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Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread is that warm, slightly sweet, molasses kissed wheat bread they bring to your table, and this copycat nails the soft crumb and oat dusted crust at home. I bake a batch on lazy weekends to slather with our copycat Texas Roadhouse butter, and it disappears as fast as our homemade ciabatta rolls.
Soft, slightly sweet, molasses and cocoa wheat bread dusted with oats, this copycat Cheesecake Factory brown bread is bakery good at home.
Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🍴 Cook Time: 25 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes (includes proofing)
- 🍽 Serving: 4 mini loaves
- ⚡ Calories: 911kcal
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Soft and slightly sweet with molasses, honey, and nutty whole wheat
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, beginner friendly yeast bread like our homemade ciabatta rolls
Quick Answer
Bloom the yeast in warm water with sugar until foamy, then mix in honey, molasses, and melted butter. Add the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, and salt, then work in enough bread flour to form a soft dough and knead until smooth. Let it rise until doubled, divide into loaves, dust with oats, and proof again. Score the tops and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when tapped.
Jump to:
- Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread FAQs
- Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
- Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the baking science
- Molasses and honey give the signature flavor. The dark sweetness of molasses with floral honey is exactly what makes the restaurant bread taste the way it does.
- Cocoa and coffee deepen the color. A little cocoa powder and instant coffee darken the crumb to that iconic brown without adding a chocolate or coffee taste.
- Blooming the yeast guarantees the rise. Proofing the yeast in warm water with sugar until foamy confirms it is alive so your loaves rise tall and soft.
- Bread flour builds structure. The higher protein in bread flour develops gluten for a chewy, sturdy crumb that holds up to slicing and buttering.
- Oats on the crust seal the look. A dusting of rolled oats or cornmeal gives the loaves the bakery finish and signals the wholesome wheat inside.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Tastes just like the restaurant. Soft, sweet, and molasses rich, this copycat brings the famous Cheesecake Factory bread basket home.
- Simple pantry ingredients. No fancy equipment or hard to find items, just flour, yeast, honey, and molasses.
- Freezer friendly. Bake a double batch and freeze loaves so warm brown bread is always minutes away.
Key Ingredients
- Molasses and honey: The dynamic duo behind the flavor. Molasses brings deep, dark sweetness and honey adds a floral note.
- Whole wheat and bread flour: Whole wheat gives the nutty, wholesome base while bread flour adds structure for a soft, chewy crumb.
- Cocoa powder and instant coffee: Just enough to deepen the brown color without tasting like chocolate or coffee.
- Active dry yeast: Bloomed in warm water and sugar to give the loaves their tall, soft rise.
- Rolled oats or cornmeal: Dusted over the loaves for that signature bakery crust and look.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
- Make it one big loaf. Instead of mini baguettes, shape the dough into one or two larger loaves and bake a bit longer.
- Swap the sweetener. Maple syrup can stand in for some of the honey for a slightly different flavor.
- No instant coffee? Leave it out, the bread will be a touch lighter in color but still delicious.
- Use a bread machine. Run the dough through the dough cycle, then shape and bake as directed.
- Add seeds. Press sunflower or sesame seeds into the crust along with the oats for extra crunch.
How to Make Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread
- In a stand mixer with the hook attachment, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir and let sit until foamy and bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the honey, molasses, and melted butter. Add the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, and salt, mixing until combined.
- Add the bread flour a little at a time, kneading on low until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms and pulls away from the bowl.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, spray the top, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 4 pieces. Shape into mini baguettes, place on a baking pan, dust with oats or cornmeal, and let proof until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Score the tops with a sharp blade and bake about 25 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Cool slightly and serve warm.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Check your water temperature. Aim for 105 to 110 degrees, too hot kills the yeast and too cold will not activate it.
- Wait for the foam. If the yeast does not get bubbly in 10 minutes, it is dead, start over with fresh yeast.
- Add bread flour gradually. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky, not dry, so stop adding flour once it pulls from the bowl.
- Proof in a warm spot. An oven with just the light on or a turned off microwave makes a cozy draft free spot for rising.
- Do not skip the oats. The dusting is what gives the loaves the recognizable Cheesecake Factory look.
- Tap to test doneness. A finished loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Serve warm with butter. This bread is at its best fresh and warm, slathered with our copycat Texas Roadhouse butter.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Warm Cheesecake Factory brown bread is meant to start a meal, just like the restaurant bread basket. Serve it sliced and warm with plenty of softened butter or our copycat Texas Roadhouse butter for spreading.
Set it out alongside our Longhorn hot spinach dip for a restaurant style appetizer spread, or use the loaves to make incredible sandwiches and toast the next day.
This brown bread is also wonderful served with soups and stews for dunking, or as the bread basket for a holiday dinner next to our pull-apart bread. However you serve it, it never lasts long.
Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread FAQs
The dark color comes from molasses, cocoa powder, and a little instant coffee, not from being burnt or overly whole grain. These ingredients deepen the color and add the signature flavor without tasting like chocolate or coffee.
Yes, this brown bread freezes beautifully. Let the loaves cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic and foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm in a 300 degree oven before serving.
You can, but the texture will be slightly denser. For the closest copycat, use the mix of whole wheat and bread flour. Bread flour has more protein, which gives the loaves their soft, chewy structure.
Store cooled loaves in an airtight bag or container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze them. Warm slices in the oven or toaster to bring back that fresh baked softness.
Yes. Mix and knead the dough in a bread machine on the dough cycle, then remove it to shape into loaves, dust with oats, proof, and bake in your oven as the recipe directs.
The honey and molasses make it lightly sweet, more so than a standard sandwich bread but not as sweet as a dessert bread. That gentle sweetness is exactly what makes the restaurant version so addictive.
Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
If this Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread filled your kitchen with that warm bakery smell, leave a star rating and let us know how it turned out. Photos of your oat dusted loaves on Pinterest always make our day.
Slather your warm slices with our copycat Texas Roadhouse butter, sweet, whipped, and cinnamon kissed.
Love baking bread from scratch? Our homemade ciabatta rolls are another crowd pleasing bakery style recipe.
For a showstopping holiday loaf, try our pull-apart bread, perfect for sharing at the table.
Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups warm water 105-110°F
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 3-4 cups bread flour
- cooking spray
- cornmeal or rolled oats for dusting
Instructions
- In the body of a stand mixer with the hook attachment, add the warm water, yeast, and sugar, stir a few times to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly. While waiting, in a medium-sized bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder, and salt, set aside.2 ½ cups warm water, 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 cups whole wheat flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Once the yeast is bubbly, add the honey, molasses, and melted butter, stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir it in, scrape down the sides as needed.¼ cup honey, ¼ cup molasses, ¼ cup unsalted butter
- Add 2 & ½ cups of the bread flour and stir it in until combined. At low speed continue to add bread flour a little at a time until the dough comes off the sides of the mixer, if it is still sticking some to the very bottom of the mixer that’s okay. (How much bread flour you use depends on how humid it is out that day.) Turn the speed up to medium-high and knead the dough for 6-7 minutes. If you see the dough start to stick to the sides again, add a tablespoon of the bread flour at a time until it is clean again.3-4 cups bread flour
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the dough and spray the top of the dough with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let it double in size, about 45-90 minutes.cooking spray
- Punch down the dough in the bowl. On a lightly floured clean work surface divide the dough into 4ths. Using your hands roll them out into long logs. Place them into the sections of a baguette pan. Spray the tops of the loaves with more cooking spray and sprinkle with the cornmeal or rolled oats. Slightly press it in so it sticks. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel again and let proof for 30 minutes, they should almost double in size again.cornmeal or rolled oats for dusting
- While proofing preheat the oven to 375°F. Optional, score the tops of the baguettes with a razor or sharp knife. Place the baguette pan directly into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Bake until the outside of the bread is no longer shiny and is crusty looking. You can temp the bread, if it has reached an internal temperature of 200-210°F it’s done. Let cool slightly, cut and serve!
Notes
- You can top this with either corneal or oats, we like oats since that is what they do at Cheesecake Factory.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Make sure that you score the bread to help with expansion while baking.
- You can halve or double this recipe, it makes 4 loaves.
- You can also serve with salted butter or honey butter.
Nutrition
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