Healthy Scottish Oat and Wholemeal Bread Recipe

This wholemeal bread recipe is the antithesis of the doughy supermarket loaf

This is my favourite wholemeal bread recipe and I go back to it time and time again. Humble ingredients combined to make a sumptuous loaf. A bread full of character and flavour that ages gracefully over several days. Better yet, it’s packed with quality nutrients. It’s the antithesis of the doughy supermarket loaf.

Jump straight to the wholemeal bread recipe

The secret is the oatmeal

The key to this bread’s awesome properties is soaked oatmeal. Adding soaked grains is a traditional bread making technique that improves the keeping qualities of a bread. The oatmeal retains moisture during baking, adds texture and creates the full flavour of this loaf. And oats are arguably the healthiest grain you can eat. But oats on their own lack the gluten to make a good leaven bread. They need a little help from wheat flour.

The combination of oatmeal and wholemeal flour makes this bread a true health food.

The unglamorous beginnings of this Wholemeal Bread Recipe

I’d like to tell you it’s a treasured ancient Celtic recipe handed down to me by an ageing mentor and master baker. But I can’t. Sorry. Instead, it was a pragmatic marriage of two sides of my old job, the cook and the penny-pinching pub landlord…

There’s a comforting atmosphere about a local pub, especially in winter. The wall of warmth as you step in and out of the late November rain. A hint of woodsmoke from an open fire. The burble and crash of relaxed conversation and laughter.

And good beer on tap.

But keeping draught beer in good condition is a wasteful business. The pipes connecting the keg to the tap fur up with yeast and impurities tainting the beer’s flavour. Keeping beer lines pristine is essential. But every routine clean starts by flushing the beer from the pipes and throwing it away. It’s an accepted loss in the hospitality industry known as ullage. But, as a beer drinker and Scot, it broke my heart. Pints and pints of good beer and profit tipped down the drain.

I asked the bar team to deliver the ullage to the kitchen instead. We’d find a use for it somehow. And in short order, all manner of beer-based dishes were auditioning for a spot on our menu – with very mixed results.

Eventually, a beer and oatmeal bloomer emerged. And this premium loaf was a runaway smash in the restaurant and a star of the cash register in our Deli. The supply of waste beer couldn’t keep up with demand. My broken heart was healed.

And I confirmed what I’ve always thought to be true. 

• Some of the best recipes are born out of thrift. It’s true of traditional recipes from all over the world. 
•  Good food is simple and true to its roots. Oatmeal, beer and honey, it doesn’t get more Scottish. 
• Trial and error is the nursery of every great recipe. Granted the failures outnumber the triumphs, but those successes last a lifetime.

Where’s the beer?

If you’ve already scanned the recipe you’ll have noticed there’s no beer. Cutting out the beer lowers the calories per slice. I’m a nutritionist and I could pretend I removed the beer to make the bread healthier. But the truth is, beer doesn’t go to waste in my house. 

Cutting out the beer makes it a more home-kitchen friendly bread. Over time I’ve made a few minor tweaks to make up for the omission. Now it’s a bread that’s just as satisfying as the original loaf. 

But if you want to try replacing some or all of the water with beer, go right ahead. Your results will be interesting as your bread’s flavour will reflect your choice of beer. (Tip-  if you’re making the bread with beer, open the beer the day before and allow it to go flat)

Not a bread recipe for the novice

This isn’t a difficult bread recipe, but it can be a little intimidating to the novice bread maker. If that’s you, I recommend giving my Rustic White Loaf a couple of tries first. What you learn making that bread will set you in good stead for tackling this recipe.

If you’re unsure of any of the breadmaking techniques in this recipe there are step by step instructions in this article.

How to make bread at home – an essential guide to baking homemade bread

Enjoy!