yeast and salt. Add the flour mixture to the oat mixture, and stir together into a sticky, moist dough. Only add the remaining 1/2 cup of lukewarm water if needed to bring the dough together, but you may not use all the water. If you make this bread without the raisins, you will likely need a little less water.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then set in a warm place to rise until the dough is doubled in size, about 75-90 minutes.
Shape the Dough and Rise Again
- If using a non-stick bread loaf pan, like the USA Bakeware pans, just brush the inside of the pan with softened butter. If your pan is not non-stick, use non-stick baking spray.
- Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, which will cause the dough to deflate. Then, you can simply scrape the dough into your prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Or you can dump it out onto a floured surface, flour the top of the dough, and roll it up into a log. Then place the log of dough, seam-side down, into the prepared pan.
- Set the pan in a warm place for the dough to rise a second time. If using the USA Bakeware 1-lb Bread Loaf Pan, let the dough rise until it’s puffed above the top edge of the pan by about 2 inches. This is the pan I used, and its dimensions are 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75.
- You can also use the USA Small Pullman Loaf Pan, with dimensions of 4″D x 4″W x 9″H, if you want a tall, straight-sided loaf of bread without the “muffin top”. With this pan, let the dough rise just to the top edge of the pan, but not puffing over the edge. Your baked bread will be shaped more like this rye bread if you use the pullman pan.
Bake the Bread
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Use a pastry brush to gently brush the milk over the top of the dough.
- Bake the bread for about 45-55 minutes, until a digital instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads 195F.
- Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack, and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing with a sharp, serrated bread knife.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
After the bread cools, store slices in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
If you slice it thinly, you can certainly use it for sandwiches. For oatmeal sandwich bread, I recommend leaving out the raisins.
You can use any type of sweetener you like, including brown sugar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, etc.
I absolutely love Red Star Platinum Premium Instant Yeast with Dough Enhancers. Instant yeast doesn’t require proofing first, and can be mixed directly into the dough. If using active dry yeast, you’ll need to proof or activate it first. Instead of mixing the yeast into the dry ingredients, stir it into some of the lukewarm water (heated to between 110-115F) along with some of the honey. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until bubbly, then stir the liquid into the dough.
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High Altitude Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread (No Knead)
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup raisins, optional
- 3 tbsp honey or pure maple syrup
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 ¼ – 1 ¾ cups lukewarm water
- 2 ¼ cups (10.5 oz) bread flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup (5.2 oz) whole wheat flour (preferably stone ground), fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (not the whole packet)
- 1 ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tbsp milk, for brushing over the bread before baking
Instructions
Make and Rise the Dough
- In a saucepan, bring one cup of water to a boil. Remove from the heat, and stir in the oats, raisins and honey/maple syrup. Let stand for 10 minutes for the oats and raisins to soften, then scrape the mixture into a large bowl.
- Stir in 1 1/4 cups of the lukewarm water.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the bread flour, wheat flour, cinnamon, yeast and salt. Add the flour mixture to the oat mixture, and stir together into a sticky, moist dough. Only add the remaining 1/2 cup of lukewarm water if needed to bring the dough together, but you may not use all the water. If you make this bread without the raisins, you will likely need a little less water.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then set in a warm place to rise until the dough is doubled in size, about 75-90 minutes.
Shape the Dough and Rise Again
- If using a non-stick bread loaf pan, like the USA Bakeware pans, just brush the inside of the pan with softened butter. If your pan is not non-stick, use non-stick baking spray.
- Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, which will cause the dough to deflate. Then, you can simply scrape the dough into your prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Or you can dump it out onto a floured surface, flour the top of the dough, and roll it up into a log. Then place the log of dough, seam-side down, into the prepared pan.
- Set the pan in a warm place for the dough to rise a second time. If using the USA Bakeware 1-lb Bread Loaf Pan, let the dough rise until it's puffed above the top edge of the pan by about 2 inches. This is the pan I used, and its dimensions are 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75.
- You can also use the USA Small Pullman Loaf Pan, with dimensions of 4"D x 4"W x 9"H, if you want a tall, straight-sided loaf of bread without the "muffin top". With this pan, let the dough rise just to the top edge of the pan, but not puffing over the edge. Your baked bread will be shaped more like this rye bread if you use the pullman pan.
Bake the Bread
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Use a pastry brush to gently brush the milk over the top of the dough.
- Bake the bread for about 45-55 minutes, until a digital instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads 195F.
- Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack, and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing with a sharp, serrated bread knife.
Heather Smoke
I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do!
Nicole
Should I cover the dough for the second rise in the loaf pan?
Heather Smoke
I didn’t.
Kimberly Hashagen
Can I use all purpose flour. Bread flour very hard to come by.
Heather Smoke
That would probably be fine.
Kelly Halligan
I have the same question=must we use bread flour?
Heather Smoke
You can use all-purpose flour, but the higher protein content of bread flour will give it a chewier texture.
Linda K.
This looks delicious. I LOVE cinnamon raisin bread. I’m not at high altitude, though, so could you advise what, if any changes, I should make to the recipe? Any suggestions are welcome.
Heather Smoke
Please see my FAQs for helpful tips and conversion charts: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
Linda K.
I’m in love with this recipe. It is so good and so easy. I live in Sacramento, which is only 30 feet above sea level, but the low altitude was not an issue. I followed the recipe as written, except for using a full packet (2 1/4 tsp.) of yeast and using brown sugar as the sweetener. I used a Pullman pan and it made a beautiful loaf. I’ll make it over and over again, and it will make a beautiful gift, too. Thank you so much for sharing this special recipe.
Heather Smoke
I’m so happy you love it, and thanks so much for sharing the changes you made. That’s always helpful for others at the same elevation.
Lisa Rosenhagen
Hi Heather, I love all your recipes! I’m looking for a cinnamon swirl raisin bread, do you have a recipe for that?
Heather Smoke
Not right now, but I have one that I’m working on for the future.
Linda
Another really tasty baked good. Thank you, Heather. I followed the directions as written, even though I live at a higher altitude than you said you do. It’s very good with soft butter, whether toasted or just warm.