2½ cups very hot water
1 cup quick oats
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup REAL maple syrup (see comments)
1 package dry yeast
6 cups all purpose flour

In the bowl of a mixer, place the oatmeal, hot water and butter.  Allow butter to melt, and oats to soak up some of the water, about 10-15 minutes.  Add salt and Maple syrup.  Let sit until lukewarm.

Add 3 cups of flour, and the yeast to the oatmeal mixture, and beat for 5 minutes.   Stir in the other 3 cups of flour, a ½ cup at a time, until you have a workable dough (oatmeal doughs will be sticky).  Knead for 10 minutes, until satiny and elastic.  Put in a buttered bowl or dough bucket, cover, and allow to rise until double in size.

Punch down, and knead a little more.  Divide the dough in half, and form two loaves.  Place in buttered bread pans, and allow to rise again, until about 1 inch above the top of the pans.  When done, it will sound hollow, when tapped on the bottom.  Turn out, and cool on racks before cutting. 

Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 40-50 minutes.