Hearty Nut Bread

When my oldest was 5 months, we finally figured out he had food hyper-sensitivities. He was "allergic" to milk (aka all dairy including butter & whey), soy (this includes soybean oil which is in everything!) and wheat. Fortunately he outgrew the wheat fairly quickly. He eventually outgrew it all, but we obviously had to make some modifications in the meantime.

My mother-in-law makes this bread & was able to alter it so that we could eat it. You have no idea how something like bread can mean so much given the right circumstances. So, if there's anyone reading this who has to avoid milk, I've included the alternative options as well. Also, I use a breadmaker so I just dump all the ingredients in & away it goes. So easy! My kids still eat this bread. I have to make it 1-2 times a week as they love it so much. I'd eat it too, but then I'd have to make it even more often. I normally make it after I put the boys to bed & set it so it will be ready to eat in the morning. Making it more often would seriously cut into "my" time.

Hearty Nut Bread (2 lbs)

1 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/3 C warm water (when I don't heat it, the bread doesn't rise like it should even though it sits for
            hours. I normally warm in the microwave for 1-1.5 minutes)
1/3 C molasses (since I don't like molasses, I do a combo of half molasses & half honey)
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp dry milk (if you have a milk allergy, replace with 3/4 tsp. baking powder after you add flour)
1 7/8 C whole wheat flour (there is no 7/8, so just eye it)
1/2 C oats
1 7/8 C white flour
2/3 C walnuts (optional)
2 tsp. or 1 package active dry yeast

I set the breadmaker to the whole wheat setting, on light.
Enjoy!