My husband Jack and I are both big fans of steel cut oatmeal and we often enjoy it as a hearty breakfast. So when we came across this recipe for Steel Cut Oatmeal Honey Bread in my mother’s old recipe box – we immediately wanted to try it!
This Steel Cut Oatmeal Honey Bread has tiny bits of the steel cut oats inside, giving the bread a rustic texture that is also super flavorful. It looks very dense – but the baked bread is surprisingly light and chewy! And while there is honey added to the bread dough – it’s not a very sweet bread so you can enjoy this both as a savory loaf, as well as with sweet toppings like jam or honey and butter.
This Steel Cut Oatmeal Honey Bread is very easy to make! The oats first soak in boiling water for about two hours to soften – then that is mixed into a fuss-free batter that includes both milk and honey. It bakes up with a wonderful crust that is easy to slice and serve.
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Steel Cut Oatmeal Honey Bread
- Prep Time: 2 hours 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ stick butter (4 tablespoons)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Place steel cut oats in a large bowl and cover with the one cup of boiling water. Let sit uncovered at room temperature for 2 hours. Stir once half way through.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a small microwave safe bowl, melt butter and honey then stir into bowl with oats.
- Beat egg into milk and alternately add milk mixture and flour mixture to large bowl with oats stirring with a wooden spoon as you add each. Do not over mix, just mix to combine wet into dry.
- Generously spray a standard size loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and scrape the dough into the pan. Using a spatula, smooth out the top then place in oven for 70 minutes (one hour and ten minutes), or until a tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean. The dough is dense so we recommend leaving in for the full 70 minutes.
- As soon as the bread comes out of the oven, remove from pan and cool on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and serve with additional drizzled honey.
You may also enjoy:
Steel Cut Oats Breakfast Biscotti
can i use coconut milk in this recipe? as there is no milk availble in the stores right now
Hi Anne – We’ve never tried coconut milk in this recipe. If you try it, please let us know how to works out!
has anyone tried this recipe in a breadmaker? thanks.
Hi Linda – Others have asked but we’ve only made the recipe as written.
What is a standard size pan
Hi Connie – Recipes that call for a “standard loaf pan” are typically using a pan that is 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches.
Made this today. It smelled wonderful while baking. I soaked some white raisins in warm water for 30 minutes and added to the mix. I did not bake for 90 minutes. I baked for 45 minutes and it was baked through. Next time I make it I will add cinammon and some orange zest. I think this recipe has some versatility!
★★★★★
Thanks Ellen!
I’m just wondering if I could just use a cup of already cooked steel cut oats in the recipe? Or should I be using more?
Hi Hannah – I’m not sure. While we call for soaking the oats before adding them to the batter, they aren’t fully cooked. I suspect if you added the already cooked oats, it may change the texture of the baked bread. If you try it, please let us know how it works out!
Question, After soaking the steal cut oats do I drain them before mixing with other ingredients or is the one cup of soaking water incorporated into the mix?
I made it without draining the water and it was a truly a dense loaf of bread as discribed. I’m really enjoying this with a cinnamon, honey butter although
I just want to be sure I’m getting this right. The base of the loaf seemsvto be a bit doughy.
I thought I was buying 25-lbs of rolled oats and found it was steal cut after I opened it up. I’m happy to find yummy recipes to use these oats up.
Hi Laura – The oats should absorb most of the water so it is incorporated. If your bread was doughy, it’s possible it was still a little under-baked? Also, make sure that your baking powder is fresh. Hope that helps – it’s always a little hard to help troubleshoot without being right in the kitchen with you!
So easy to make and delicious!! I love it!!
★★★★★
Thanks Susan!
I have only quick steel cut oats. Do o still have to soak them?
Hi Dorota – We’ve only made the recipe with the traditional steel cut oats – since the quick oats are processed to be smaller in size, your bread may come out more dense than if you used non-quick version. I’d actually recommend that you hold off making the bread until have you the regular steel cut oats.
Could this be used with leftover steel cut oats rather than soaking the cup in a cup of boiling water??
Hi Becky – Great question! We haven’t tried that ourselves, but I think it would work. Please let us know how it comes out!
Is there any way to adapt this for a bread machine? My oven burns hot and never cooks evenly .
Hi Lisa – I’m sorry – we’ve only made this recipe baked in a loaf pan and we don’t own a bread maker so I’d only be guessing about how to do it. If you try it, please let us know how it comes out!
Hey Martha, I’m looking at making Steel-Cut Oatmeal Honey Bread using your recipe. However, I cannot have eggs (allergic) and I was wondering if you think I might have success removing or replacing the egg in the recipe – What are your thoughts?
Thanks,
– Jeanette
Hi Jeanette – We’ve only made the recipe as written, and unfortunately I don’t have a lot of experience with egg replacements…so I’m not sure I have much advice for you. I’m sorry! If you do try a swap, please let us know how it comes out!
I made this today. The only downside was that i could have left it in the oven maybe 10-15 more minutes. I used a cup of steel cut oats i had cooked yesterday in a pressure cooker. I used 1% milk and wildflower honey. Bread rose and smelled nice but was missing some sweetness. Maybe next time i’ll add Some sugar. Other than that flavor was ok. It was a healthy ok! Lol
★★★
Hi Angela – Using cooked steel cut oats instead of just soaking them per the instructions may have also impacted your cooking time. Thanks for sharing the results of your adaptation!
What a great recipe! I was looking for ideas of what to do with steel-cut oats besides just making oatmeal out of them and since I’ve been on a bread-making kick lately, finding this recipe was perfect. The bread turned out wonderfully. Thanks for the recipe! I did make the following adjustments:
*Didn’t have whole milk, so I used 2% and added a splash of cream.
*Didn’t have cooking spray, so I just buttered the pan.
*Used whole-wheat flour and added flaxseeds and chia seeds to up the nutrition factor a little.
★★★★★
Thanks Caro – glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Thanks for the “Valyrian Steel” cut oat bread recipe for a party for the final season of Game of Thrones on April 14. I will make ahead in a House Stark pan, perhaps using maple syrup,. Thanks for a cool recipe for my party!
★★★★★
What a great idea Betsy! 🙂
I made this with the following adjustments because I used what I had on hand:
Rolled Oats/Old Fashioned (worked fine)
Increased butter to 6 tblspns because I only had low fat milk.
All worked fine.
I ate a piece when it came out of the oven and decided that it is basically a slice of a bowl of oatmeal and my imagination went wild! The following morning I toasted a slice and spread ricotta cheese on top and finished off with banana slices, a drizzle of honey and chopped walnuts. Wish I could have posted the photo. It’s a keeper!
★★★★★
Love the toppings you chose Christine! Thanks for the suggestions!
This bread is so good. I did have to make some adjustments. The first loaf I made did not turn out at all. Did not rise. Super dense, but tasty. This loaf is so much better. I have to use gluten free flour. So what I did was add lemon juice to the milk and used 1 cup of milk instead of the 2/3 cup. I also did one teaspoon of baking soda and 1 1/2 of powder. Its perfect!
Thanks Nicholle – Glad you were able to find a gluten free version that works for you!
Bought steelcut oats on a whim. I am trying out this recipe looks good 🙂
We hope you love the recipe!
I just discovered this and made it yesterday. Very delicious bread and very easy to put together
★★★★★
Thanks Jennifer!
Hi Martha!! I’m excited to try your recipe! I just have a quick question – the steel cut oats tat i have on hand are labeled as “quick cook” – are these different than the ones specified in the recipe? Thanks for any help! Since soaking is involved with the oats I don’t want to screw it up!
Hi Meg – The quick cook steel cut oats are different – you’ll want to buy some of the traditional steel cut oats for this recipe. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I’m lactose intolerance and I’m wondering if I would be able to use almond milk instead of whole milk. If so, would it be better with the plain unsweetened or can I use the sweetened vanilla?
Hi Kathleen – We haven’t tried making this with almond milk ourselves, so I can’t say for sure how it will come out – but certainly give it a try! I think either almond milk flavor will be fine. Please let us know how it comes out with the almond milk!
Hi there! I’m not a baker, so I have a few questions!
I’m pumping for my newborn who is in Intensive Care, so I’m looking at all the milk making foods I can find!
Can you sub flaxseed meal for flour? Or add some in? And if I were to add some Brewers Yeast, would I add that to my dry ingerdients?
Do you think I could make this as muffins, in a muffin tin? I could make more and freeze some too…but would that change the baking time?
Regardless, this sounds SO yummy! Thanks for posting and any help would be so nice!
Maddie
Hi Maddie – I’m sorry to hear that your baby is in the ICU – hoping all goes well! I can’t say for sure how the bread will turn out substituting flaxseed meal instead of the flour or what Brewers Yeast will do – we don’t have a lot of experience with those ingredients either, so without trying it first, I’d just be guessing. If you do make smaller loafs – either in mini loaf pans or muffin tins, yes, the baking time would be less but again – you’ll have to keep an eye on it while you do it (we haven’t tried it ourselves.) Sorry I can’t be more help to you! Best of luck to you and your baby. And BTW – you might be interested in this recipe: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/healthy-golden-flax-breakfast-cookies/
can this bread be frozen?
Hi Steph – We haven’t tried freezing it ourselves, but I think it would be fine. Just wrap tightly to keep fresh and to prevent any freezer burn.
I made this bread today and and it was very decidving. The texture is not great at all, it is too dense. The taste is great but the texture ruins it all. This bread would be very good if the texture was more “fluffy”.
Sorry you were disappointed in the recipe Carine! Thank you for your feedback.
This is absolutely delicious! Very hearty and satisfying. My kids loved it
Thanks David! So glad you all enjoyed it (even the kids!) 🙂
Hello!
I love this bread! Thank you for sharing the recipe. Just one little comment: it would be nice to see a picture of the bread dough consistency. I made this bread tonight and it came out great! Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback Hanna – if we make it again, we’ll definitely take a photo and add it to the post. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
made this today, so delicious! Used a mixture of honey and maple syrup, and half and half and buttermilk. I added flax seeds to the top. Do you know how long this bread will keep?
Hi Steph – So glad you enjoyed the recipe and your additions sound great! Tightly wrapped, I think it should keep for just a few days.
Just made it and it was delicious! I used agave nectar instead of honey, and 1/3 cup soy milk and 1/3 cup half and half because I didn’t have whole milk. Rose really well in my 9 x 5 pan.
Thank you for writing to us today Leah – we love hearing about successful adaptations! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Made 2 loaves of this bread today and it is a fan favorite! Hearty, a little sweet, with a nice gentle crunch from the oats. I used land o lakes flax seed oil margarine instead of butter and 2% milk.
Thanks Ginette! We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for sharing your adaptation – we always enjoy hearing how the recipe is made in different ways (and that it still tastes delicious!) Thanks for writing to us!
Do you think you could use buttermilk instead of the whole milk?
Hi Amber – I think buttermilk would be OK to use. If you try it, please let us know how it comes out!
Your bread looks so beautiful. I made a loaf this morning, in a 10.5 X 5.5 inch baking pan. It only rose 1 1/2 inches. Also, I did not have whole milk, so used 2 % fat milk. Any ideas what might have gone wrong. I had very high hopes for a beautiful loaf we could make toast with.
Perhaps my pan was too big?
Hi Karen – The size of the pan might have been the issue. Ours was a 1-quart glass loaf pan (measuring 8.5x4x2.5 inches) and we did use whole milk in the recipe. I’ve just updated the recipe to specifically state the size of our loaf pan to clarify what we used to get the results in the photo. I’m sorry it came out so flat for you!
I just love your website ,it’s my
first go to. Great presentation of material (both visually and content).
Would love recipes for ST.Patrick’s day
Thank you so much Sue – you made our day! We have a Guinness Casserole recipe coming up this week! Thank you for taking the time to write to us and we’re very glad you are enjoying our recipes!
I LOVE YOUR BLOG! It is a favorite of mine. Could the nutrition value be kicked up even more of a notch by adding whole wheat flour? Maybe ground flax or wheat bran? Ideas? Thank so much for the great recipes!
Thanks so much Sharon! Absolutely – feel free to try it with whole wheat flour or others. The texture of the finishes bread will likely change a bit but I think those substitutions should work great!
I have some steel cut oats in my pantry just waiting to be used up. I love a good hearty bread!
Honey bread… until now I was spreading honey on my bread without knowing you could combine them from the very beginning!
I love you recipes
Thank you so much Rosario! 🙂
Oatmeal is just a perfect combo for bread. I often use oatmeals for cookies as well and they come out very well.
This bread looks tempting and worth trying out the recipe.
Thanks Blessing – I hope you enjoy the bread!
this sounds like the perfect loaf to toast up for breakfast!
Thanks Heather!
Sounds amazing! I love old recipes from family.
I love homemade bread. I have never even thought to try it with steel cut oats. Can’t wait to give this one a try!
Thanks Kristen! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
With persistent nagging……hmmm, maybe pleading is a better word?!? My mom finally got me into steel cut oatmeal and I’m so glad I finally listened! The whole family loves it. I can only imagine the texture of this bread is fantastic, not to mention the smell wafting out of the kitchen. But yes, I would be slathering butter on top because I cannot help myself.
I’m glad your mom convinced you to try steel cut oats Laura! We love it too – and it really does add great texture to this bread!