Caretaker Farm Bread

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110º F)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

Instructions:

Mix oats in the hot water; let stand for about 30 minutes. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a separate bowl. Add honey and 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, beating for several minutes. Stir oats in and let the mixture sit for another 30 minutes. Add the remaining all-purpose flour and beat. Now add half of the wheat flour, the oil, and the salt, and beat that. Finally, add the rest of the flour with either or both of the optional ingredients, if you're using them. Beat it all together and knead the resulting dough for 10 minutes. Now put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour, in a warm spot. Grease two 9 x 5 bread loaf pans. Punch the dough down and divide it in half, and put each half in a pan. Let the loaves rise in the pans for one hour, again covered in a warm spot. Finally, bake the loaves at 400º F for 30-40 minutes.

NOTE: After you add the first cup of wheat flour and mix, just use your judgment on how much more wheat flour you use, it doesn't have to be a whole second cup. You may wish to use less if you're using the sunflower seeds and/or the raisins, because dry ingredients will firm up the dough. If adding an entire second cup of flour will make the dough too dry, just add as much as you can without having crusty dough.