I suspect it's just a case of putting all the liquids together before mixing them into the dry ingredients.

But why is it even in the recipe in the first place?

I thought the reason for oil and or butter in breads and cakes was to make them more "moist".

We buy this bread occasionally at Whole Foods. It's pretty good but it's more along the lines of a side accompaniment because it's pretty dense. The loaf size Whole Foods produces are too short and squat to be used for a sandwich - when sliced, it's more akin to a small baguette slice or a cracker to place cheese or whatever on.

Google says it keeps the crust more moist, crumb more tender (lessens gluten formation) and delays it from going stale.

If I compare it to say...pound cake.....it's not enough oil to make a noticeable difference. If you alter the oil/butter in a pound cake...whoah! Also I NEVER add oil to fluffy breads...with lots of air in them. (yes, I do oil the bowl)

^^ Interesting.

Well, I have neglected to add the oil in the past and the bread still came out great, so maybe it's just really not necessary.

Actually, Elmer, I like this knock-off recipe better than the real deal from Whole Foods. If you can believe it, this knock-off is even heavier and denser. At least when I make it anyway -- I use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, IDK if that makes a difference but this is one heavy loaf.

We don’t tend to look for copycat recipes. It’s much easier to buy than make if we like it.

Oil also enriches the crumb. It should make it kind of buttery with a bit of glisten, but the proportions may be a bit off for that given your particular choices of ingredients (which are probably a bit different from the one who wrote the recipe's). If you want more of a difference when using oil, choose one that is more viscous, with a stronger flavor. Or use a little more. Just don't overdo. If you like it the way it is (and it reads like you do), don't worry about it. The oil is a gracenote, not essential to the melody.

Fat in breads makes them more tender, less chewy, I believe.

Pretty well every bread recipe I have includes a little butter or oil.

How odd! I mean as in interesting! I wonder if there's something about the ingredients in Australia that calls for it, or if it's just that the bakers, or people in general, like it? During the time my kitchen was being remodeled, I acquired a large number of bread books, which plus the ones I had andthe few I've added since, plus some recipes from the 'net, I have probably have more than a a few gross (dozen of dozens) of bread recipes, and without counting, I think enriched breads (with fat, eggs, and/or milk) aren't more than 10%.

When making up my own breads, I'm fearless with stir-ins, liquids, and enhacers like vital wheat gluten, malt, etc. I use alcohol with impunity, but with eggs, I'd riff off a good recipe, rather than just throwing them in. Fat inhibits the rise, so I'm careful with that too, even though the bread I've made the most of, my Mother's challah, has all three.. DUH moment! I just realized that both milk and eggs have good portions of fat, so maybe it's the fat of all three enrichments that mess with the dough so much. Salt also inhibits the rise, and some people wait to put it in, though I don't, especially with ADY.

Very interesting to think about...

Traditionally flour contained oil from the wheat germ. Because today's flour can be made with degermed wheat to make it last longer-the natural oil will go rancid- the oil is added to the recipe. Older recipes tend to include this ingredient. When you buy cornmeal it is most likely to be degermed for the same reason. I have left it out for years as it is a bother. It doesnt seem to make much difference.

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patriciae

Thank-you, Patriciae! that makes sense!

When I did the dread kitchen remodel, it was supposed to take a few months, but getting the tile, both commercial and artisan, had very long delays. If I'd known it would be 10 months, I'd have tossed the flours. Instead, I boxed up my fancy air tight plastic cannisters with whatever was in them. The flour in the ones that weren't pretty full, i.e. with a lot of trapped air for oxidizing, went rancid. I wasn't surprised. ;)

Very interesting about the flour without the oil. It does sound like the key to Colleen's recipes!

When you buy real whole wheat flour it is suggested that you keep it in the freezer for this very reason.

Even if the bran has been bolted out of the flour the germ stays behind. My DH who is crazy detailed about flour will grind and bolt it fresh each time. I suppose that is what people did in the past.

patriciae

And the present. Wheatberries keep pretty well if sealed. As you said, whole wheat flour doesn't. I have wheatberries and a mill, though I mostly use it whole, including the bran and I buy white flours directly from Central Milling. I'm a bit less picky about the flour for feeding my WW starter. So long as it isn't rancid, I'll use it. I keep a small amount in a glass jar with a decent pressure seal in a cool cupboard, and it'll stay nice for at least 4 months.

Update: Ok, well talking about this bread made me want to eat this bread, so I made a loaf today. I purposely omitted the oil, and it came out beautifully. No taste or texture difference that I can discern.

The only thing that was different is that kneading was somewhat less of an irritation -- the dough wasn't quite as sticky as it was the other times I made it with the oil; still sticky, but not as bad. Yes I flour and re-flour the kneading surface as I go, but this is just one of those doughs that wants to glom onto hands and not let go.

I'm going to omit the oil going forward. I just don't see the point of it in this recipe. {shrug}

Or... Oil your hands before and during the kneading. That may even be the original reason there was oil in the ingredients, but lost the instruction to do so as it passed from hand to hand (though Patriciae's explanation is likely). Oiling your hands before kneading sticky dough is one of those old tricks that many people never quite hear about, Just get your stuff ready to go so you're not oiling the kitchen, and pour about a quarter's shape of oil in your palm, then rub all around. Repeat if your skin sucks it all up and doesn't feel a bit oily. If the dough has been glomming onto your hands, rather than just sticking a bit, chances are that your skin has been dry, too, and will benefit from the oil! (My personal experience talking on that last bit...)

"Oil your hands before and during the kneading."

I never even thought of that -- what a great tip!!

My bread recipes call for butter or margarine, and my pizza dough asks for olive oil. Even back in the day when I was using a bread machine, butter or oil was in the recipe.

I use butter and a bit of bacon grease that I keep in the frig. It adds a bit more flavour and everyone raves about my bread and rolls when they receive some. Roxsolid, I have oiled my hands on occasion but never thought of using that solely to replace the fat in the recipe.