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Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread
The Cheesecake Factory's dark, sweet brown bread is a molasses-honey loaf with a soft crumb that's become as iconic as their cheesecakes.
cheesecake-factory · casual-dining · bread · baking
🕑Prep20 min
🍳Cook35 min
⏱Total55 min
🍽Serves2
⭐DifficultyHard
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (110°F)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup dark molasses
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal, for dusting
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted (for brushing)
Instructions
- 1.Activate the yeast. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and a teaspoon of the honey. Let sit for 5-7 minutes until foamy and bubbly.
- 2.Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the remaining honey, molasses, and 2 tablespoons melted butter.
- 3.Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together both flours, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. These last two ingredients give the bread its distinctive dark color.
- 4.Form the dough. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture gradually, stirring until a dough forms. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- 5.First rise. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1-1.5 hours until doubled in size.
- 6.Shape the loaves. Punch down the dough and divide in half. Shape each piece into a round boule. Place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
- 7.Bake the bread. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Score the top of each loaf with a sharp knife. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- 8.Brush and cool. Brush the hot loaves with melted butter. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread
Prep time: 20 minutes (plus 1.5-2 hours rising)
Cook time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 loaves
The Cheesecake Factory’s brown bread is as beloved as any cheesecake on their menu. It arrives warm at your table — dark, dense, subtly sweet, with a soft crumb that tears apart in thick, satisfying pieces. The deep mahogany color comes from a combination of whole wheat flour, dark molasses, cocoa powder, and instant espresso, which work together to create a bread that looks like pumpernickel but tastes completely different.
This bread is meant to be sweet enough to eat on its own but savory enough to accompany a meal. The molasses provides most of the sweetness, with honey adding a floral note that smooths out the molasses’s slight bitterness.
Baking the Perfect Brown Bread
- Cocoa and espresso are for color, not flavor. You won’t taste chocolate or coffee. These ingredients darken the dough dramatically and add a subtle depth that you can’t identify but would miss if it wasn’t there.
- Whole wheat flour for texture. The combination of whole wheat and bread flour gives you a tender crumb with just enough structure. All bread flour would be too chewy; all whole wheat would be too dense.
- Score the top. Cutting slashes in the dough before baking allows the bread to expand evenly and creates that artisan bakery look.
Bread Basket Value
The Cheesecake Factory bread is complimentary with your meal, but meals cost $16-30. Two loaves of this bread cost about $3.50 in ingredients and taste identical to the restaurant version. Serve them warm at your next dinner party.
