Oat Soda Bread

an easy quick bread recipe

originally posted at In Jennie’s Kitchen on January 3, 2011

I woke up yesterday to the harsh reality of January.

Time to set the alarm.

Time to start packing school lunch again.

Time to help with homework—that is perhaps the suckiest part of it all. Isabella spent 35 minutes on it today, and only got halfway through one day's assigned workload. She knew it was coming, and had a horrible bout of anxiety at the mere thought of it. In hopes of calming her to sleep, I gave her my locket to sleep with.

Then broke out the lavendar sachet.

And when those both failed to assuade her into a restful slumber, I curled up next to her, and gently brushed her eyebrows as my mother used to do to me. This was in an Ikea mini-loft bed I might add. Yes, it was quite a sight.

How insane is the education system when it becomes easier to make a simple loaf of bread than decode a math word problem?

Yes, that oat soda bread you're looking at is easier to make than trying your hand at second-grade math. And it's ready from start to finish in less time than it takes a seconder grade and her mom to finish a day's homework.

I have Heidi to thank for the inspiration to make this bread. After a busy few months, I took the opportunity to curl up with a proof of her next book Super Natural Every Day. It comes out in April, and this is one book you want to pre-order. The day it arrives, you'll also want to set aside a block of time because I found it impossible to put down. By day two, I'd devoured it from cover to cover.

I want to make mostly everything, but her Rye Soda Bread piqued my interest immediately. Homemade bread that doesn't require any rising time and is ready in less than an hour is too tempting to resist.

I didn't have rye flour on hand, but I did have old fashioned oats and figured a could easily make my own flour by blitzing them in the food processor.

Since I was improvising, I decided to add a smidge of sugar because I think every bread really benefits from a tiny bit to balance out the flavor. I might even try honey or maple syrup the next time around. I recently came across a bag of fleur de sel my friend brought back from France this past summer, so that seemed a nice choice too.

This hearty, rugged loaf is the answer to fresh baked bread for even the busiest among us. I have many plans for this recipe. Sweet versions. Savory ones. In fact, as many as my imagination brings forth. But first, there's homework to be done.