More baking pictures! This one has to be seen to be believed. In a frantic attempt to use up some leftover buttermilk, I again turned to the Macrina Cookbook for a recipe. I settled on the Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread. I made a few alterations to the recipe, namely I only had about half the rolled oats required, so I substituted steel cut oats. I was a little afraid the steel cut oats would remain hard in the bread, kind of like buckshot. But they softened up nicely. I also had to add way more flour than called for, because the dough was super, super sticky. I almost thought the bread was a failure, because it didn't rise AT ALL in the first rising. And when I kneaded it into a loaf shape, I didn't hear the usual little puffffffts and thweeees of air being released from the dough. It was just a lump of solid dough. Not one to give up, I put it into the pan. Now, the recipe said that it made one loaf, but usually when I have pan bread, the dough only fills the pan halfway. As you can see, the pan was filled to the brim. Strange. After an hour in the oven, the yeasty beasties finally got off their microscopic hineys and got to work. I'm just glad I moved the oven rack down a notch before baking. Good God, have you even seen such a mighty loaf? It's almost like a creature from another planet. I think in the future, I might just divide the dough into two loaves. This is certainly impressive, but a single slice is a bit too much. And it's hard to slice thin, because the crown tends to tear off. I settled for cutting thick slices, then cutting those in half. But the flavor of this bread is fabulous. Sweetish, nutty, and moist from the buttermilk and oatmeal. Another winner from the great cookbook. Highly recommended!