Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread for breakfast: that’s the dream, right? Make it come true, and spread butter generously through a soft, tender brown bread slice following this easy step-by-step recipe!
Why is this bread so good?
This Cheesecake Factory copycat brown bread is going to become a staple at your home, I just know it! It happened here, and I’m always doubling the recipe, so it lasts more than a couple of days.
Maybe is the combination of honey and chocolate, the softness of this baguette loaf, its texture with butter, I really don’t know. But this bread is totally addictive.
Is it good for having with jam? Yes. Butter? Yep. Soups? Oh yeah! And it keeps wonderful for days, if you’re lucky enough and have any left after the first.
Even if you’re a beginner at baking yeasty bread, I got you! I’ve made a foolproof step by step, talked about every single ingredient and subs, and if you still have doubts after reading everything, watch this recipe’s video.
And as always, feel free to ask me questions you might still have in the comments!
What kind of bread is this?
This is a very soft baguette-shaped bread, with a rich deep flavor and slightly sweet.
The combination of the ingredients plus molasses and cocoa give this bread a delicious deep taste as well a beautiful brown color. Brown sugar and honey make the loaves lightly sweet as the ones from Cheesecake Factory.
Ingredients and Substitutions
First, let me say you can substitute some ingredients, BUT that will always change the final taste. You’ll still get a delicious loaf, though!
Sugar. I use brown sugar in this recipe. Light or dark brown sugar can be used, as well as white sugar.
Yeast. Use instant dry yeast. If using yeast that needs to be proofed, do so by using the water and sugar asked in the recipe, so you won’t add more liquid that needed.
Bread flour. Use white bread flour. You can substitute for all-purpose flour, but loaves will lose a bit of their structure. They will taste the same.
Whole wheat flour. One of the ingredients that’s also responsible for flavor, try not to use all-purpose or white bread flour only. Your bread will lack a nutty taste if doing so - but it won’t be bad, if you don’t mind!
Cocoa powder. Use it unsweetened, natural or Dutch. The latter will give more color to the loaves. Do not use hot cocoa mix!
Salt. Never forget to add salt to your bread! Salt is one of the ingredients that affect taste and fermentation: too much and you’ll get unedible bread, too little and the dough will rise much more quickly than normal during proofing, resulting in a sticky dough and a more prone to collapse loaf. Use fine sea salt.
Butter. It helps the bread to achieve the soft, fluffy texture. Also responsible for a richer taste. Use butter, or any vegan butter/margarine for a dairy-free, vegan option.
Honey. It’s what makes the bread be irresistible, and gives its sweet, sweet taste. You can substitute for maple syrup for a similar taste if you’re baking with vegan ingredients only.
Molasses. Blackstrap/dark molasses will give a more bitter taste, while mild to light (regular) molasses will add more sugar to the recipe. Molasses is one of the main ingredients responsible for flavor, so try not to skip it! If you opt not to use it, replace with honey or corn syrup, same amount.
Although some recipes add espresso powder, I choose to leave it out of this brown bread. I didn’t really noticed a huge improvement with it and is not everyone that has espresso powder (or instant coffee to use as a substitute) in their pantry.
To deepen even more the flavors, I recommend trying a cold overnight fermentation.
How to make it
Let’s go through a step by step together so you’ll get it right first time!
- Make the dough.
- Stir together water, honey and molasses.
- In a large bowl, mix bread and whole wheat flour, salt, sugar, cocoa powder and yeast. Add honey mixture and mix until dough is partially formed. Add butter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes if using a stand mixer, 12 to 15 minutes if doing by hand. When ready, dough will feel tacky, smooth, and will stick to the bottom of the bowl when the mixer stops, but not at your fingers.
- First rise. Transfer dough to a clean bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, bee wax wrap or a damp towel and let it rise until it doubles. It will take from 1 to 2 hours. Remember to leave in a warm spot.
- Divide dough. After the first rise, deflate dough. Flour the surface you’ll be working on. Divide dough into 4 pieces.
- Shape dough. Using your hands or a rolling pin, open each piece in a rectangle (4a). Roll into a cylinder and pinch to close (4b).
- Second rise. Place in a lined baking sheet, lightly coating the bottom with cornmeal (if using). Leave space between them as they will double. Top with oats, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 40 minutes more or until loaves almost double, and look puffy and light.
- Baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover loaves and bake them for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Cooling. Let loaves cool for 15 minutes before slicing.
How to make this bread with overnight proofing
If you want to leave this dough resting overnight, here is how you shall proceed after step 1.
- Cover dough and leave it resting in a warm spot for 40 minutes.
- Place it inside your fridge and leave it fermenting overnight or for up to 24 hours.
- Leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping.
- Proceed to step 3.
Do not leave the dough resting overnight OUTSIDE your fridge!
Can I make this recipe using a bread machine?
Totally! But to get loaves like the ones in the photos, you should use it for mixing and proofing (dough cycle) only.
Shaping and baking should be done following the direction of this recipe for best result.
Why my bread is heavy and dense?
If your bread doesn’t feel light and has a dense texture, one of those things could have gone wrong during the execution:
- Have you knead enough the dough? It needs to feel smooth in your hands and have at least some windowpane. See the recipe video to check your dough texture.
- If you’re kneading the dough by hand, do it for at least 12 minutes.
- Always let the dough rise in a warm spot of your home. If your oven has a proofing function, use it. Cold spots may double the rising time and even inactivate the yeast.
- Careful to not overproof the dough. Don’t let it rising for more than 2 hours before shaping if you’re not doing it inside your fridge.
- Check the expiration date of your yeast. Was it open before you used it? If yes, was your yeast stored inside the fridge? Was it open for more than 6 months? I don’t ask for yeast proofing in this recipe it’s made with instant yeast, but proof it if you’re feeling unsure.
- If you choose to proof your yeast, remember to never use HOT water. Water needs to be lukewarm (baby bottle temperature).
Measuring your flour and dry ingredients correctly
If you’re using cups and forget to measure the dry ingredients in the right way, you’ll add more flour than necessary and the dough will turn out dry.
Scoop flour into the measuring cup using a spoon, then level it using the back of a knife. Do not scoop directly with the measuring cup, or you’ll get more flour the recipe asks for.
Storing and freezing
Store the brown honey loaves in a bread keeper or airtight container, away from sunlight. Do not store inside the fridge. It keeps for 2 to 5 days.
Gently reheat in the oven or toaster before eating, as this bread is even better when warm.
For freezing, store in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. It keeps for up to 3 months. To reheat, leave it at room temperature for 1 hour to thaw, then use your toaster, oven (medium, 5 to 8 minutes) or microwave (40 seconds to 1 minute).
More bread recipes
Whole Wheat Rolls
Best Sandwich Roll
Homemade Baguette
Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread
Cheesecake Factory’s Honey Wheat Brown Bread for breakfast: that’s the dream, right? Make it come true, and spread butter generously through a soft, tender brown bread slice following this easy step-by-step recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup water (290g)
- ¼ cup honey (85g)
- 2 tablespoon molasses (40g)
- 2 ¼ cup bread flour (306g)
- 1 ¾ cup whole wheat (230g)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (12g)
- 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder (12g)
- 2 teaspoon instant dry yeast (6g)
- 1 teaspoon salt (6g)
- 3 tablespoon butter, softened (45g)
- oats for dusting top
- cornmeal for dusting bottom (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix lukewarm water, honey and molasses until honey and molasses dissolve.
- In a large bowl, mix bread and whole wheat flour, salt, sugar, cocoa powder and yeast.
- Add honey mixture and mix until dough is partially formed.
- Add butter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes if using a stand mixer, 10 to 15 minutes if doing by hand. When ready, dough will feel tacky, smooth, and will stick to the bottom of the bowl when the mixer stops, but not at your fingers.
- Transfer dough to a clean bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, bee wax wrap or a damp towel and let it rise until it doubles. It will take from 1 to 2 hours. Remember to leave in a warm spot.
- After the first rise, deflate dough. Flour the surface you’ll be working on. Divide dough into 4 pieces.
- Using your hands or a rolling pin, open each piece in a rectangle. Roll into a cylinder and pinch to close.
- Place in a lined baking sheet, lightly coating the bottom with cornmeal (if using). Leave space between them as they will double. Top with oats, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 40 minutes more or until loaves almost double, and look puffy and light.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover loaves and bake them for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Let loaves cool for 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Measuring your flour and dry ingredients correctly. Scoop flour into the measuring cup using a spoon, then level it using the back of a knife.
Always let the dough rise in a warm spot of your home. If your oven has a proofing function, use it. Cold spots may double the rising time and even inactivate the yeast.
Careful to not overproof the dough. Don’t let it rising for more than 2 hours before shaping if you’re not doing it inside your fridge.
If using a bread machine: use it for mixing and proofing (dough cycle) only. Shaping and baking should be done following the direction of this recipe for best result.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 898Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 23mgSodium 674mgCarbohydrates 173gFiber 16gSugar 28gProtein 27g
Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and/or brands used.
Michelle
I divided this into 2 larger loaves and baked it for 39 minutes and it is amazing!
Milk and Pop
So glad you liked it, Michelle!
Cheers
Jessica
I used your recipe with my sour dough starter it turned out so good! I had to alter the rise times and reduce the water and flour to compensate for the natural yeast starter. It turned out so yummy my husband and I are excited to use this recipe in our fondue dinner for Christmas eve now, instead of buying cheesecake factory rolls. Thank you for making it so easy to follow!
Milk and Pop
Hi Jessica, so glad you liked the recipe! This is one of my favorites for sure 😉
Phyllis Mee
I used my bread maker on the dough cycle. It’s baking now and looks good. But how did you make the oats stay on top? As soon as I went to cover the bread with plastic wrap...loosely, the static pulled most off the tops!
Milk and Pop
Hi Phyllis,
That never happened to me before! Maybe you can try adding the oats just before baking? If they're not sticking, brush lightly with water, or spray some over the loaves before sprinkling the oats. Hope that helps! 😉
Shelley
Made the dough in the bread machine and it turned out perfectly. Thank you for a great recipe.
Milk and Pop
Thanks for trying, Shelley! Glad you liked it 😉
Mary
Your recipe looks great but there’s nothing in the instructions to tell when to add the water
Milk and Pop
Thanks for pointing that out Mary! I just added the line the recipe card was missing 😉
Damien
I’m about to attempt this bread as I love the Cheesecake Factory bread whenever we are on holiday. Is the water room temp or do you need to heat it to lukewarm?
Milk and Pop
Hi Damien!
Room temperature water is fine for this recipe. Just remember to leave the dough rising in a warm spot - that's specially important if your home is cold, or you're in the middle of winter!
Happy baking!
Damien
I’m in Scotland so we’re always cold 😂
Red Sierra
Hi. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I will definitely try this one out but can I cut the ingredients in half for 2 loaves. Is it possible? or it will hurt the taste? Thanks again.
Milk and Pop
Hi Sierra!
You can cut ingredients in half for this recipe. You can also freeze the loaves after baked if you decide to bake the four of them.
Note that the loaves aren't big! They're more like rolls and usually they go in less than one week here.
Hope you like them and happy baking!
Nadine
When putting dough in bowl to rise, do I need to lightly oil it so dough doesn’t stick? Thanks!
Milk and Pop
Hi Nadine!
I never had problems with any of my bread doughs sticking into the bowl, but you can lightly oil it if you want to to prevent any sticking.
Happy baking!
Guadalupe Barrios
Yes! This bread is crazy delicious!! How do I freeze the raw dough that I don’t use . Because this makes to much for me?
Milk and Pop
Hi Guadalupe!
I never did it with raw dough, but with the bread already baked.
For freezing, store in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. It keeps for up to 3 months.
To reheat, leave it at room temperature for 1 hour to thaw, then use your toaster, oven (medium, 5 to 8 minutes) or microwave (40 seconds to 1 minute).
Glad you're enjoying this recipe! Cheers!
Sandie
I made the "original" recipe today (6 small loaves) and it was AMAZING!!! I think I'll try the updated recipe tomorrow. I used a thermometer to check for doneness and I am so glad I did. Had I left it in baking the full time, it would have been overdone. This recipe is a true keeper and I sincerely appreciate your posting it for us!! Just perfect!
Milk and Pop
Hi Sandie,
I'm so glad you like this recipe and everything went well! Here they usually take 30 minutes to fully bake, how long did it take for your to be ready?
Have a great weekend!
Renee
I’d like to try making this in my bread machine until complete. Do you know what setting to use for size (1lb, 1.5lb or 2lb)?
Milk and Pop
Hi Renee,
For this recipe I would use 2lb.
Mary Holland
I am really excited to try this recipe, but would like to make a full sized loaf out of at least part of the dough. Do you know how much I need to increase the baking time for a regular bread loaf?
Milk and Pop
Hi Mary!
I never tried baking a full sized loaf using this recipe, but if doing so, I would bake between 35 to 40 minutes, 350°C. Don't forget to line the pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat, as it makes the bottom brown less. Let me know how it went! Cheers!
Mars Diaz
I tried this today and my dough didn't rise. I noticed it wasn't coming together when I added the wet ingredients to the dry so I had to add a little more water a teaspoon at a time. The dough became tough. It didn't rise in the first or second time. Did I have too much flour or was the water too cold perhaps? Any suggestions will be very helpful I am not giving up! haha
Milk and Pop
Hi Mars!
Have you used 1+1/4 cup of water? Was the bread flour white or whole wheat?
This dough is not a tough dough, sometimes it's even a bit sticky when I'm in a rush and add a bit more water by accident.
About the rise, 3 things might have affected it:
- Temperature: always leave it resting in a warm spot (inside the oven, near the heater, near the stove). Also, always use room-temperature ingredients, and lukewarm water if you're baking in Winter/cold temperatures.
- Yeast: was it good? Have you checked the expiration date? I use instant yeast here, it's different from active-dry. Also, after opening yeast, you need to store it inside the fridge or it will get bad.
- Mixing salt and yeast directly: adding yeast on top of salt might kill it, or reduce its power.
I have the impression that maybe the amount of water wasn't enough in your recipe. Don't give up! Feel free to send me any doubts by e-mail and we can figure this out together 🙂
Cheers!
Mars
Thank you for the reply! I read through everything carefully. I think my mistake was not enough liquid (and cold liquid at that)and the proofing. I tried it again on a whim and it came out amazing! Thank you!
Milk and Pop
So glad I could help, Mars! And glad you tried again and it worked! 🙂
Debbie
I adore the bread from The Cheesecake Factory!! I have always wondered how it was so rich and yummy. Your post is fantastic, I am sending it to my daughter. She is wanting to know how to make bread and this is a great beginner bread.
Milk and Pop
I love it too, tried my best to make the recipe as close as possible! I hope your daughter likes it, Debbie!