Herbed Oatmeal Parmesan Bread

A month ago I was visiting my mother and she had some of this yummy bread leftover from dinner! IT IS SO GOOD!!! I quickly got the recipe from her and made it yesterday for my little family! It literally made our mouths water! Even my two kiddos ate their portion and said "mmmm" with each bite! Oh, and the smell of the herb topping is amazing! Larry was VERY impressed with it and couldn't figure out how I made it look all "pull-apart-y"...haha! Suprisingly it was quite easy (even for a "bread-basher" like me)! Oh, and don't worry, there are no oatmeal chunks in it...the oatmeal is just in there for the added texture! :) Enjoy!



Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons butter

3 3/4 to 4 3/4 cups white flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 pkg yeast

1 egg

Herb Topping:

1 Tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon oregano leaves

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

couple dashes of rosemary

6 tablespoons butter, melted (I like 8 tablespoons or more)

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil

Stir in the oatmeal and take off the heat

Stir in the 3 tablesoons butter and let cool till warm

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cup flour, sugar, salt, yeast and blend well

Add the oatmeal mixture and egg

Blend at low speed until moistened

Beat on medium speen for about 3 minutes

By hand, stir in 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 cups flour to form a stiff dough

On a floured surface, knead in 1/2 to 3/4 cups flour until the dough is smooth and elastic (5 minutes)

Shape into a ball and cover it with a large bowl on the counter

Let it sit for 15 minutes

Remove the bowl covering and punch down the dough numerous times to get out all the air bubbles

Lighly grease a 9 by 13 pan (or two 9 inch cake pans) and press the dough into the pan

Using a very sharp knife, cut diagonal lines 1 1/2 inches apart cutting completely thru the dough (do not drag the dough while cutting though)

Repeat the cutting in the opposite direction to create a diamond pattern

Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and a towel on top ****(see below)

Let rise for 45 minutes (or 20 minutes...see below) till double in size

Heat the oven to 375

Uncover the dough and redefine the cuts by cutting carefully through again

In a small bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, and garlic powder

Spoon 4 tablespoons of the melted butter over the dough and bake for 15 minutes

Take it out and brush the remaining butter (or more if you like) over the bread

Sprinkle with the herb/cheese mixture and cook for 10-15 more minutes or until golden brown

****if you want to bake at a later time, let the dough stand at this point for 20 minutes and then remove the towel and place in the fridge for 2-24 hours. When ready to bake, remove from fridge, take off plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Bake as directed. *Because I have a smaller family, I made two 9 inch cake pans and baked one today and placed the other in the fridge to bake tomorrow.