Make the popular bread at home! This Copycat Outback Steakhouse Bread recipe is an easy way to enjoy the famous bread – no restaurant or steak dinner required!

We don’t go to sit-down restaurants very often, but when we do, it’s all about which restaurant has the best bread.
This recipe is nearly an exact copycat of one of my favorite breads – the honey wheat Bushman bread at Outback Steakhouse. The bread is soft with a light sweetness from the honey and the molasses.
This recipe is made with simple ingredients, and it tastes delicious. Serve it on a cutting board with a generous amount of butter for the total restaurant experience!

Ingredients and substitutions
- Warm water
- Vegetable oil
- Honey
- Molasses – I like to use robust molasses, but regular or light molasses will also work. I don’t recommend blackstrap molasses as it can be bitter.
- Whole wheat flour
- Cocoa powder – Dutch processed cocoa powder will also work and will give you a slightly darker loaf.
- Yeast
- Salt
- Bread Flour
- Oats
How to make copycat Outback Steakhouse bread

Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a dough hook, stir together water, oil, honey, and molasses until mixed well.
Tip>> You can also mix this recipe up by hand in a large bowl. I don’t recommend using a hand mixer, though, for this one.
Step 2: Add wheat flour to wet ingredients.

Step 3: Add cocoa, yeast, and salt, and stir until blended. Allow mixture sit for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Stir in bread flour, one cup at a time, until dough clings to hook and almost clears the sides of mixer, about 3-4 minutes.

Step 5: Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise in the bowl until doubled, about 30-60 minutes.
Step 6: Divide into 2 pieces. Cover each piece with greased plastic wrap, and let dough rest for 5 minutes.

Step 7: Shape pieces into loaves, and sprinkle with oats. Place each loaf in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan.
Step 8: Let dough rise until doubled, about 30-60 minutes. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350 F.
Step 9: Bake at for 30-40 minutes.

Bread baking tips
- Water temperature matters! It’s important to use water that’s the correct temperature. Water that’s too hot will kill the yeast, and water that’s too cool will give you a slower yeast activation.
The best way to measure the temperature of the water is with a kitchen thermometer. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, the water should feel like warm bath water. If it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for the yeast. - Have a cool kitchen? If your kitchen is cool, it can slow the rising time.
An easy way to create a perfect spot for your bread to rise it to turn your oven to preheat 350F for exactly 60 seconds. Then, turn the oven off. This will give your oven just a bit of warmth, and it helps to encourage the bread dough to rise.

Can I freeze this bread?
You can! This kind of bread freezes well.
Simply bake the bread as-directed. Then, let the bread cool to room temperature on a wire cooling rack.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and place the wrapped loaf in a resealable freezer bag.

Storage
Outback bread should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for up to 4 days.
More bread recipes!
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Copycat Outback Steakhouse Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups warm water 100°-110°F
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 3 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 cups bread flour
- rolled oats for dusting loaves
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with a dough hook, stir together water, oil, honey, and molasses until mixed well.
- Add wheat flour to water mixture.
- Add cocoa, yeast, and salt, and stir until blended.
- Allow mixture sit for 10 minutes.
- Stir in bread flour, one cup at a time, until dough clings to hook and almost clears the sides of mixer, about 3-4 minutes. You may not need to use all of the bread flour.
- Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap.
- Allow dough to rise in the bowl until doubled, about 30-60 minutes.
- Divide into 2 pieces.
- Cover each piece with greased plastic wrap, and let dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Shape pieces into loaves, and sprinkle with oats.
- Place each loaf in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Let dough rise until doubled, about 30-60 minutes.
- Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350 F.
- Bake at for 30-40 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Molasses – I like to use robust molasses, but regular or light molasses will also work. I don’t recommend blackstrap molasses as it can be bitter.
- Cocoa powder – Dutch processed cocoa powder will also work and will give you a slightly darker loaf.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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adapted from Frieda Loves Bread
Originally published March 6, 2013. Updated on February 11, 2019. Updated again on 1/5/22 with new photos, tips, and information. The recipe was also updated to omit the caramel coloring.
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Comments & Reviews
Alison says
Just a quick FYI, clicking the print button on this recipe reopens this exact page in a new tab.
Kate says
Thank you for letting me know! I think I fixed it; it’s working on my end. Please let me know if you have any issues with it. Thanks!