Thea's little kitchen

One of the highlights of my week is baking two breakfast (or snack) loaves for the teachers at a local high school. These teachers work so hard and play a massive role in the lives of their students — I love baking more than I should be eating baked goods, so its a little tradition that brings a lot of joy all around. I don’t send anything with nuts into school, but what you mix into this bread is 100% your call.

• • 1/2 cup canola oil (butter works well too, of course…)
  • 1 1/2 cups milk (whatever kind you like – I used oatmilk)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 3 cups of mix-ins like nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, frozen or dried fruits, shredded coconut, etc. (If you have trail mix lying around, that works great.)
  • 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar or Sugar in the Raw, for the top

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 pan (or two 8×4 loaf pans, or two 8×8 pans, or two 9″ pie or cake pans).
   2. Mix eggs, oil, sugar, salt, milk and vanilla until well combined.
   3. Add oats, flour and baking powder into the same bowl, in that order. Then add your mix-ins on top, and lightly toss just the mix-ins and dry ingredients slightly on top: by slightly coating the mix-ins you will help prevent things like blueberries from turning the whole bread blue, and suspend the tasty bits more evenly through the batter. Then mix until combined. For the teachers last week, I used a blend of chopped dried dates and figs, frozen blueberries, dried cranberries, semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
   4. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s). Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
   5. Bake for 45-60 minutes for a 9×13 pan or loaf pan (start with 25 minutes for pie pans or 8×8). It will depend on your oven and what you mixed in — check for brown edges and a firm center when you gently shake the edge of the pan. Confirm the middle is set by poking with a toothpick: if it comes out clean, you’re all set.
   6. Let cool completely before wrapping up or cutting. When I send in teacher bakes, I use disposable pans and lids or tin foil, I write the name of the bread on top of the lid or foil, and specify major allergens (wheat, eggs, milk) and anything else that isn’t obvious in the title.