Equipment for Baking Outback Bread:

• Two large sheet pans (or cookie sheets), ideal for baking six bread rolls on each. Using two pans ensures even baking and proper spacing for rising.
• A sturdy Stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. This will save you significant time and effort in kneading, though you can certainly knead by hand if preferred.
• A Bench scraper is incredibly useful for cleanly dividing and portioning the dough into equal pieces, making shaping much easier.
• A reliable Wire whisk for thoroughly combining your wet ingredients and activating the yeast.
• A silicone pastry mat provides an excellent non-stick work surface, making it easier to handle and shape the dough without additional flour.

Outback Steakhouse Bread Ingredients for Authentic Flavor:

This Outback restaurant bread recipe relies on readily available, simple ingredients. You can typically find blackstrap molasses at most major supermarkets like Walmart, or at health food stores.

• Activated Yeast: Essential for any good bread. “Activating” simply means dissolving the dry yeast in warm water with a touch of sugar. This process ensures the yeast is alive and active, ready to make your bread rise beautifully. You’ll know it’s active when it becomes frothy.
• Sweeteners (Honey and Molasses): These are the heart of the Outback bread’s signature sweet profile. Honey contributes a lovely floral sweetness, while molasses, especially blackstrap, not only provides a deep, robust sweetness but also gives the bread its characteristic dark brown color and a subtle earthy bitterness.
• Flour: This recipe uses a combination of bread flour and fresh-milled whole wheat flour. Bread flour, with its higher protein content, provides the necessary structure and chewiness. Whole wheat flour (ideally from ground hard red wheat berries) adds a wonderful depth of flavor, a slightly coarser texture, and a boost of nutrition.
• Egg: An egg in the dough enriches it significantly, contributing to a tender crumb, a softer texture, and a beautiful golden-brown crust. It also acts as a binder, helping to hold the dough together.
• Cocoa Powder: This is a crucial ingredient for achieving the bread’s deep, dark color. Unsweetened natural cocoa powder primarily adds color and a subtle flavor complexity. For an even darker hue, consider Dutch-process cocoa powder, which is less acidic.
• Salt: A fundamental ingredient in all baking, salt balances the sweetness of the molasses and honey, enhances the overall flavor of the bread, and plays a role in controlling yeast activity. We recommend using Redmond Real Salt for its rich mineral profile.
• Cornmeal: Used for dredging the bottoms of the rolls before baking, cornmeal serves multiple purposes. It prevents the rolls from sticking to the baking pans and adds a delightful, slightly crisp texture to the crust.

Substitutes and Variations: Customizing Your Outback Bread

One of the joys of home baking is the ability to adapt recipes to your pantry or personal preferences. Here are some ways to customize your homemade Outback bread:

• Molasses: While blackstrap molasses is highly recommended for its intense color and flavor, other types can be used. If you opt for light or regular molasses, which are sweeter, you might want to decrease the brown sugar by half and reduce the honey by about 1 tablespoon to maintain a balanced sweetness.
• Cocoa Powder: For an even darker, richer loaf that closely mimics the Outback’s deep hue, consider using Dutch-process cocoa powder or Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder. These types are less acidic and provide a more intense color. However, regular unsweetened baking cocoa powder works just as well on a one-to-one basis and will still yield a beautiful deep brown color.
• Whole Grains: Enhance the nutritional value and texture by incorporating other whole grains.
  • Oats: For an added textural element, spray the tops of your shaped rolls with water before the final rise, then sprinkle with rolled oats. This will give them a lovely, rustic topping.
  • Seeds: Incorporate seeds like sunflower seeds, flax seeds, or sesame seeds into the dough during the kneading stage. They add a pleasant crunch, healthy fats, and additional fiber.
• Flour: If you don’t have bread flour on hand, you can confidently substitute it with all-purpose flour. While bread flour contributes a slightly chewier texture due to its higher protein content, all-purpose flour will still produce a wonderfully soft and delicious loaf or rolls.

How to Make Outback Bread: A Step-by-Step Guide to Perfection

Crafting these irresistible Outback Steakhouse bread rolls at home is a rewarding experience. The key to their signature fluffy texture is proper kneading. While a KitchenAid stand mixer makes the process effortless, you can also use a bread machine or knead the dough by hand with a bit of patience.

1. Activate the Yeast: In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine the warm water (ideally between 100-110°F), granulated sugar, and dry active yeast. Give it a gentle whisk to combine. Let this mixture sit undisturbed for about 3-5 minutes. During this time, the yeast will proof, becoming frothy and bubbly. This foam is your clear sign that the yeast is active and ready to work its magic.
2. Combine Wet Ingredients: Once your yeast is active, add the honey, brown sugar, egg, and blackstrap molasses to the bowl. Whisk these ingredients thoroughly until they are well combined and smooth, creating a flavorful liquid base for your dough.
3. Add Dry Ingredients and Knead: Gradually add the whole wheat flour, bread flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt to the wet mixture. Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer and begin kneading the dough at a low-medium speed. Continue kneading for a full 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth, elastic, and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Proper kneading develops the gluten, which is essential for fluffy bread.
4. Divide the Dough: After the kneading is complete, transfer the smooth, elastic dough to a lightly floured surface or, even better, a non-stick silicone pastry mat. Using a bench scraper, first divide the dough into two equal halves. Then, take each half and cut it into six equal pieces, resulting in a total of 12 uniform pieces for your rolls.
5. Shape and Rise the Rolls: Take each individual piece of dough and lightly flatten it into a small rectangle. Roll it up tightly, jelly-roll style, from one end to the other, pinching the seam firmly to seal it. Shape each roll into an oblong, 6-7 inch long bread roll. Next, roll the bottoms of each shaped roll in cornmeal. Arrange the cornmeal-dusted rolls onto two lightly greased sheet pans (sprayed with avocado oil or another neutral cooking spray), leaving ample space between them. Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let the rolls rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until they have visibly doubled in size.
6. Bake to Perfection: Preheat your oven to 380°F (195°C). Once preheated and the rolls have risen, bake them for 18-20 minutes, or until they are deeply golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove the pans from the oven and let the rolls cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. This brief cooling period helps them set. Then, transfer the rolls to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. This is crucial to prevent the bottoms from becoming soggy due to trapped steam.

Can I Make This Recipe Into Loaves? Yes, And Here’s How!

Absolutely! Many readers have successfully adapted this recipe to create two beautiful loaves of Outback-style bread instead of individual rolls. Making loaves is a great option if you prefer slicing bread or want a larger format for serving. Here’s how you can do it:

After you’ve kneaded the dough to perfection as described in the main instructions, prepare two standard 8×4 inch loaf pans. For easy removal and cleanup, line each pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on the sides. Transfer the kneaded dough to a silicone pastry mat or a lightly floured surface, and divide it into two equal portions. Take each portion and roll it up jelly-roll style, tucking in the ends to create a neat loaf shape. Place each shaped dough log into its prepared loaf pan. Cover the loaf pans loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, which typically takes about an hour, similar to the rolls.

Once risen, bake the loaves in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the center reads around 200-210°F (93-99°C). Allow them to cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy your homemade Outback bread, perfectly suited for slicing!

Storing Your Homemade Outback Brown Bread

One of the best qualities of this sweet Outback brown bread is how wonderfully it stores, especially in the freezer. To ensure you always have fresh-tasting bread on hand, we highly recommend freezing most of your batch shortly after baking, keeping out just enough to enjoy within a day or two. Freezing bread at its peak freshness is the key to preserving its flavor and texture for later enjoyment.

To Freeze: Allow the baked bread (whether rolls or loaves) to cool completely on a wire cooling rack. This is a critical step; freezing warm bread can lead to ice crystals and a soggy texture. Once fully cooled, transfer the bread rolls into gallon-sized freezer bags. We suggest placing about six rolls per bag, which makes for convenient thawing. For loaves, simply wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, or place them in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months.

To Thaw and Reheat: When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen bread, simply remove the desired amount from the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature for a few hours. For that irresistible fresh-baked warmth and a wonderfully crisp crust, place the thawed rolls or slices in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 10-12 minutes. This brief reheating will revive their texture, making them taste as if they just came out of the oven.

What To Serve with Molasses Outback Bread: Perfect Pairings for Every Occasion

My husband often jokes that this bread is so good, he’d happily eat it with just tea! And he’s not wrong. A simple smear of salted butter creates an incredible sweet and salty snack that’s hard to beat. But beyond that, the versatility of this molasses bread makes it an ideal companion for a wide array of dishes.

• Steakhouse Classics: Naturally, this bread is a perfect match for grilled meats, especially steak. Its robust sweetness and earthy notes beautifully complement the savory richness of beef. Try it with your favorite grilled steak, or alongside delicious grilled chicken kabobs for a complete meal.
• Outback Favorites: Stick with the theme and serve it with other popular Outback Steakhouse dishes. It’s an absolute must-have with Alice Springs Chicken, creating a harmonious and authentic experience.
• Hearty Soups and Stews: The dense, slightly sweet profile of molasses bread makes it an excellent choice for dipping into hearty soups and stews. Imagine tearing off a piece and soaking up the rich broth of a White Chicken Chili or a comforting Split Pea Soup. It also pairs wonderfully with classic baked beans or a savory beef stew.
• Breakfast Treat: Don’t limit this bread to dinner! For a delightful breakfast, toast a slice, spread it with butter, and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. It’s a sweet and satisfying start to your day.