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!
If you’ve tried this copycat Outback Steakhouse honey wheat bread recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my 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?
Share it with me on Instagram @i_heart_eating and follow on Youtube @katedean and Pinterest @katedean for more!
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.
Reader Interactions
Love this recipe?
Share your thoughts below and let’s chat! Make sure to connect with me on your favorite social platform below and show me what you made!
Comments & Reviews
Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction says
Your bread looks delicious. I’ll definitely try this recipe.
kateheartseating says
Thanks!! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! =)
di says
I am so pinning this! Thanks for sharing. ~di
kateheartseating says
Thanks for pinning! =)
Chandra@The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen says
This Bread looks amazing!Thanks for Sharing at Show Me Your Plaid Monday’s!
Andrea says
Oh I bet this is good! Looking forward to trying :) Stopping by from Sumos Sweet Stuff Link Party.
RamblingReed.blogspot.com
kateheartseating says
I hope you enjoy the bread!! Thanks for stopping by! =)
I Gotta Try That says
If this tastes like Outback’s bread then this is my new favorite recipe! Thanks for sharing it, I’m excited to give it a try.
Hugs,
Marcie
kateheartseating says
I hope you like it! Thanks for hosting your awesome link party each week!! =)
Laurie @ Simply Creating Home says
Mmmm, this looks so good! We love Outback’s bread, but made fresh at home would be even better. Thank you so much for sharing your copycat recipe! I’ll be pinning.
kateheartseating says
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!! =)
Jen Nikolaus says
No. Way. This is awesome! I used to work as a server at Outback and I never got tired of their bread!! What a great recipe – I can’t wait to try it!!! I love your blog and am now following you. Stop by and visit me if you get a minute! Hope you’re having a great week!
Best,
Jen @ Yummy. Healthy. Easy.
kateheartseating says
I would’ve been in trouble working there! I always fill up on the bread when we go, so they would’ve had to roll me out at the end of my shift if I had worked there. Thanks so much for stopping by and for following! I will definitely stop by your site =)
igotthismartha says
Yummy! I love that bread!
Shannon {Cozy Country Living} says
This looks so good! Homemade bread is just the best! I am going to try this very soon! Pinning this:) Thanks for sharing!
kateheartseating says
Thanks!! It’s so satisfying to make bread (and it makes your house smell amazing!). I hope like the bread!! =)
ruthie says
Your bread looks amazing! I can only imagine how amazing it smells baking :) Thanks so much for coming to (link) party with me… I hope you’ll come again next week to Super Saturday Show & Tell! xoxo~ Ruthie
kateheartseating says
Thanks!! Baking bread and baking cookies are my two fav smells! Thanks so much for hosting and for coming by!! =)
aimee says
It looks gorgeous I would love it if you came over and shared it at my linky party at
Hugs aimee xxx
kateheartseating says
Thanks!! I love a good link party, so thank you for the invite!! =)
kitchenditcher says
I am SOOO going to make this! Thanks for sharing. New follower stopping by! Deb @ madefrompinterest.net
kateheartseating says
I hope you enjoy the bread! Thanks so much for following!! =)
Winnie says
Beautiful looking loaf. I’d love to try this recipe
kateheartseating says
Thanks! I hope you enjoy the bread!! =)
Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen says
I’ve only been to Outback once, but I remember loving the bread. Thanks for the delicious recipe :)
Brenda @ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com says
L-O-V-E Outback’s bread!! I always have to remind myself NOT to fill up on it, even with amazing cheese fries and a juicy steak on the table it’s still hard to resist their addictive bread!! Thanks for the awesome copycat recipe!! You rock!
I just realized that even though I’ve enjoyed several of your posts I wasn’t following you yet … Fixed that ;) Now following ya via Bloglovin’ ;*) Would be tickled pink to have you stop by for a visit sometime at ChattingOverChocolate.blogspot.com. :)
Have yourself a fabulous weekend!!
kateheartseating says
That is totally my bad!! I need to leave some comments when I visit your awesome site!! Have to hop over and fix that!! =)
Jenny says
I’ve been planning to make this from Frieda’s site for awhile, but haven’t got my caramel color yet!!!
kateheartseating says
I had to special order mine because I couldn’t find it in any of the stores here. Now I have a ginormo bottle, so I guess I have to make a lot more bread! =)
Chrissy Jordan says
I am totally trying this tonight… if the baby cooperates! haha thanks for linking it up at F-it Fridays! I thought that the caramel coloring was just burnt sugar?? Not sure how that’s a carcinogen?
kateheartseating says
Thanks for hosting!! All of my baking depends on that, too! =) That’s what I thought, too!! That comment freaked me out! As far as I could tell, it’s ok, though.
Shoba says
Looks lovely and so rustic. Lovely clicks by the way! WHy do you use caramel colour? Its a known carcinogen!!!
Shobha
kateheartseating says
Thanks! I had no idea that caramel color was a carcinogen. I’ll have to look into that. I was using it as an alternative to food coloring. Please feel free to leave it out – it just adds the famous brown color to the loaves.
Ginny McMeans says
You made a winner with this recipe. It sounds healthy and amazing.
kateheartseating says
Thanks!! =)
JESS44903 says
I LOVE this bread! I need to try this Thanks!
I would love for you to join my Link Up! :)
kateheartseating says
If you love the bread at Outback, then this is the recipe for you!! Thanks!! I’ll def stop by and link up =)