Making bread is a production. But it's worth it. Once the loaves are cooled, I cut them in half and freeze. That way, it doesn't mold. Have been making bread for decades.

Cooked traditional oatmeal makes up the liquid in this bread. The key is to cook the oatmeal the night before. Remove from heat, stir in the salt and honey, cover and let it sit overnight. The oatmeal absorbs all of the water and becomes soft and creamy. In the morning stir in oil and yeast dissolved in lukewarm water. I use grapeseed oil.

The result is outstanding loaf, very different, and superior to bread made with raw oats. The bread is light and bright. It has a rich, creamy flavor, very subtle, but with great warmth. It's devastating as toast. And freezes beautifully.

While kneading I do 500-pushes. Most people under-knead bread. Since the counter is an inch too high, I do a calf raise with each push. Good exercise. To me, kneading dough is rhythmic, sensual and fun.

Towards the end of the kneading period, I knead in tiny chips of cold unsalted butter. This lubricates the gluten and creates a significantly higher rise.

Covered with a damp muslin cloth, I let the dough rise on a heating pad that is covered with a bath towel folded into thirds. The first two rises are in a warm ceramic bowl with the heating pad set on medium heat. After the dough is shaped into greased pans, the final rise is on high heat. Slashing the top before baking gives it room to rise all the way to the bottom.

There's nothing like the delicious smell of baking bread.

Don't talk to me about bread machines

Flour is drier based on how long ago it was milled, storage temperature, etc. I test the dryness of the dough with my hands and add water as needed. Bread machines cannot do that. Because bread machines shorten the kneading, the bread gets stale in a day.