…made with a wooden spoon that I have somehow managed to keep by my side.

I lived in several different apartments while attending college (but really, who hasn’t?), then moved twice after college, and am moving again soon. Of all the things I’ve left behind, this sacred wooden spoon is NOT one of them. It was given to me by my mom, before I moved to Tallahassee, FL to attend my first year of college at Florida State University.

And nine years later, I’m using it to make what else but Oatmeal Molasses Bread.

I wish I could say I created this marvelous recipe. But I didn’t. A friend’s mom introduced my taste buds to it and they will never be the same again. I didn’t think many people really used molasses much anymore so I was excited to bake with it. Growing up, my Mimi used it to make shoofly pie, a food of the Pennsylvania Dutch. The sweet molasses attracts flies, causing bakers to “shoo” them away.

The woman who shared this recipe with me typically uses a a large food processor to mix her dough. She says it creates a more uniform texture and brings the ball of dough together sticky-hands-free. I didn’t have a processor quite large enough so I used my trusty old wooden spoon.

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This bread is best toasted with a pad of real butter, but can also be enjoyed as part of a breakfast sammy with eggs and veggies.

Oatmeal Molasses Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

1 cup oatmeal

2 cups boiling water

2 tsp salt

1 TBSP butter

2 tsp yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup luke warm water and 1/2 cup molasses

About 5 cups bread flour (1-2 cups whole wheat flour is fine - play around with it)

Directions

Mix together the first four ingredients and let sit for one hour.

Dissolve the yeast in the molasses and water and let sit until bubbly on top. Once it’s bubbly, add it to the oatmeal mixture.

Using a food processor (or your trusty old wooden spoon), slowly add the flour, cup by cup, to the oatmeal mixture until a dough ball forms.

Let it rise (allow it to double in size).

Punch it down and separate dough into two loaf pans. Allow it to rise again in the refrigerator.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

*Fun Nutrition Fact: Molasses is loaded with iron!

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Check out some other recipes made with sentimental kitchen items from the wonderful members of The Recipe Redux…