Oatmeal and Flax Whole Wheat Bread

so christmas came early this year! (i don't actually celebrate christmas, but it feels like what i imagine christmas to be right now...) -and i needed a little bit of christmas after what i'd been thinking about re: my last post. i splurged on a new bread machine! i love to make fresh bread, but being the mother of a one year old, i am far too scattered, tired and busy to keep my eye on rising dough. so, first i bought a crappy machine on craig's list, and then resold it because it sounded like a tornado was lifting our house out of the ground. plus it made crap bread. i knew i wanted a good one and that i'd use it a lot. so i went for the creme de la creme: the zojirushi bbcc x20. it's amazing. i'm in love!

i'm particularly enthralled with the idea of making my own bread because it's an easy snack for my babe (or part of a meal). I don't feel good about giving her store bought bread - have you read the list of ingredients on that stuff?! i KNOW what goes into my bread. i know it's healthy. no funny oils and preservatives. she loves the stuff, and i feel great about giving it to her. this morning we shared a piece of home made toast with natural peanut butter and banana slices on it, and she couldn't get enough.

my first loaf was adapted from one of zojirushi's recipes (i can never follow a recipe, always have to add my own touch)... but it turned out beautifully.

Bobcat's Oatmeal and Flax Whole Wheat Bread (can be adapted for the real bakers too!)

1 7/8 cups water
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
3 tbsp. cane sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup oats
2 tbsp. flax seeds

(Basic Wheat Setting on the Zojirushi Machine)

enjoy...