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Homemade oat bread feels like comfort to me. I like mine warm, cozy, and with a subtle sweetness. This bread machine oat bread checks off all the boxes. The texture stays soft, but it still holds up to slicing. And the oats on top? They make it look like something you’d grab from a bakery!

A loaf of oat-topped bread, partially sliced, sits on a cooling rack over a dark surface. Nearby are a bowl of whipped spread, a bowl of honey with a dipper, and an orange cloth, with oats scattered around.

When I tested this oat bread recipe, I was looking for something easy enough to make on the regular, but tasty enough that it still felt special.

To say I am thrilled with my results is an understatement. And my kids? They ask for it on repeat. (Which is amazing since none of them like oats.) We serve it for breakfast with butter and jam or a little bit of honey, then for lunch as sandwiches. Versatile doesn’t even begin to cover it.

If you’ve been itching to add homemade bread to your weekly rhythm, this bread machine oatmeal bread recipe is the one to start with.

Once it’s cooling, peek around my site for more bread recipes. Don’t miss my Cranberry Banana Bread, Bread Machine Monkey Bread, and Bread Machine Sandwich Bread.

Bowls and cups containing flour, oats, yeast, salt, milk, molasses, and two sticks of butter are arranged on a light gray surface, ready for baking.

Ingredient Notes

Oats: Use old-fashioned oats; avoid instant oats and steel-cut oats.
Molasses: Unsulphured molasses adds flavor and color. Avoid blackstrap unless you want a stronger, slightly bitter taste. Find it near syrups or baking supplies.
Instant yeast: Also called bread machine yeast. Look for it in packets or jars in the baking aisle - it isn’t the same as active dry yeast, which needs proofing first.

Tips & Tricks

Heavy loaf? I recommend that you don’t mess with the balance in this recipe. (At least until you've got it down.) All-purpose flour isn't a simple sub for bread flour! Keep it as written and you’ll avoid that dense, heavy texture.

Top sinking in the middle? Nine times out of ten it’s too much liquid. Try weighing ingredients if you keep having trouble. The dough should be tacky, not sloppy. If it’s spreading instead of standing tall, add a spoonful of flour and let the machine knead a little more.

Oats sliding off the crust? Don't skip rolling the shaped dough over a damp towel before pressing it into oats. They’ll actually stay put through baking.

Step-by-Step

Uncooked oatmeal and water mixture inside a bread machine pan with two mixing paddles visible. — Add oats to the bread machine pan and pour boiling water over them.
Stir and let stand for 10 minutes.

A close-up of a bread machine pan filled with oats, milk, butter, molasses, and yeast, with a spoon pouring more molasses over the ingredients. — Add the liquid ingredients: milk, molasses, and butter.

Bread machine pan filled with flour, yeast, and other dry ingredients, ready to be mixed; the metal paddles and pan sides are visible. — Then add the dry ingredients: salt, bread flour, whole wheat flour, and yeast. Select dough cycle (we aren’t using the baking cycle) and press start. Process according to bread machine instructions.

A can of Thrive Market Avocado Oil cooking spray is held over a metal loaf pan, with a piece of dough resting on the counter nearby. — Chop remaining oats while dough processes, and prepare loaf pan with cooking spray.

A large, rectangular sheet of brown dough with a slightly rough texture is spread out on a flat surface, prepared for rolling. — Roll dough into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle, fold sides to center, and shape into a log.

A rectangular slab of whole wheat oat bread dough rests on a white surface with measurement circles and red markings, and a printed recipe is partially visible at the bottom of the image. — Flatten slightly, then roll into a log again.

Uncooked rolled oats scattered on a sheet of brown parchment paper, some spread out thinly while others are in small piles. — Scatter the oats on parchment paper.

A rolled dough with a dark chocolate layer inside is placed on a white countertop, with a baking mat featuring measurement circles and a red border in the background. — Dampen a clean dish towel and then moisten the surface of the dough by rolloing in in the towel.

A loaf of bread dough covered with rolled oats rests on parchment paper, set on a kitchen counter. — Roll the dough in the oats.

A loaf of bread dough topped with rolled oats sits in a rectangular baking pan, ready to be baked. The dough fills most of the pan, and the oats cover the surface evenly. — Set dough seam side down in the bread pan.

A person with red nail polish scores an oat-topped loaf of unbaked bread dough in a loaf pan with a knife, preparing it for baking. — Score diagonal lashes. Let rise at room temperature 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F.

A loaf of brown bread topped with rolled oats rests on a metal cooling rack, with some oats scattered on a white surface nearby. — Bake 35 to 40 minutes until internal temperature reaches 190°F
Remove from pan immediately to prevent the bottom of the loaf from sticking and cool completely on a rack before slicing

A loaf of oat-topped bread rests on a cooling rack over an orange cloth. Nearby are a jar of honey with a dipper, a small bowl of butter, and a bread knife on a dark wooden surface scattered with oats.

Ingredients

1 ⅓ cups rolled oats 119 grams, divided
½ cup boiling water 212 °F
½ cup milk
3 tablespoons molasses 63 grams
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature (42 grams)
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
2 cups bread flour 240 grams
¾ cup whole wheat flour 85 grams
2 teaspoons instant yeast 6 grams

Instructions

Place 1 cup of the oats in the pan to your bread machine and pour the boiling water over them.
Stir to combine and let sit for 10 minutes.
Add the milk, molasses, butter, salt, bread flour, whole wheat flour, and yeast.
Select the dough cycle, and process according the the manufacturer’s instructions.
While the dough is processing, chop the remaining ⅓ cup of oats. Spray an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Roll the dough onto a pastry mat and shape into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Bring the short sides to the center to form the dough into a log, overlapping slightly.
Flatten the dough so that it is even, and then roll the dough into a log.
Sprinkle the chopped oats onto a piece of parchment paper. Wet a kitchen towel completely and then wring it out. It should be damp, but not dripping.
Moisten the bread by rolling the log over the towel. Then roll it in the oats.
Place the bread, seam-side down, in the prepared pan.
Score diagonal marks into the bread.
Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 190° F.
Immediately turn the bread out of the pan, and cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Nutrition

Filed Under:

Bread and Muffin Recipes Bread Machine Vegetarian Recipes

Bread Machine Oat Bread

Ingredient Notes

Tips & Tricks

Step-by-Step