Copycat Outback Steakhouse Bread for #BreadBakers

Welcome to #BreadBakers! We are a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

This month, Wendy from A Day In The Life On The Farm, invited us to bake up "brown breads". She said: "As we celebrate fall my thoughts turn to soups and stews accompanied by a hearty bread. Share your favorite Brown Bread Recipe this month."

Come see all of the delicious Brown Bread Recipes we're sharing with you today!

Anadama Bread from Passion Kneaded

Boston Brown Bread from Pastry Chef Online

Brown Sandwich Bread from Anybody Can Bake

Copy-Cat Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Copy-Cat Outback Steakhouse Bread from Making Miracles

Golden Braid of Bern from What Smells So Good

Irish Brown Bread from Palatable Pastime

Molasses Rye Slider Buns from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

No Knead Sprouted Wheat and Flax Seed Sandwich Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Sourdough Molasses and Honey Brown Bread from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

Traditional Steamed Brown Bread from A Messy Kitchen

Whole Wheat Rolls from Magical Ingredients

Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Ambrosia

Wholemeal Soda Bread from Food Lust People Love

I am a hugggeee fan of Outback's brown bread - but I have to tell you I can't call this one a great copycat, because to me it didn't have the right taste / texture at all. Of course that could be user error, but I wanted to give that as a caveat! That said, this is a wonderfully deep rich bread with a hint of cocoa. It has a dense and chewy texture, and was absolutely delicious toasted with a little bit of butter or jam. 

I made two very rustic (yes, I'm going to call them rustic, and not sloppy) loaves - if you want a smoother more even appearance you can shape them a little more carefully than I did! 

I used some of this bread in a breakfast casserole - you can cube the bread, toast it up, and it works great for that if you have some leftover! 

Copycat Outback Steakhouse Bread 

Yields: 2 small loaves

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
2 cups bread flour
1 2/3 - 2 cups wheat flour
2 1/2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant granulated coffee
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
1/3 cup old fashioned oats

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except for the oats in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the dough hook attached, turn the mixer onto medium until a dough ball comes together; allow this to knead for about 3 minutes. If the dough won't come together into a ball, you can add a little bit more flour if needed.
2. Remove dough from bowl and add some oil to the bowl. Return dough ball to bowl and flip over so both sides are covered with a towel. Set the covered bowl aside for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until dough has risen (my dough stayed fairly dense, but did increase in size).
3. Punch down. Prep two loaf pans with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 2 loaves and shape; place prepared dough into the two loaf pans. Sprinkle the tops with the oats. Cover again and set aside for another 45-60 minutes until they puff up.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 minutes, or until dough has cooked all the way through and crust is golden.
5. Cool in pan about 10-15 minutes before turning the bread out to complete cooling on a wire rack.

Recipe adapted from Gather For Bread