Sweet Molasses Bread {Restaurant Knock-off}
This easy, delicious recipe for sweet molasses bread is just like the soft, tender loaves you get at your favorite steakhouse restaurant!
I should learn by now to never, ever, never-ever tell anyone that it’s been forever since I’ve been sick because the minute those words come out of my mouth, I swear to you, I have instantly the worst cold in a decade.
Healthy pride goeth before the fall, I suppose. That’s my reality this week.
After seriously not being sick in forever (I can say it out loud now since I’m already miserable), I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. And for some strange reason, my HR department isn’t answering my phone calls about my allotted sick days. Weird.
Today, in the midst of feeling like my pounding head was stuffed inside too-small pantyhose, I remembered that I had a loaf of this sweet molasses bread hidden in the depths of my freezer and the realization almost made everything better.
A quick defrost in the microwave, several slices, and a healthy dose of butter later, I decided that sometimes self-medicating with bread is the best way to go (that and going to bed at 8:23 p.m. for several nights in a row).
We are in love with this bread and have made it too many times to count over the last few months.
Most of the remakes were in an attempt to get the perfect variation of ingredients – a slight hint of sweetness with the molasses and honey while keeping the beautiful dark color.
I’m not entirely sure why my kids go crazy for this bread but they do. The last two kids to celebrate birthdays have requested this bread as part of their birthday dinner and it’s their favorite thing to see in their lunch box.
If you’ve ever dined out at a popular steakhouse chain (like Outback and others), the sweet molasses bread they serve is always the best part of the meal, in my opinion, and the homemade version is even more delicious.
I’ve included some helpful tips and information in the notes below the recipe title but rest assured that this dough is a dream to work with. I hope you love it as much as we do. Just don’t forget to slather on that butter. It’s kind of a must.
While you contemplate why, how, when and where you’ll make this amazing sweet molasses bread, I’m off to arm wrestle my kindergartener for the last piece of our loaf and try to convince him he should try his 6-year old hand at making sweet molasses bread for his sick, old mother because it’s the right thing to do (actually, now that I’m typing that out loud, I’m not sure the mess would be worth it; maybe we’ll just dig in the freezer and hope for the good luck to find another misplaced loaf).
One Year Ago: My Favorite Lightened Up Egg Salad Sandwich
Two Years Ago: Candy Apple Pie
Three Years Ago: Spring Penne Pasta with Light Butter Sauce
Molasses Bread {Outback Knock-off}
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups warm water, about 110 degrees
- 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened, natural cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons oil (see note)
- ⅓ cup (113 g) honey
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten, optional – see note
- 3 cups (426 g) white whole wheat flour
- 3 to 4 cups (426 to 568 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- Old-fashioned oats for sprinkling
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon if powering through this by hand), combine the water, yeast, molasses, cocoa powder, oil, honey, salt, gluten (if using), and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. Mix until combined.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the rest of the whole wheat flour. Start adding the white flour gradually until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-7 minutes (about 10-15 if kneading by hand). The dough should be soft and slightly tacky but shouldn’t leave a lot of residue on your fingers if you grab a piece.
- Turn the dough into a large, lightly greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap or a light towel, and let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.
- Lightly punch down the dough and divide into three equal pieces. Form into tight oval loaves and place on parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheets (I fit two loaves on one large, rimmed 11X17-inch baking sheet and the third loaf on another baking sheet). Lightly cover with greased plastic wrap or a light towel and let rise until puffy and doubled in size. Optional: right before baking, using a very sharp razor, knife or bread-slashing lame (I use this one from King Arthur Flour), cut three deep slashes in the top of each loaf.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the loaves for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly brush with about a tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with the oats and bake for another 5-7 minutes.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: inspired by this copycat recipe (sent to me by a longtime reader, Lien) and this recipe on Frieda’s site
Hi Mel, I’m SO grateful for all of the time and effort that you must put into this site!!! So much amazing information! I just recently inherited a Nutrimill grinder from my mother-in-law and am excited to start into the world of wheat grinding. That being said, I’m looking at this recipe and can’t wait to try it, but I was wondering: do you have a key somewhere on your site for what you do to achieve your different types of flour? Does “white whole wheat flour” = soft or hard white wheat that you have ground yourself, or store purchased? Do you purchase your all purpose flour from the store, or do you have a blend that you grind to use for that? Do the amounts listed in this recipe change if I’m using freshly ground vs store purchased flour? Sorry for all of the questions, but I just want to make sure I’m using the right amounts and interpreting your recipe correctly for optimal results! 😉 Thanks so much!
Hi Jennifer – I did a post a long time ago that might be helpful: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/wheat-and-wheat-grinding-101-the-wheat-types-where-to-buy-and-what-to-make/
But in a nutshell, I almost always use hard white wheat berries to grind my flour. I still purchase unbleached all-purpose flour from the store. All my recipes are written using freshly ground whole wheat flour or storebought unbleached all-purpose flour, so if you are using a different blend or flour than that, you may need to make adjustments. Hope that helps!
This is THE most wonderful bread of all time. And you are sooooooo right, it is MUCH better than the restaurant bread. I live in Crossville TN and the baking company here actually makes Outack’s bread. At least in Tennessee they do. I don’t know if there are others elsewhere. Anyway my husband is a self proclamed bread expert. Lol and this is his absolute favorite. Thanks so much for this recipe. I see it being made many many times over the years to come
Has anyone tried it in a dutch oven?
COULD THIS BE DONE WITH JUST UNBLEACHED ALL PURPOSE FLOUR INSTEAD OF THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO FOURS ?
Yes, although the loaves might be lighter in color.
I’ve made this into rolls, three loaves, one oversized loaf and every other combination. Absolutely perfect every time.
How long would you cook this bread if you used mini loaf pans?
Probably about 20 minutes.
Turned out beautifully! I did add 2 TB brown sugar, as we like sweet bread. Made it for our St Patricks day dinner! Yummo! Will definitely make again!
Just in case anyone is wondering whether they could half the recipe for a small family: yes, it halved easily and I ended up with 6 huge fluffy delicious rolls (“huge” as in sandwich-is-a -meal size!)…used bread flour (along with the whole wheat of course) and no gluten. Thank you, Mel!
The dough was runny. I made it to and both times it was runny. I’ve been making bread for over 20 years. Normally with this amount of flour you typically use one and a 1/2 cups of water. Two and 1/2 cups of water was the problem here. I had to add more flour and it lost its shape when I’m trying to raise it. I was afraid to put in too much flour creating a consistency that was way too dense. I’ll have to try another recipe this one didn’t work for me.
I had the same problem, until I realized the measurement for the all purpose flour is 3 to 4 cups, not 3/4 cup. Made the adjustment and the recipe came out great.
Hi Tom, I’ve had the same problem with the oats, but discovered that by brushing the top with egg white and a little water, sprinkle on the oats then brush again with egg white, voila !!!!
Mel! This bread is delicious! I have tried your Rosemary Bread, French bread and this Molasses bread. Thanks to your wonderful recipes and specific instructions, my family thinks I’m a rockstar! Can’t wait to try your other bread recipes…one at a time!
-Michelle
Thank you, Michelle!
Can this recipe be made and baked in a 3 lb bread machine?
I’m not sure, Kathryn – sorry!
I bought a lame to cut slashes in the tops of my bread loaves, but every time I slash my bread after they have risen, the loaves deflate! It makes me so frustrated! I’m sure the lame is sharp because the blade is brand new. I have tried using extra sharp knives before as well, but those also deflated my loaves. Do you have any ideas or tips for slashing the bread without causing it to deflate?
Hi Mary Ellen – some it may be technique. It took me a few tries to figure out how to angle the lame so it sliced the bread without deflating it. Having said that, others have recommended slashing before it rises. You might try that. The divots/slashes will be wider since they’ll expand while the bread rises, but then you don’t have to worry about slashing right before baking.
Is the dough supposed to be runny? I double checked my measurements and I followed it correctly
The dough should have the consistency of a pretty “normal” yeast bread dough.
Made the dough in the bread machine, made into rolls in the oven. Please note that this recipe makes A LOT OF ROLLS. My 2 lb bread machine was overflowing with dough. Next time I’ll probably halve the amounts. They came out amazing and delicious, though.
If you have time and would be so kind, could you copy and paste the recipe above, altered with what you did for making the dough in a bread machine? I don’t have a stand mixer (I’m a convert of the 5 min a day bread) but my mom has a bread machine. I would certainly appreciate it, and I’m sure I’m not the only one!
Terrific recipe! Is it possible to put the dough in bread pans to bake?
I think so!
This recipe is fantastic, with one exception and that is the oatmeal does fall off! I do wish thatI could put it into a couple of loaf pans to bake.
Hi Tom, I’ve had the same problem with the oats, but discovered that by brushing the top with egg white and a little water, sprinkle on the oats then brush again with egg white, voila !!!!
this is a great recipe…this is my first time making bread ever and followed the recipe exactly. the weather wasnt hot enough the first time so it didnt rise much..2nd time i made it in the day…85 degrees out and it rose beautifully! thank you!
question– any tips on enhancing the molasses flavor without adding more molasses? (dont want to unbalance the wet to dry ratio)
Not really sure about the molasses flavor question, to be honest. The only solutions I can think of would be adding more liquid (like molasses or maybe even barley malt syrup).
I have been baking bread for the last 20 years. I have tried hundreds of recipes. This is one of the very best I have ever tried!! I used white wheat and bread flour instead of gluten. It was soooo delicious, I had to share it with all my neighbors.
You never let me down, Mel! Thank you!
So happy to hear it, Cheryl!
LOVED IT!!! Will be making this again and again and again. I couldn’t find white whole wheat flour at my regular grocery store, so I used whole wheat and it turned out perfectly (I kneaded the dough for 7 mins). I also used active yeast (5 tsp) since I have a lot of it, so I proof the yeast with all of the water, honey and molasses and then added the rest of the ingredients as called for. It was an easy recipe and didn’t take much time to put together. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Side Note: If you are having a hard time finding the Vital Wheat Gluten (like I did) check the health food isle with the gluten free flours (Bob’s Red Mill).
My post is a little late but I made this bread last Thanksgiving. Unfortunately in the middle of baking we lost power and didnt get it back for 2 hours. My loaves didnt rise but still tasted great. Im going to try again.
Hello. Im planning to make that bread but I need to bake it in the morning. Do you think I could make dough the day before and do first raise in a room temp and then shape loaves and proof in the fridge? Im thinking to pull them out of fridge in the morning and leave them in room temp for an hour or so then bake…would that work? thanks
Yes, I think that could work very well. Good luck!
When I made this a second time, I added 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. It added a little more depth to the flavor, and helped balance out the molasses a little more.
Love, love this bread! For a newbie bread maker, this recipe is perfect. The dough behaved the way the recipe said it would and baked wonderfully! The added gluten is worth using I think (ordered it off Amazon if you can’t find it in stores). The bread has a great texture and chewiness. This bread flavour is a memory from my childhood that I haven’t been able to replicate until now. Thank you!
I tried this recipe for the first time tonight, which was also my first attempt at a “brown” bread, and I confess, I was a little nervous. But the dough was very easy to work with (I used bread flour in place of the white because I didn’t have vital wheat gluten) and it rose beautifully. Even though it was a tad underdone when I sliced it (this happens to me with bread a lot despite using the hollow-thump test and checking with a thermometer), the family all pronounced it delicious and said they liked it as much as the dinner rolls I typically make. Thanks for another awesome bread recipe, Mel, I knew I could trust yours! Do you have any other tips for checking bread done-ness? I don’t usually have a problem with rolls but my loaves often are a little doughy on the bottom half.
Hey Danielle – this bread actually turns out underdone on me a lot, too. I don’t think you are alone. I’ve learned to cook it almost 5-10 minutes past when I think it is really done (which I wouldn’t normally do because most breads would be dry, but this bread needs it).
Hi. Just found this recipe and I’m excited to try it out. Would I be able to use all whole wheat flour instead of both whole wheat and all purpose? Thanks.
Could certainly try!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. We entire family loved it. I made the dough in my bread machine, I did the final raise myself, and I baked it in the oven. Omg yummy. I wish I could post a picture.
Where do you find recipe
Why would you have all these comments and cant find recipe
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/sweet-molasses-bread/
Used rye flour instead of whole wheat…’twas delicious. This is our new favorite bread recipe.
Hi, can you freeze the dough and bake later?
Thank you in advance.
I haven’t tried that but I often freeze it after it has baked and cooled.
Ok, so I just made the dough and I don’t know what happened as I’ve made bread before. I used bread flour and it took me like 7 1/2 cups to get it to where I could manage it in my hands and not stick and looked like it’s supposed to! The only thing I could think is that maybe because it’s bread flour vs regular? The bread flour may have been a little old but I don’t think that would matter. Also, I kept it on medium/high in my kitchen aid and kept trying to knead it for awhile thinking it would come together but it didn’t so I just kept adding more flour. I finally got it right but it took 7 1/2 cups! I’m definitely scared to see how this turns out. :/
Hi Mel,
Just curious, what do you usually serve this with? I can imagine soup, but probably not pasta right?
Actually, I think we’ve served it with just about everything! It’s slightly on the heavy/hearty end for pasta but I made it with a lighter pasta dish (I think garlic noodles) and it was great.
My daughter is doing baking for 4H this year and her requirement is to use at least half whole grain flour. We have tried different recipes for rye, and whole wheat flours but nothing had come out right. I decided it was time to try bread flour as my white half. This was the first recipe we attempted with a bread flour/whole wheat mix. I mixed three cups of each into a bowl and whisked it together so no matter how much was used it would be a 50/50 blend. We didn’t have honey on hand so I substituted light corn syrup for that. Everything else was followed to the letter except the rises and I doubled the yeast. This caused it to nearly triple in size during the first rise. I then seperated in to two loaves and placed on a baking sheet. Which they became too large for upon second rise. Which caused me to have to reform them in to new loaves on individual sheets they then rose another time. Upon preparing for the oven by scoring the tops I noticed that the middle of one wasn’t uniform so I kneaded them once more making more uniform loaves and yet another rise. So after 4 rises I finally had them scored to my liking and ready to go in.
I pulled them out when hollow sounding on bottom checked internal temp and was 185 I figured this was close enough. Let it cool slightly then sliced a piece off for my daughter and I. Yummmmmmmmm! We then went back for seconds and used a bit of butter on the slices. The butter took it to a whole other level.
We may have found her recipe for judging!
The only thing I have a question about is I didn’t brush in butter and continue baking, would that have caused my loaves to be very light in color compared to the picture? Ours looked more like a whole wheat sandwhich loaf color. It’s good no doubt but wanted a darker color for presentation. I could try upping the cocoa or brushing with butter if that would darken it up more.
Either way thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Hi Ryan – thanks for all the details! You can get better browning on the top of your loaf by putting your oven rack a bit higher in the oven (at least, this helps sometimes for me) and yes, the butter should help with browning, too.
You could add some instant coffee to the recipe.
I totally impressed myself– this bread turned out beautiful! And absolutely delicious! Seriously delicious. I made 4 batches of this recipe to take to a colonial days activity with my 4th grader. The first batch I put the oats on top with the butter for the last 5 minutes of baking, as stated in the recipe. It was pretty, but those gorgeous oats fell right off when bagging the bread. The next batch, just before baking, I brushed on egg whites, sprinkled the oats, then dabbed some more egg white wash on to make sure those oats were glued down to the bread. During the last 5 minutes of baking I gave the whole loaf a good coat in melted better. Those oats stuck beautifully and was able to transport the loaves with without the oats falling off.
Great idea!
This was the most delicious bread I’ve ever made! Yum. I served it with your Autumn Minestrone Soup. If you know the scene from What About Bob, when Bob is mming and aahing about every bite, that was how I felt about the meal. Scrumptious. Thank you!
Question for you: Can you use Graham Flour instead? If so do we still need the vital gluten stuff as well and would we do same measurements for the wheat/all purpose flour as shown only using graham flour in place of white/whole wheat?
I’ve never used graham flour so I’m not sure Heidi -you’ll have to experiment. Good luck!
Hi Mel-
This looks delicious! I am looking forward to making it this week. Thank you for the recipe.
Quick question, I do not have instant yeast, but I do have active yeast. Would I need to change the way I make this bread? Thanks in advance.
Usually you can proof the same amount of active dry yeast (maybe just a pinch more) in 1/4 cup of warm water and a pinch of sugar. Once it’s foaming and bubbly, you can add it to the recipe. Does that help?
I made this bread today and it was wonderful. I gave one to the gentleman across the highway , he just called me to tell me that it was fantastic .. My husband has eaten 4 slices , and is headed to the kitchen for another slice .. I will be making this for the Thankgiving dinner at church. This is one “knock off “recipe that frankly is better then the original. Great Recipe
All I can say is YUM! This made 3 huge loaves so I might cut it in half next time since there are only two of us. I used all bread flour / no gluten since I didn’t have any white whole wheat and it was fine.
Tried this tonight and it was a hit. The youngest was delighted that there was chocolate in it, the oldest was mad that he couldn’t particularly taste the chocolate, but everyone was pleased with the bread! I really loved that it doesn’t even touch your counter–no last kneading and shaping step that requires spreading flour everywhere. So easy!
Yum. We had this with some potato corn chowder and it was the perfect rainy day meal. I’m thrilled that there are 2 more loaves!! Thanks!
Delicious recipe, I love the flavor! I used my KitchenAid mixer for the dough, though…the bread was more dense and not as fluffy as I would have hoped. The flavor is right on though…thank you!
Delicious, the wife and kids loved it thank you for the great recipes. Would add a pic but don’t know how to load it here.
is there any way to move your blog sigh “see what we’re sharing? It covers up half your page and your recipes., and is very annoying. I thought it would go away after i followed you but it doesn’t.
made this a few times this week and it’s amazing! served it at an etiquette dinner for the youth in our ward and it was a hit. everyone loved it. thank you!
This bread is amazing! I just baked bread for the first time using you French Bread Roll recipe and decided to be adventurous and try this one. It turned out great! My 2 1/2 year old came down the stairs after his nap and happily called down the stairs “I smell something yummy cooking!” So, thanks for making this bread baking amateur a hit with her toddler!
We all sat down and took our first bites. As my brain was being flooded with dopamine and I was left speechless, my preschooler exclaimed, “Mom, this bread is gooder than 1000 thumbs up!” Seriously, this is the best. bread. ever. I have never eaten at any of those restaurants, so I had no idea what to expect. Warm out of the oven topped with butter…there is nothing better. Thanks Mel!!!
So happy you loved this one, Melanie! It’s one of our favorite breads. Your preschooler’s comment is so cute!
This recipe sounds wonderful, and I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering if you could add raisins to the dough?
Thank you.
I haven’t tried it but you could certainly experiment!
Hi Mel,
If making these into rolls, do I cut the baking time down to 15 minutes? Thank you.
Probably – 14-15 minutes should do the trick.
Definitely need to try this–looks great! And so glad to find your website. Just bought a grain mill last month and have the 3 types of wheat (White (soft and hard) and Hard Red, Plus Einkhorn, and ahve been experimenting with % of each (with a lot resulting in flat bread!). Takes time to figure out what works. Love how you actually specify type of wheat in your recipes. I am wondering if you have made with less sugar–I typically add about 1 tablespoon and that’s enough for me. Will probably try this now with less and see! thank you, will subscribe!
Hello,
I had a question about bread flour v. ap flour in bread recipes. Why does this (any many other bread recipes) not use bread flour? If I used bread flour instead of AP flour what would happen? Thanks!
I usually use all-purpose because I don’t often keep bread flour on hand but yes, you can generally sub in bread flour for a chewier loaf if you’d like.