Step 1

Put the flour and oatmeal in a mixing bowl and stir in the instant dried yeast and the salt.Pour in all the milk plus roughly 100ml of the water then use a sturdy silicone spoon or spatula to start bringing the ingredients together. Add more water as needed to form a wettish but not sloppy dough. Stir well so there are no dry bits of flour, adding a splash more water if necessary.

Step 2

Cover the dough and leave overnight or 12 - 14 hours.Tip: If the room is warm, or if you'd like a longer rise for convenience or to allow more flavour to develop, you can put the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough back up to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.

Step 3

Grease a 900g / 2lb loaf tin with butter.

Step 4

The dough should have risen, spread out, and look a little bubbly. If not, leave longer.Lightly flour a work surface and scrape the dough onto it.Fold the dough over itself several times until it's smooth, at the same time shaping it to fit the loaf tin: try not to add much more flour but only just enough to prevent sticking to the work surface.Put the dough in the prepared tin and place in a large polythene bag or cover with cling film or a wet tea towel. Set aside somewhere warm for 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.While the dough is proving: preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° Fan / Gas 4 / 350°F with a shelf in the middle and a deep roasting tray on the bottom shelf (this will be filled with cold water later to create steam and help the bread rise).

Step 5

Check that the dough is proofed:If, when a finger is gently poked into the dough, the dough slowly springs back but leaves a slight indentation then it is ready to bake.If the dough springs back quickly then it's not yet fully proofed: leave another 5 -10 minutes and check again.

Step 6

When ready to bake, add the oat topping:Brush a layer of the beaten egg white and water over the top of the dough.Sprinkle over the rolled oats, very gently press down to help them stick, then brush over another layer of egg white.

Step 7

Place the tin in the oven then pour cold water from a jug into the hot roasting tray in the lower part of the oven. Immediately close the door.Bake for 30 minutes.After 30 minutes carefully open the oven door (caution: lots of hot steam may billow out so keep your face, hands etc. out of the way) and remove the tray of water.Take the loaf out of its tin and place back in the oven directly on the middle shelf. Cook for another 5 - 8 minutes or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Step 8

Place on a wire rack until completely cold before slicing.Best eaten within 2-3 days or can be frozen.Tip: slice before freezing so you can take out just as much as you need without wastage.