Conor O’Driscoll Shares His Passion for Baking Bread

​​Since everyone is spending more time at home, we wanted to share a few unique and productive activities you can do in your free time. It’s a great time to focus on gaining new skills and hobbies, and several members of the Heaven Hill team happen to practice some very interesting activities in their free time.

Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll has a passion for baking bread. For the past month or so you’ve probably seen people all over social media posting about making bread in their free time. However, there’s a good chance those people are not experts on grain, yeast, and fermentation like Conor. Not only does Conor use grain and yeast every day at the Bernheim Distillery to make whiskey, he also uses it in his free time to bake homemade bread. Check out the video below as Conor walks through the process for making Oatmeal Bread, which he says is delicious on its own, to make toast, or a great grilled cheese. Though it is a long process, Conor assures us that once you try your hand at baking bread you’ll never go back! Once you see how it’s done from the master himself, use the recipe below to give it a try. 

Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached bread flour (Weisenberger)
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 tsp)
• 3 tbs honey (or brown sugar)
• 2 tbs butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups room temperature/lukewarm buttermilk (or 2% or whole)

Instructions:

• Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer.
• Using the paddle attachment, stir on low speed until evenly mixed.
• Add the butter, honey, and milk and continue stirring until the dough forms a ball on the paddle and there are no dry crumbs left in the bottom of the bowl.
• If necessary, add 1 tbs of water to ensure everything is gathered and the dough is not too dry.
• Switch to the hook attachment and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes. 
• The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. It is better to knead for too long than too short.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, rolling it into a ball.
• Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let it sit for an hour to an hour and a half until the dough doubles in volume.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gently knead it to degas it, then flatten it into a roughly rectangular shape.
• Form the dough into a loaf shape by folding it in thirds like a letter. 
• Transfer the loaf, seam side down, to a lightly greased 9X5″ loaf pan. (You can also dust the pan with cornmeal to help it release after baking.)
• Cover with plastic wrap that has been dusted with flour to prevent it from sticking to the dough, then allow the dough to rise for another 60-90 minutes. The loaf should rise one-two inches above the rim of the pan.
• Bake the bread in a preheated, 350 DegF oven for 35-40 minutes until the crust is a rich golden color and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.​