Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread

A copycat recipe for the famous dark bread served at Outback Steakhouse.

4.6 from 102 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

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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.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Sugar (needed to activate the yeast)
• Yeast (I use active dry yeast)
• Bread flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Cocoa powder (this give a wonderful flavor and color to the bread)
• Instant coffee (any brand you like; I keep a box of the individual cup size packets on hand for baking)
• Butter
• Honey (the honey and molasses give the bread a natural, subtle sweetness)
• Molasses
• Cornmeal (for dusting the loaves)

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.

So, 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.

COOK’S 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.

COOK’S 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 loaf 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

Steakhouse Honey Wheat Bread

A copycat recipe for the famous dark bread served at Outback Steakhouse.

4.56 from 102 votes

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Course: Breads

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Inactive Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 403kcal

Author: Lana Stuart

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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

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 to add 1 1/4 teaspoons of red, 1 teaspoon of yellow, and 1 teaspoon of blue. I’m perfectly happy with the color of the bread without the added coloring.

Because this bread has instant coffee granules in the dough, there may be a faint smell of burnt coffee while it bakes. Don’t worry! The bread is not burning. It’s just the coffee granules interacting with the hot baking sheet.

Of course, you’ll want to serve this bread with your next big steak dinner. But, it’s great with absolutely anything. Just be sure to serve plenty of butter along with it.

Wrap any leftovers in plastic wrap or pop them in a ziptop bag and store in the fridge. Homemade bread typically needs to be refrigerated to keep longer because it doesn’t contain the preservatives that commercial bread does.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1 | Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 427mg | Potassium: 332mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 121IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg

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 health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.

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— This post was originally published on July 23, 2013.