Now you can make the Cheesecake Factory’s delicious Honey Wheat Brown Bread right at home! Perfectly soft and mildly sweet, this copycat recipe is one that you’ll make over and over! Step-by-step tutorial with pictures included!

If you’ve ever been to the Cheesecake Factory, you know that they bring out baskets of this Honey Wheat Brown Bread before your order arrives.

You also know that it’s REALLY hard not to fill up on this delicious bread and ruin your appetite!

What makes this Cheesecake Factory bread so special? And why is it so brown?

It comes down to two special ingredients: molasses, and cocoa powder. Yum!

Today I’m going to show you step-by-step how to make this delicious brown bread at home so you can satisfy your craving any time!

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Ingredients for Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread

To make this delicious bread, you’ll need the following:

• Warm water
• Active dry yeast
• Sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Cocoa powder
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• Molasses
• Honey

If you don’t have molasses on hand, you can find it at any grocery store close to the sugar and corn syrup.

How to Make Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread

First, you’ll make the dough. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook (like a Kitchen Aid), that would be perfect. Otherwise, you can do it the old-fashioned way and mix it by hand 🙂

Then you’ll cover it and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This depends on the warmth of your kitchen, but it could take from 1-2 hours for this first rise.

How to make your bread rise faster

Here’s a quick tip: If you’re short on time and REALLY need this dough (or almost any type of bread dough) to rise faster, here’s what you do:

Turn your oven on to 200 degrees F. Once it reaches 200 degrees, turn it off.

Place a clean kitchen towel over the bowl (make sure you use a glass or metal bowl) and put it in the oven. Do not cover the bowl with plastic wrap. It will melt.

Now just leave your covered dough in the oven for about half an hour. The warm oven will help it rise much faster!

Be sure to use hot pads when removing the bowl from the oven.

When your dough has doubled in size, it should look like this:

How to make Cheesecake Factory’s Brown Bread dough in a bread maker

You can easily use your bread machine to whip together the dough for this sweet brown bread. Then once the dough is made, take it out and form it into loaves as explained in the next section.

To use your bread maker, add the ingredients in the following order. You’ll add all the wet ingredients first, then the dry ingredients, ending with the yeast on top.

• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Molasses
• Honey
• All-purpose flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Cocoa powder
• Salt
• Sugar
• Yeast (You can use active dry yeast or instant dry yeast/bread machine yeast if you wish)

Then choose the dough setting and watch the magic happen!

How to form the loaves

Punch the dough down and put it on a floured surface, like a cutting board. Press it lightly into a disk shape, and then cut into four equal pieces. You’ll form each piece into a brown bread baguette.

Take each of the pieces and press into a flat rectangular shape.

Now fold one of the long edges about 2/3 over the middle and press down.

Take the opposite side and fold it over the middle and press down.

Repeat this process one or two more times. Each time you do it, the loaf will get longer. When your loaf is 6 inches long, that’s the perfect length.

Now flip your loaf over and tuck the ends under. This technique should give you four mini baguette-shaped loaves. 

Set the small loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you don’t have any parchment paper, then lightly grease the baking sheet. I set mine on at an angle so I could fit all four loaves on one pan.

Now it’s time to score each loaf so that they don’t crack while baking. Just take a sharp knife and make about four diagonal slashes on each loaf.

Now, for the optional decorations! The oatmeal! Lightly brush each loaf with water, then sprinkle some rolled oats on top. (If you don’t use water, the oatmeal won’t stick).

Now lightly place some plastic wrap over the top and allow the loaves to rise in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. (Room temperature is usually fine, unless your house temperature is below 70 degrees F.)

Once the loaves have risen, bake them in a 350 degree F. oven for 25 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for at least ten minutes before slicing. I know it’s hard to wait, but you don’t want to squish the bread 🙂

Although squished bread is still tasty bread 🙂

There you have it! I served two of the loaves to my family, and froze the other two for another occasion.

This famous brown bread is a fantastic substitute for dinner rolls, makes delicious sandwich bread, and pairs well with my Easy Pork Roast and Creamy Lemon Chicken.  It’s the perfect recipe to get that Cheesecake Factory signature taste and break away from standard white bread.

How to Store Cheesecake Factory’s Brown Bread

Store at room temperature in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag for up to two days. After that, place it in the refrigerator to slow aging and the formation of mold (if the bread lasts that long!)

If you don’t plan on eating all four loaves right away, allow the loaves to cool completely. Then place them in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag and freeze for up to six months. 

To thaw, remove from the freezer and allow to sit at room temperature inside their sealed container for several hours. If condensation has formed, turn the bread over several times while thawing for even redistribution of the moisture.

This recipe adapted from Copycat Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread from Jen Around the World.

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Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread

Yield: 4 loaves

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes

Now you can make the Cheesecake Factory's delicious Honey Wheat Brown Bread right at home! Perfectly soft and mildly sweet, this copycat recipe is one that you'll make over and over! Step-by-step tutorial with pictures included!

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Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (one packet) yeast
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder (baking cocoa--not hot chocolate mix!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1/4 cup honey
• rolled oats for sprinkling on top (optional)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix together the 1 1/4 cups warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Let proof for about 10 minutes, until bubbly and frothy.
2. In a large bowl or your stand mixer, add the 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix together.
3. Add the yeast mixture, along with the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons of molasses, and 1/4 cup of honey.
4. Use the dough hook to mix all the ingredients together.
5. Keep kneading with the dough hook (or on a floured surface by hand) for 5-8 minutes. The dough should be pliable and not sticky.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
7. Punch down the dough and divide into four equal pieces.
8. On a floured cutting board or clean counter, press each piece into a rectangle. Fold a long edge toward the middle and press down.
9. Fold the opposite edge toward the middle and press down.
10. Repeat this process one or two more times, until your dough has lengthened to about six inches.
11. Turn the dough over and tuck the ends under.
12. Place on a parchment-lined or lightly greased large baking sheet. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you may be able to get all four loaves on if you place them diagonally.
13. Slash each loaf diagonally four times.
14. Spray or brush with water, then sprinkle with rolled oats (optional).
15. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 30 minutes.
16. While bread is rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
17. After bread has risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake for 25 minutes.
18. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 135mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 3g

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