
Softest oats and whole-wheat sandwich loaf
This oats and whole wheat flour sandwich loaf (eggless) is super soft and buttery in taste. Combination of two techniques yields that super soft and flavourful crumb
I have made this delicious loaf soooo many times, I have lost count. I often make two loaves at a time just because one loaf of this tastiest slice of bread just isn’t enough. And well, it is a sandwich loaf isn’t it? So very versatile. Eat it plain, toasted or make something out of it like my palak paneer sandwich. Use the paneer filling and make a sandwich you will get addicted to.

Though it is not a loaf of bread that can be made in a hurry as the dough requires pre-fermentation, the wait is soooo worth it. There are three components to this recipe. The pre-fermentation, the oats porridge and the final dough that brings all components together for the softest loaf of bread.
The two components of this recipe; biga and oats porridge are two techniques that gives this bread a soft, buttery and light texture. Biga is a type of a pre-fermentation which allows flavour to develop and makes this loaf light and airy. The porridge is the tangzhong, which is essentially the cooked part of the dough that helps keep the bread soft even after a day and gives it a light, fluffy texture. In the eggless milk loaf, I have used tangzhong and if you have made it, you know how soft the pav or the loaf turns out.
Most often, tangzhong is a mix of flour and water that is cooked till it becomes like a thick, pudding kind of texture and then used in the final dough. In this recipe, however, instead of flour, we will be using flour made out of oats which we will toast first in some butter and then add milk to it to make a silky-smooth oats porridge. This porridge along with biga will give you a sandwich loaf that is not only buttery and soft but extremely flavourful.

Update: Recently I did a step by step video on my Instagram and Facebook stories and came about some interesting queries. So, summarizing it here for a quick check:
- Activating the biga and then proofing it overnight in the fridge, both are essential steps to this recipe. After mixing the ingredients of biga, it is important the small amount of yeast that we mix in the flour comes to life and then once it has, put in the fridge so that it continues to develop slowly and thus develop flavour. Both activating the yeast and overnight proofing behave differently and is an important step in this recipe.
- Biga does not need kneading. Once the flour, water and yeast come together in a shaggy looking dough, keep it aside to proof. Once it has proofed, refrain from touching and put it in the fridge for overnight proofing.
- While shaping the dough, I prefer to divide the total amount of the dough by 3 and then shaping each dough ball separately rather than shaping the whole dough. Doing this makes it easier to handle the dough simply because of its size. It also helps to tightly roll the dough ball and thereby avoiding any large air pockets.
- The dough can be divided roughly in 3 parts or precisely by using a weighing scale. The only difference being, when divided precisely, the final loaf looks uniform and ‘just out of the bakery’!
- On a request of my readers, I baked this loaf with 100% oats and whole-wheat flour. I used whole wheat flour in the biga with a higher hydration ratio and it yielded a super soft sandwich loaf (pic below). The crumb was open and airy, the texture was delicate and the flavour was quite nutty. In my personal opinion, it would go perfectly as a slice toasted on a tava, however the slice is quite delicate to hold itself on a pop up toaster or a sandwich maker.
- If you are looking for a step by step video process, do check ‘oats bread’ under highlights in my Instagram account #acookwithin
Softest oats and whole-wheat sandwich loaf
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Softest oats and whole-wheat sandwich loaf
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AUTHOR
Hema B Kathrani
CUISINE
International
PREP TIME
30 minutes + overnight proofing
COOK TIME
40 minutes
SERVINGS
makes an 8 inch loaf
Author: Hema B Kathrani | Cuisine: International | Category: Breads
Prep Time: 30 minutes + overnight proofing | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Servings: makes an 8 inch loaf
This oats and whole wheat flour sandwich loaf (eggless) is super soft and buttery in taste. Combination of two techniques yields that super soft and flavourful crumb
Ingredients
- For biga:
- 170 gm (1 cup) bread flour/whole-wheat flour *read notes
- 1/8 tsp (a pinch) instant yeast
- 120 ml room temperature water + 40 ml if using whole-wheat flour
- For the oats porridge:
- 40 gm (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp) oats *read notes
- 15 gm (1 tbsp) unsalted butter (not melted)
- 120 ml milk
- For the final dough:
- 170 gm (1 cup) whole wheat flour
- 10 gm (1 tbsp) milk powder
- 15 gm (1 tbsp) sugar
- 5 gm (½ tsp) instant yeast
- 6 gm (1 tsp) salt
- 140 ml room temperature milk
- Rolled oats for rolling the loaf
Method
- Make the biga:
- Mix the bread flour/whole wheat flour and yeast in a bowl.
- Add room temperature water to the flour and prepare a sticky, shaggy dough which comes together. It does not need to be kneaded at this stage.
- Leave the dough in a warm place for 3-4 hours or until it almost doubles.
- Once almost doubled, put the bowl in the fridge to continue proofing overnight.
- Next morning, take it out of the fridge and leave it on the counter for 2-3 hours before you start making the final dough.
- Make the oats porridge:
- Blitz the rolled oats in a grinder till it becomes powdery. Keep it aside.
- In a pan, heat butter on a low flame.
- Once the butter melts, add the oats flour (or plain instant oats) and stir till toasty on a low flame. The oats will burn quickly if left unattended so do keep a watchful eye on while it toasts.
- Add milk and whisk until it turns in a smooth porridge that looks thick like a cake batter and falls off the spoon. It will take only a minute or two. Do turn off the flame immediately once the porridge thickens as it will continue to thicken as it sits.
- Keep the porridge aside to cool.
- Make the final dough:
- In a bowl, mix whole wheat flour, milk powder, sugar, yeast and salt until well combined.
- Add the biga (which was resting on the counter for 2-3 hours), cooled oats porridge and milk to make a sticky dough.
- Transfer the sticky dough on the counter and knead until smooth and the dough no longer sticks to your hands.
- Return the dough back to the greased bowl and leave it to proof till it doubles.
- Shape and proof the loaf:
- Transfer the proofed dough on to a clean surface and gently deflate it.
- Divide the dough in 3 equal parts. You could eyeball it or divide the total weight of the dough by 3 and then separate 3 equal parts according to the 1/3 weight of the total weight.
- Keeping the 2 parts covered under a clean napkin, roll out each part in an oblong shape.
- Fold one side of the dough half way along the oblong, repeating the same process on the other side.
- Then from the top, start rolling the dough towards you into a log.
- Pinch the ends of the log to seal it tightly.
- Place the log pinched side down in a greased 8-inch loaf tin *read notes
- Repeat the process with the rest of the dough pieces (pictorial reference is given below)
- Once all the pieces are in, spray the loaf with water and sprinkle rolled oats all over the bread.
- Proof the loaf until the dome of the loaf is slightly above the rim of the pan.
- Bake the loaf:
- Pre heat the oven to 180 C
- Keep a tray filled with water at the bottom rack to create steam in the oven
- Gently spray the top of the loaf with water and place it in the oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Lower the temperature to 170 C and continue to bake for another 20 minutes.
- If you feel the top of your loaf is becoming too brown, cover it loosely with an aluminum foil
- Once the baking is complete, remove from the oven and let the loaf cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Gently, flip the pan and remove the bread on a wire rack to cool.
- Slice it only after it has cooled completely.
Notes
- If you cannot find bread flour, substitute it for the plain flour (maida) for the equal measure.
- This loaf can be made 100% oats and whole wheat loaf. Add 120 + 40 ml (total of 160 ml) room temperature water while making biga as whole wheat loaf requires more water. As I showed on my Instagram account, the loaf with 100 % oats and whole-wheat yields a super soft, nuttier bread and can be best enjoyed as a toast on a tava.
- You can use either rolled or plain instant oats for this. If using instant, you can use it straightaway without grinding. However, if you are using rolled or steel cut, grind it in the powder and then use in this recipe.
- For this recipe, I have used a nonstick 8-inch loaf tin with these dimensions: 8.5 inches in length, 4 inches in width and 4 inches in height
- Each flour is different. If you find your dough too sticky, add 1 tbsp of flour to the mix. However, do so carefully as too much flour in this recipe can yield a tough crumb.
- I use US cup measurement which is 1 cup = 235 ml, however I would strongly recommend using the weighing scale to get the best results.
- If you like your loaf to be fully covered in oats, once you shape the three pieces of the loaf in a log, spray some water over it and roll it in a plate of oats. Then put it in the greased pan, seam side down for final proofing.
- You can use the active dry yeast as well in this recipe. However, do activate/proof the equal measure of yeast in the liquid before using.
- I recently did a step by step video on this loaf on my Instagram account, #acookwithin and have saved it under ‘Oats bread’ under highlights. Do check if needed.
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4 thoughts on “Softest oats and whole-wheat sandwich loaf”
Thank you for your confirmation. I baked the bread…my husband commented that it was really good! It was very soft indeed. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your feedback! So happy to know that your husband liked it 🙂
Hi,
I really keen to try out your recipe. Just to double check on making the biga – “It does need to be kneaded at this stage.” Other recipes normally does not require kneading the biga. Please confirm, thanks!
Hi! You are right, biga does not need to be kneaded. Just mix together until it comes together in a shaggy mass. Thank you so much for pointing that out. I must have overlooked typing ‘not’ while putting up the recipe and have rectified the error now 🙂