Makes 2 loaves
• 2 packages (2 Tbs.) dry yeast
• 3 cups warm water
• ¼ cup molasses
• 2 cups white flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 2 cups dark rye flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• more white flour as needed (1 to 1½ cups)
1. Stir the yeast into the warm water in a large bowl. Add the molasses and stir until it is dissolved. Add the white flour and the whole wheat flour, about 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When all 4 cups of flour have been stirred in, beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes. It should be smooth and very soft.
2. Cover the bowl with a dry tea towel and put it in a warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The yeast sponge should rise considerably and be rather bubbly at the end of this time.
3. Now sprinkle the salt over the sponge and fold it in. Add the rye flour and the oats, a little at a time, and fold them in. The dough should be quite thick. If it is not thick enough to handle, add a little more white flour. As soon as the dough is manageable enough to be removed from the bowl in more or less one piece, turn it out onto a floured board and begin kneading. Knead in only as much additional flour as is necessary to form a reasonably nonsticky dough. When the dough is smooth and elastic (about 20 minutes of kneading), form it into a ball and put it in a large, buttered bowl, turning over once so that it is coated with butter on top as well.
4. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and put it aside for about 1 hour to rise. The dough should be doubled in size.
5. Punch the dough down and divide it into two parts, forming each into a loaf. Put the loaves in buttered, medium-sized loaf pans, cover them with tea towels, and put them aside to rise for about 50 minutes. Bake the bread in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. When it is done, remove the loaves from the pans and allow them to cool on a rack.
