Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread
If you crave the delicious dark wheat bread they serve at Outback Steakhouse as much as I do, then you’ll love this recipe. My Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread is an almost exact copycat of theirs. Slather on some lovely soft butter and enjoy!
Sometimes nothing satisfies like a steak. A nice, big, juicy steak cooked just the way you like.
There’s one of the large steakhouse chains that we really enjoy for a quick, casual steak dinner. It’s not fine dining by any means.
And even though the decor and menu selections try to make you feel as though you’re “down under” it’s decidedly American. I think you’ve already guessed that I’m talking about Outback, right ;-)
Well, one of the best parts of the meal at any Outback Steakhouse is the bread that comes to the table along with the salad. That bread is so dark and moist and chewy and has just the faintest hint of sweetness. Spread it with some fresh butter and my, oh my, I could make my whole meal from that bread and a salad.
I really wanted to be able to enjoy that bread any time, so I set out to make an Outback bread copycat recipe at home. After a lot of research and trial and error, I came up with this copycat recipe that is pretty darned close to the original! BeeBop says it’s even better and I kinda agree.
❤️ Why We Love This Recipe
- Inexpensive to make
- Tastes wonderful
- No preservatives
- Outback steakhouse bread any time you want
🛒 Ingredient Notes
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- Sugar — needed to activate the yeast.
- Yeast — I typically use Fleischmann’s active dry yeast.
- Bread flour – King Arthur brand bread flour is my favorite.
- Whole wheat flour – Use any brand you like.
- Cocoa powder – adds both flavor and color to the bread.
- Instant coffee — any brand you like; I keep a box of the individual cup-sized packets on hand for baking.
- Butter
- Honey – the honey and molasses give the bread a natural, subtle sweetness.
- Molasses
- Cornmeal (for dusting the loaves)
You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe at the bottom of this post.
🔪 How to Make Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread
Proof the Yeast
The first step in making any yeast bread is to proof the yeast. That just means proving that the yeast is alive so it will be able to make the bread rise.
- To proof the yeast, measure the warm water into a two-cup or larger bowl or measuring cup. The water should be between 105 and 110 degrees.
👉 PRO TIP: The easiest way for me to measure the water temperature is with an instant-read thermometer but if you don’t have one, no worries! Just use tap water that is no longer cool to the touch and feels nicely warm. Like a baby’s bath water 😊.
Add the sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve. Within 5 minutes the yeast should have begun to bubble and grow.
In the photos above, the yeast had been proofing for about 10 minutes. See how much it grew in that short time? That’s good, live yeast.
👉 PRO TIP: Be sure to always check the yeast packet to make sure the date hasn’t expired. The yeast might still proof even if the date on the packet has passed, but it probably won’t be very lively.
Mix the Ingredients
- While the yeast proofs, mix the flours, cocoa, instant coffee granules, and salt in a large bowl. Stir it all together with a whisk.
- Using your fingers, mix the softened butter into the flour mixture.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the honey, molasses, and yeast-water mixture. Stir from the middle, bringing the dry ingredients gradually into the wet. You can start out with a wooden spoon but you’ll need to use your hands to finally bring the dough together.
Knead the Dough
- Turn the rough, shaggy dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Just start kneading and it will quickly come together in a nice ball. Knead for 10 minutes adding small amounts of flour to the kneading surface only if the dough starts to stick.
That’s the kneaded dough. See how nicely it came together? Doesn’t look anything like that shaggy mess it started out as, does it?
First Rise
- Let the dough rest for a few minutes while you wash and thoroughly dry the bowl that you used to mix it in. Spray the inside of the bowl with cooking spray.
- Put the dough into the bowl top side down and then turn it over so that the top gets coated with a bit of the cooking spray.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise. The interior of your oven with the light on is usually just warm enough.
- Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Shape the Loaves
- When the dough has doubled, turn it out and cut it into 6 portions. There’s no need to punch the dough down. Just let it deflate naturally as you remove it from the bowl. Form each portion into either a 6-inch log shape or a round mini-boule.
- Pour a small amount of cornmeal onto your work surface. Moisten each dough portion very lightly by wetting your hands, removing most of the water and rubbing your hands over the dough. Roll the lightly moistened loaves in cornmeal to coat. Gently pat to remove any excess cornmeal.
Second Rise
- Place the loaves on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for another hour or until doubled again in size.
Bake the Loaves
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the dough and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.
- Serve with plenty of butter.
⚠️ Recipe Tips
- Because this recipe has instant coffee granules in the dough, there is going to be a faint smell of burnt coffee while it bakes. Don’t worry! The bread is not burning. It’s just the coffee interacting with the hot baking sheet.
- If you want your bread to be a darker color like the bread served at the steakhouse, you can optionally add food coloring to achieve that result. You’d need 1 and 1/4 teaspoons of red, one teaspoon of yellow, and one teaspoon of blue. Stir it into the yeast and water before adding it to the dough. I’m perfectly happy with the color of the bread without the added coloring.
❓Questions about Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread
Of course, you’ll want to serve this bread with your next big steak dinner. But, it’s great with absolutely anything. Serve it for lunch or dinner or even make sandwiches or toast with it. You can even make smaller portions and serve as rolls.
Wrap any leftovers in plastic wrap or pop them in a ziptop bag and store them in the fridge. Homemade bread typically needs to be refrigerated to keep longer because it doesn’t contain the preservatives that commercial bread does.
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Questions? I’m happy to help!
If you have more questions about the recipe, or if you’ve made it and would like to leave a comment, scroll down to leave your thoughts, questions, and/or rating!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
📖 Recipe
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Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups warm water 105-110 degrees
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 pkg active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp bulk yeast)
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- ¼ cup Yellow cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- Proof the yeast: measure the warm water into a two-cup or larger measure. Add the sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve. Within 5 minutes the yeast should have begun to bubble and grow.
- While the yeast proofs, mix the flours, cocoa, coffee, and salt in a large bowl. Stir together with a whisk.
- Using your fingers, mix the softened butter into the flour mixture.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the honey, molasses, and yeast-water mixture. Stir from the middle, bringing the dry ingredients gradually into the wet. You can start out with a wooden spoon but will need to use your hands to finally bring the dough together.
- Turn the rough dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes adding small amounts of flour to the kneading surface only if needed.
- Let the dough rest for a few minutes while you wash and dry the bowl that you used to mix it in. Spray the inside of the bowl with cooking spray.
- Put the dough into the bowl top side down and then turn it over so that the top is coated with a bit of the cooking spray.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise. The interior of an oven with the light on is usually warm enough.
- Let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
- When the dough has doubled, cut it into 6 portions. Form each portion into either a 6-inch log shape or a round mini-boule.
- Pour a small amount of cornmeal onto your work surface. Moisten each dough portion very lightly by wetting your hands, removing most of the water and rubbing over the dough. Roll the lightly moistened loaves in cornmeal to coat. Gently pat to remove any excess cornmeal.
- Place the loaves on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for another hour or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the dough and bake for 35-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Serve with plenty of butter.
Notes
- Because this bread has instant coffee granules in the dough, there may be a faint smell of burnt coffee while it bakes. That’s just the coffee granules interacting with the hot baking sheet.
- Wrap any leftovers in plastic wrap or pop them in a ziptop bag and store in the fridge.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post was originally published on July 23, 2013. It has been updated with additional information.
The flavor of this bread was very good but it seemed to be very dry. The bread was very dense and solid and not as tender and soft as I hoped. I will try it again.
Make sure your yeast is good and active.
do you have a recipe for cowboy cookies
No, I don’t have that recipe.
can you put rolled oats on the top of the mini loafs
It’s okay with me.
Can I reduce the sugar or leave out the honey/molasses for a savory (not sweet) loaf?
I haven’t tested this recipe with no sugar. Remember you must have some amount of sugar or honey for the yeast to become active. The finished loaf is definitely not a sweet bread. It has only a mildly sweet background flavor.
Recipe is perfect! Taste is right on. I used Kitchen Aid mixer ( speed 4 for 7 minutes this is a heavy dough usually use up to speed 6 for other doughs) and an instant yeast from King Arthur site. Put everything in mixer at once. Instant yeast and mixer saves loads of work. That was all the kneading I did. Dough took full time in recipe to rise with water temperature 107 and light on in oven.
Thanks for letting me know you liked the recipe!
Just wanted to drop a note to say that I tried this recipe in my bread machine and it worked really well! I did all wet ingredients and sugar in with the yeast first, then flour and dry ingredients with salt on the very top as most bread machine recipes suggest. I set my machine to the following settings: Basic, light, 2 lb loaf size for 3 hours. Bread machines sometimes need a bit more water to process well so I added a couple of tablespoons of water to loosen up the mixture a few minutes into kneading.
That’s great to know! Thank you very much.
Thank you for the bread machine tips! I do wanted to try this recipe. Now I can!
My pleasure! Enjoy the recipe!
Is the temp 350°F or 350°C?
It’s 350 Fahrenheit. (350C would be 662 Fahrenheit!)
For the Outback bread recipe can you hold in refrigerator overnight after first rise and use the next day?
Hi Benita – I have not tested this recipe that way. However, many bread recipes can be held overnight in the refrigerator to prevent additional rising. This one would probably work but I can’t guarantee that.
Benita,
Yes, it works just fine if you refrigerate overnight. I let is warm up and rise in the pan for 1 to 2 hrs prior to baking.
Always comes out delicious! One of my ‘go to’ recipes now. Thank you! I love it!
My pleasure! I’m happy to know you like the recipe!
This looks not only delicious but totally doable. Haven’t made it yet but I’ve got a silly question. Kneading by hand is just not possible due to limitations, would kneading in my stand mixer with dough hook work and how long please.
My family can’t wait for me to make homemade bread
I’m sure you could knead it in your stand mixer with the dough hook but I’m not positive about the time. My best estimate would be 4-5 minutes.
Can you make the dough in a bread machine?
Yes, of course.
Can this be made into just one big loaf?
I haven’t tried that, but I’m sure you could make it one loaf if you wanted to.
cannot find whole wheat flour where i live. just replace with equal reg bread flour?
You could try that. It won’t taste the same, of course.
Excellent. I made this at least 7 times and was never disappointed.
Thanks, Candy! We always enjoy this bread, too.
This bread is delicious! Nice flavor! I made the dough ahead for one batch and put it in the fridge before baking. Should have let it warm a bit more before the bake but it worked pretty well.
Glad to know you enjoyed it, Ginny. I’ve never tried freezing it myself, so you’re already a step ahead of me!
Wonderful!!!
I will be making again with my chicken dinners.
Glad you enjoyed it, Pat!
Does it freeze well?
Yes, it can be frozen. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then put that inside a freezer bag or freezer container. Keep for up to three months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
This bread is delicious! Made it into 4 loaves and was just the right size for our dinner…great toasted for breakfast also. It’s a definite five star.
I’m so glad you like the bread, Judy! We think it’s delicious, too :-)
This looks so good! What can I use instead of molasses? Thanks!
If you don’t have molasses, you can substitute dark corn syrup or dark brown sugar. However, it will change the distinctive flavor that molasses has.
I’ve been making this for a few years now. I make it into a loaf, and add seeds and nuts. Perfect for my breakfast.
Sounds delicious!
This recipe is awesome. The bread was gone in a couple days.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Made this bread today to pair with a hearty smoked sausage and cabbage soup. My husband said if we had to stay home for a year and could only have one variety of bread this would be it. He loves it! A great recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread!
Just curious as to why the butter cant be melted and added with the other liquid ingredients?
You can if you want to. There’s nothing saying it can’t be done.
I made this bread today for my family who loves Outback. They absolutely loved the bread and said it tasted exactly like their bread!! The directions were extremely helpful and made my first time making bread a great experience!!!
Great! I’m so glad you all like it.
Could this recipe be used in a bread machine?
I would think it could but I have not tried it.
A wonderful addition to our Father’s Day Steakhouse dinner, what a big hit with our guests and the recipe now resides in my go-to files.
I’m so glad to know that you enjoyed it!
Can this dough be made the night before and then baked the next day? I heard that typically you can put it through the first rise and then refrigerate. What are your thoughts?
I haven’t done that with this dough. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!
I’m so glad I found this. I made some Cabbage and Chicken Sausage Stew for dinner tonight and it was dying for a good bread to go with it. I didn’t have some of the ingredients the recipe called for i.e. instant coffee or bread flour. But I did have pasta flour, wheat flour, and white flour…lol. Had just enough of all 3 to have the flour needed to make the bread. Don’t ask me why all those mixed together worked but they did. This was some of the lightest and flavorful bread I’ve ever made. I can’t wait to make it again and follow the recipe exactly…or maybe I’ll just keep the flour combo – it was really that good!!!
I love Outback bread and I can’t wait to try this. If it wasn’t 90° with no air conditioning it would be in my oven right now. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Wondering if I can use my sourdough starter with this recipe?
I suppose you could, but it would most definitely change the taste.
I made this to go with a pot of veggie/beef soup and it was so delicious! The molasses, coffee, and cocoa give it such a wonderful flavor. It was best right out of the oven, but it also made for some pretty tasty toast the next morning!
Has anyone tried this in a breadmaker yet? Would love to give it a try :)
I have made it in my bread machine. The color came out like Outback’s (I did the food coloring suggestion). I didn’t have Instant Coffee, so I made a strong but not too strong cup of coffee and added it to the recipe. After it finished baking in my machine, although good flavoring, it was a little tougher towards the edges of the bread. The inner part of the bread was great.
Now I’m the one with a question: how can I make it softer around towards the edges???
I just want to say that I made this recipe last night, and it came out fantastic. I chose to make 12 rolls, baked about 20 minutes. Did not have corn meal so I used a combination of semolina/flour. These are definitely a keeper. Thanks so much for such a great restaurant favorite.
I’m so glad you liked it, Carol. Reminds me I need to make a loaf. We haven’t had it in a good while!
Lana; I totally forgot to ask you this before but can I just make one big loaf or is it best to divide the dough and make the 6 individual loafs as your
recipes calls for? How long would I bake one loaf?
Can this recipe be done in a breadmaker? If so do i need to make any changes to the amount of ingedients used?
I haven’t tried this recipe in a breadmaker.
I just pulled my first attempt out of the oven, its wonderful! – have you ever tried freezing a loaf? If so how did it keep? Thanks for sharing the awesome recipe!
This looks fantastic and makes my mouth water, I am definitely giving this a try!! Have you ever tried The Soup Kitchen’s Honey Oat bread and if so do you also have a recipe for something like it? I love “honey” bread of any type and would love to be able to try them all!
You’ll love this bread, Lenoria. It’s really good.
I had to Google the Soup Kitchen – I was not familiar with it. Sounds like a great place!
This looks so good Lana! I’ve featured it on Copycat Crafts today :)
Thanks so much, Amanda! I really appreciate your sharing.
Can I knead this with my Kitchenaide mixer? Also could I use rapid raise yeast instead of the active yeast. (rapid raise is what I happen to have on hand).
Yes, you can knead it in the mixer and you can use rapid rise yeast.
Thanks for the fast response Lana. Do you have a suggestion for how long I should knead the bread using my mixer? I am making this right now and kneaded for 5 minutes; I figured doing it by machine would not need the entire 10 minutes as in the instructions.
I will let you know how it came out.
That’s probably about right, Becky. I think the general guideline for machine kneading is about 5 minutes once the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Lana, they turned out great. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
So glad to hear that, Becky! I need to make some more myself.
What a gorgeous loaf of bread! Wish I had a piece right now!
Wish you lived close by, Amanda. I’d run a loaf right over to you!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I love steakhouse bread and this looks perfect. I try to avoid coffee is there any substitute for it? Or should I just try it without it?
Kytfox – if you can use decaf, try that. Otherwise, just leave it out and see how that works. It will change the flavor, of course, but I think it would still be delicious.
Lana, looks like your research on this type of bread turned out better than mine. The loaf I tried before was too wet and a bit unstable – also a bit darker than my husband would prefer. This one looks solid but still soft and wonderful. I can hardly wait to try it. Your cooking instincts do shine, girl. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Lorraine! This is a really delicious loaf with a beautiful texture. I’d love for you to try it and let me know how you like it.
I love the coffee and cocoa powder in this recipe. It sounds delightful.
Thanks, Shaina. It did turn out really good. This is one recipe that I’ll make over and over.
How much coffee granules? I am not seeing it.
Stella – it’s 2 teaspoons. So sorry I left that out! Thanks for letting me know. I’ve corrected the recipe.
I don’t see it in the directions, either. Am I missing it?
Also why not just use warm brewed coffee? I don’t have coffee granules but it seems like it would work the same as warm water + instant.
Annie – the coffee granules go in with the dry ingredients. Each teaspoon of the instant creates a cup of coffee when mixed with water. You’d have to use so much coffee to get the equivalent amount of flavor that it would make the dough far too wet.
Wow, this sounds delish Mate! :)
Thanks, Barb! I think you’d enjoy this one.
Wish I had a slice of it right now. One of my favorite things. This looks amazingly delicious.
Me, too! I love homemade bread :-)
Working with yeast dough is one of my favorite things to do in my kitchen. This recipe sounds amazing Lana. Love that it has cocoa and molasses. I just printed it and will be trying it soon. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Renee! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
That looks absolutely wonderful. Amazing. Fabulous. And all other superlative adjectives. Who can resist? Not me.
Miss P
I’ve never been able to turn down warm bread straight from the oven. Doesn’t matter if it’s bread, rolls, pastries…whatever. There’s just something intoxicating about the smell of yeast breads baking!
looks amazing! bread – anykind – is my love language! i’m such a carb lover!
Carbs are my weakness, too! Especially fresh bread warm from the oven slathered with butter. Oh my! I just can’t resist.