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Nutty oats and a touch of honey come together in this sourdough oatmeal bread that’s deliciously soft and chewy inside with a crispy, golden crust.
I love experimenting with different kinds of sourdough bread, and this hearty loaf is one of my current favorites. The crumb walks the line between chewy and fluffy, and the outside is a gorgeous golden shade with wonderful crunch. Thanks to scalding the milk and mixing the rolled oats into the dough so they can ferment the entire time, this loaf has a fine, tender crumb that’s great for slicing and toasting or making into sandwiches.
What really sets this rustic loaf apart is the toasted, nutty flavor from oats, as well as the balance between tangy sourdough and sweet milk and honey. It’s bliss.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Ingredients To Feed Your Starter
- 100% hydration ripe sourdough starter – “Ripe” in the context of a sourdough starter means that it’s ready to bake with; it should consistently double in size within 4 to 12 hours after feeding at room temperature. Note that if you’re just making your starter, it can take 7 to 10 days (or longer) for it to ripen to the point of being ready to bake with.
- Unbleached all-purpose flour – Organic if possible.
- Non-chlorinated water – I use room temperature bottled water.
Ingredients For Sourdough Oat Bread
- 100% hydration fed, bubbly sourdough starter – Feed your starter and give it time to peak before making the dough.
- Whole milk – Scalded and cooled slightly.
- Honey – Honey adds a touch of sweetness that pairs well with oats and balances tangy sourdough. It also feeds the wild yeast and helps with the rise and crumb, as oat bread can be dense and heavy.
- Fine sea salt – My go-to is Redmond Real Salt.
- Old-fashioned rolled oats – Organic if possible (this article from the Environmental Working Group is why I buy organic oats; if you’re interested, you can read more on this topic on Central Coast Center For Integrative Nutrition).
- Unbleached bread flour – Organic if possible.
Optional Topping
- Old-fashioned rolled oats – You can skip them, but I like to add oats on top for a couple reasons: 1) it’s aesthetic and lets you know immediately what kind of bread this is, and 2) the oats toast as the bread bakes and take on a nutty flavor.
Instructions: How to Make Sourdough Oatmeal Bread With Rolled Oats (Not Porridge)
Step 1: Feed Your Starter (4 to 12 hours wait time)
Feed your starter so that it’s at peak when you’re planning to make the dough. Around 4 to 12 hours before you want to make the dough is the general timeframe, but you know how long it takes your starter to reach peak after a feeding, so go with that.
Step 2: Make the Dough (30 minutes wait time)
Add the active starter, milk, honey, and salt to a large container (TIP: use a glass or clear container so you can see through the sides and bottom), and whisk to combine. Add the rolled oats and bread flour, and stir to form a shaggy dough (don’t knead it). Cover the container and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Stretch and Folds (90 minutes wait time)
- Wet your hands and perform your first set of stretch and folds. To do so, grab a piece of dough, gently stretch it up, fold it over, and then rotate the bowl 1/4 turn. Repeat this process 3 more times until you come to the point where you started. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, repeat the stretch and fold process. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for another 30 minutes. Repeat this process 2 more times, for a total of 4 sets of stretch and folds spaced 30 minutes apart.
Step 4: Bulk Fermentation (6 to 12 hours wait time)
Let the dough rest (covered) until bulk fermentation is over, about 6 to 12 hours at room temperature. Bulk fermentation is over when the dough looks puffed. (TIP: It doesn’t have to be fully doubled in size; this particular loaf may be around 50%. The top of the dough should be slightly domed and bubbly, and the bottom should look spongy.)
Step 5: Shape
- Line a large bowl with a clean cotton tea towel, and sprinkle an even layer of flour across the towel.
- Lightly spritz your countertop with a little non-chlorinated water and wet your hands (I prefer to roll out my dough with water instead of flour). Scrape your dough out onto the dampened countertop and roughly shape it into a rectangle about 13 to 14 inches long by 8 to 9 inches wide (it doesn’t have to be perfect and you aren’t rolling it out here). Gently press the dough with your fingertips to get rid of excess gas bubbles. Fold your dough in thirds like a letter, then starting with one end, roll up the dough into a log. To create surface tension, gently pull the dough towards you across the countertop a few times.
- Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of oats on the dough evenly across what will be the top of the loaf (i.e., the non-seam side).
- Place the dough (seam-side-up) into the prepared towel-lined bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Step 6: Proof (2 to 4 hours at room temperature or 12 to 24 hours in the fridge wait time)
Let the dough rest until it’s properly proofed, about 12 to 24 hours in the fridge or 2 to 4 hours at room temperature. (TIP: You’ll know it’s properly proofed when it looks puffed. Also, the poke test is helpful as a guideline; lightly flour your finger and the dough’s surface, and gently press your finger into the dough. If it springs back slowly (instead of springing back quickly or not at all), it’s ready to bake.)
Step 7: Preheat, Score, and Bake (1 hour wait time)
- An hour before you want to bake, put a 5 to 6-quart Dutch oven with the lid on (or whatever vessel you use for baking sourdough) into the oven. Preheat the oven to 450F; once your oven reaches temperature, set a timer for 1 hour.
- After preheating the oven for 1 hour, take your dough out of the fridge, invert it onto a parchment paper-lined plate, and score the top. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the dough up and place it into the Dutch oven (with the parchment still underneath it). Put the lid on.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake until done, about 20 minutes more. (TIP: The bread is done when it’s golden outside, sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, and reaches an internal temperature of 205-210F.)
Step 8: Cool and Slice (about 6 hours wait time)
Transfer the bread to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing, at least 6 hours, but overnight is better.
How to Scald Milk
- Pour the milk into a wide saucepan. (TIP: I like to add a little more milk than the recipe calls for, as some will evaporate off. For this recipe, I scald about 265 grams of milk.)
- Heat over medium-low until the milk is steaming hot and tiny bubbles form along the outside. (TIP: It should be around 180 to 185F on an instant-read thermometer, but you can gauge it by sight.)
- Immediately remove from the heat and cool slightly. (TIP: I let the milk cool until it feels lukewarm, but if you want to use an instant-read thermometer, it should be around 105F.)
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Tips
- Storage: Once it’s cool, store this bread in a bread bag or wrapped in a kitchen towel for up to 3 days at room temperature, or in a zip-top plastic bag for up to 1 week in the fridge.
- Freezing: To freeze sourdough slices, let the loaf fully cool and then slice it. Arrange the slices in an even layer on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and freeze until solid. After that, pop the frozen slices into a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: After freezing, for the best flavor and texture, I recommend toasting the slices right before eating. You can reheat frozen sliced sourdough bread in a 425F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes (no need to thaw it first!), flipping each slice once halfway through.
Tips For the Best Sourdough Oatmeal Bread Recipe
- For a softer crust and rich, buttery flavor, as soon as the loaf is out of the oven, rub 1 tablespoon of salted butter all along the outside.
- I like using milk instead of water in this dough for a couple reasons. First of all, it enriches the dough, creating a softer, more tender crumb. This works particularly well here because oatmeal is heavy and can otherwise create a dense crumb. Additionally, the sweet, rich, creamy flavor of milk beautifully complements the flavor of oats and honey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! And there are a few different methods by which you can do it.
A common method I’ve seen is to make oatmeal porridge (like the kind you sat down to for breakfast as a kid). I’ve used this method and I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite. The bread was stodgy, overly dense, and a bit more unpleasantly gluey than deliciously chewy.
I much prefer adding rolled oats to the dough before fermentation, which is the method I’m sharing in this recipe.
Yes, you can use rolled oats to make sourdough bread – no need to make porridge!
This method incorporates the rolled oats directly into the dough when it’s first mixed. This way, the oats benefit from the entire fermentation process and incorporate beautifully into the dough, creating chewy texture and still giving us a crispy crust. You won’t get gluey patches of porridge in your bread.
Yes, friends, otherwise you risk a very dense loaf. Scalding milk denatures the proteins and deactivates the enzyme glutathione that would otherwise weaken the gluten and slow down the rise. As a result, sourdough made with scalded milk is more tender and fluffy with a uniform crumb that works beautifully for sandwiches.
More Sourdough Recipes You’ll Love
- Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls
- Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread
- Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
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Sourdough Oatmeal Bread Recipe
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Ingredients
To Feed Your Starter:
- 100 grams 100% hydration ripe sourdough starter
- 100 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (organic if possible)
- 100 grams non-chlorinated water (I use bottled water at room temperature)
Dough:
- 225 grams sourdough starter (100% hydration; fed and bubbly)
- 240 grams whole milk (scalded and cooled slightly; see Notes for how to scald milk)
- 42 grams honey (42 grams of honey is about 2 tablespoons)
- 12 grams sea salt
- 140 grams old-fashioned rolled oats (organic if possible)
- 250 grams unbleached bread flour (organic if possible)
- 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats (optional; for topping)
Instructions
Feed Your Starter (4 to 12 hours wait time)
- Feed your starter so that it’s at peak when you’re planning to make the dough. Around 4 to 12 hours before you want to make the dough is the general timeframe, but you know how long it takes your starter to reach peak after a feeding, so go with that.
Make the Dough (30 minutes wait time)
- Add the active starter, milk, honey, and salt to a large container (TIP: use a glass or clear container so you can see through the sides and bottom), and whisk to combine. Add the rolled oats and bread flour, and stir to form a shaggy dough (don’t knead it). Cover the container and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Stretch and Folds (90 minutes wait time)
- Wet your hands and perform your first set of stretch and folds. To do so, grab a piece of dough, gently stretch it up, fold it over, and then rotate the bowl 1/4 turn. Repeat this process 3 more times until you come to the point where you started. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, repeat the stretch and fold process. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for another 30 minutes. Repeat this process 2 more times, for a total of 4 sets of stretch and folds spaced 30 minutes apart.
Bulk Fermentation (6 to 12 hours wait time)
- Let the dough rest (covered) until bulk fermentation is over, about 6 to 12 hours at room temperature. Bulk fermentation is over when the dough looks puffed. (TIP: It doesn’t have to be fully doubled in size; this particular loaf may be around 50%. The top of the dough should be slightly domed and bubbly, and the bottom should look spongy.)
Shape
- Line a large bowl with a clean cotton tea towel, and sprinkle an even layer of flour across the towel. Lightly spritz your countertop with a little non-chlorinated water and wet your hands (I prefer to roll out my dough with water instead of flour). Scrape your dough out onto the dampened countertop and roughly shape it into a rectangle about 13 to 14 inches long by 8 to 9 inches wide (it doesn’t have to be perfect and you aren’t rolling it out here). Gently press the dough with your fingertips to get rid of excess gas bubbles. Fold your dough in thirds like a letter, then starting with one end, roll up the dough into a log. To create surface tension, gently pull the dough towards you across the countertop a few times. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of oats on the dough evenly across what will be the top of the loaf (i.e., the non-seam side).Place the dough (seam-side-up) into the prepared towel-lined bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Proof (2 to 4 hours at room temperature or 12 to 24 hours in the fridge wait time)
- Let the dough rest until it’s properly proofed, about 12 to 24 hours in the fridge or 2 to 4 hours at room temperature. (TIP: You’ll know it’s properly proofed when it looks puffed. Also, the poke test is helpful as a guideline; lightly flour your finger and the dough’s surface, and gently press your finger into the dough. If it springs back slowly (instead of springing back quickly or not at all), it’s ready to bake.)
Preheat, Score, and Bake (1 hour wait time)
- An hour before you want to bake, put a 5 to 6-quart Dutch oven with the lid on (or whatever vessel you use for baking sourdough) into the oven. Preheat the oven to 450F; once your oven reaches temperature, set a timer for 1 hour.
- After preheating the oven for 1 hour, take your dough out of the fridge, invert it onto a parchment paper-lined plate, and score the top. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the dough up and place it into the Dutch oven (with the parchment still underneath it). Put the lid on.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake until done, about 20 minutes more. (TIP: The bread is done when it’s golden outside, sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, and reaches an internal temperature of 205-210F.)
Cool and Slice (about 6 hours wait time)
- Transfer the bread to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing, at least 6 hours, but overnight is better.
Notes
- Recipe Yield: This recipe makes 1 loaf of bread, or about 16 servings. The nutritional information was calculated based on it yielding 16 servings.
- Storage: Once it’s cool, store this bread in a bread bag or wrapped in a kitchen towel for up to 3 days at room temperature, or in a zip-top plastic bag for up to 1 week in the fridge.
- Freezing: To freeze sourdough slices, let the loaf fully cool and then slice it. Arrange the slices in an even layer on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and freeze until solid. After that, pop the frozen slices into a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: After freezing, for the best flavor and texture, I recommend toasting the slices right before eating. You can reheat frozen sliced sourdough bread in a 425F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes (no need to thaw it first!), flipping each slice once halfway through.
- Pour the milk into a wide saucepan. (TIP: I like to add a little more milk than the recipe calls for, as some will evaporate off. For this recipe, I scald about 265 grams of milk.)
- Heat over medium-low until the milk is steaming hot and tiny bubbles form along the outside. (TIP: It should be around 180 to 185F on an instant-read thermometer, but you can gauge it by sight.)
- Immediately remove from the heat and cool slightly. (TIP: I let the milk cool until it feels lukewarm, but if you want to use an instant-read thermometer, it should be around 105F.)
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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