Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread

I had some leftover buttermilk this week and before it went bad, I perused through my cookbook selection to see if I could find a recipe using buttermilk that I haven't tried yet. I remembered I flagged a recipe in my Macrina Bakery Cookbook for an oatmeal buttermilk bread that I've been meaning to try, so I figured it was good as any day to give it a shot.

Once I gathered all the ingredients and mixed it together in my handy-dandy kitchenaid stand mixer (the best investment I've made as far as kitchen appliances are concerned), the dough seemed rather wet for a bread dough. Take a look for yourself:

I thought I messed up the flour measurements because I get sidetracked at times and forget how many cups of flour I've already measured and added to the bowl. But I thought I'd give myself the benefit of the doubt and just see how the first rise went, which didn't exactly look like it doubled in size as the recipe stated after over 2hrs, but it did rise:

After the first rise, you're supposed to punch the dough down then shape it flat and roll it into a loaf and let it rise again in the loaf pan for another 30-45mins until it just rises above the top of the loaf pan. It was still a rather wet dough compared to other bread doughs I've made, so I was still unsure about the accuracy in my measuring and the recipe, but continued through. However, after the 2nd rise in the loaf pan, it started to rise pretty quick. I forgot to take a photo before I put it in the oven, so here's a quick photo while it was baking in the oven:

As you can see, it's all puffy and looks like what you'd expect from a sandwich bread loaf. The dough is still rather soft when you get it in the oven, and the sides actally started to drip/fall down over the sides, but the oven did its job and kept the loaf looking like a proper loaf without it turning into a disaster.

So, after all the worry whether it would turn out or not, here is the end result:

Not a bad-lookin loaf, doncha think? I was pleased w/ the results, although I worried whether it would turn out. Guess I didn't have to - it tasted incredible. The recipe called for some wheat flour mixed with some regular all purpose flour, which gave the bread a slight nutty taste. It has a slight sweetness to it and tastes great plain. It is also very moist thanks to the buttermilk, but makes for a dense, hearty sandwich bread (the recipe even says it's perfect for a PB&J and I'll have to wholeheartedly agree).

I made this last night and didn't expect to be baking bread until almost midnight, but it was definitely worth it :) I'm usually a weekend baker, but the buttermilk had to be used and I didn't want it to go to waste. So there's my first baking post.