1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Prepare baking pan.

I use a metal 8″ cake pan for this recipe. It makes the baking quick, and the bread turns out easily. But it is a relatively short bread – like 2 inches high at the peak. If you prefer a more traditional loaf, you can put the bread in a smaller cake pan (like 6 or 7 inches round) or a loaf pan about 5 x 9.5 inches. Then you’ll have a bit of a taller loaf. It will take 5-10 minutes longer to cook though.

Prepare the pan by spraying it down well with a vegetable oil (olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, etc.). If you’re nervous about turning out the loaf, you can also dust the pan with a bit of flour. Basically put about 2 tablespoons of flour into the center of the greased-up pan, then rotate the pan at an angle to encourage the flour to cover every bit of the interior of the pan. You want to keep the dusting as light as possible, or you’ll be able to see flour caked on to the outside of your loaf (not a problem flavor-wise, but it’s not super pretty).

3. Combine dry ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, combine until well mixed: 

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tbsp steel-cut oats
• 1⁄3 cup rolled oats
• 3⁄4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup currants or raisins

4. Stir in wet ingredients.

Add:

• 1 1⁄2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup honey

Mix with a spatula until well combined. The pour it into your prepared pan. The batter will be fairly thick and dough-like, but it will spread out a bit when you pour it into the pan (which is why you want a pan with sides).

5. Bake for about 40 minutes.

When it’s finished, the loaf will be lightly browned on top and should make a hollow sound if you tap it. You can also stick it with a fork to make sure no raw batter comes out. If you’re in doubt, bake it a bit longer. I have yet to overbake this bread, but I have borderline underbaked it several times. 

If you are cooking the bread in a round 8″ pan, it will bake in about 40 minutes. If it’s in a smaller pan, it will take closer to 45 minutes. Should look like the below when it’s done.

5. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

After ten minutes out of the oven, run a knife around the edge of the bread to loosen it from the pan. Then flip it over onto a wooden cutting board or cooling rack and give it a few good taps to encourage the bread to come loose.

6. Enjoy! 

Ideally let it cool for another 15-20 minutes before cutting into it. Otherwise, when you cut into it it’ll be steamy and you’ll release some of the loaf’s moisture.