This bread machine brown bread is soft, tender, and lightly sweet. It has a warm molasses flavor, a smooth crumb, and an oat-topped crust inspired by the classic steakhouse style loaves. The ingredients go into the pan in layers so the machine handles the mixing and kneading for you, and you can bake it in the machine or shape it for the oven.
My Favorite Steakhouse Style Bread
I wanted a loaf that reminds me of the warm brown bread you get at spots like Outback Steakhouse or Cheesecake Factory. Soft inside, a touch sweet, a little savory, and so good with butter. The mix of flours, cocoa, and molasses gives it that classic color and flavor, and the oats on top make it look like something you would be served before a big meal.
I make this in my bread machine, and it handles the dough really well, just like it does with all my other bread machine-friendly recipes. If you want an easy starter loaf, my whole wheat bread is a great one to try. When this brown bread comes out warm, we usually slice into it right away, and it makes even a simple dinner feel a little more special.
Ingredient Notes
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Warm Water: I use water that feels warm to the touch. This helps the yeast wake up and start working without overheating it.
- Molasses: This gives the loaf its deep color and signature flavor. Regular unsulfured molasses is what I use. Blackstrap is too strong here.
- Brown Sugar: Adds gentle sweetness and helps the crumb stay soft. Light or dark brown sugar both work, so I use whatever I have on hand.
- Oil or Melted Butter: Either option adds moisture and keeps the texture tender.
- Flours: I use a combination of all-purpose and whole-wheat flours. This blend gives the bread a soft texture while still adding warmth and depth from the whole wheat.
- Cocoa Powder: I add just a tiny amount for color. It does not make the bread taste like chocolate.
- Instant Yeast: I always use instant or rapid yeast in my bread machine. You can use one full 7g packet or measure out 2 1/4 teaspoons if you buy a jar of bread machine yeast.
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: I sprinkle these on top during the second rise to give the loaf a familiar steakhouse-style finish.
Tip!
Think of loading your bread machine like building a little stack. Liquids go in first, dry ingredients go on top, and the yeast gets its own spot right at the very end. Keeping the yeast away from the liquid until the machine starts mixing helps the dough rise the way it should.
Recipe Tips
- Avoid opening the lid too often: A quick peek during kneading is helpful, but repeated opening during the rise can cause heat loss and slow the rise.
- Check the color of the crust setting: If your machine allows you to choose crust color, I suggest the medium setting. It gives you a balanced crust that stays tender.
- If baking in the oven, allow enough rise time: After shaping, the dough should look puffy and feel lighter when you poke it gently with your fingertip. Do not rush this step, or the loaf may bake up shorter and denser.
- Cool completely for cleaner slices: Brown bread has a soft crumb, and giving it time to set makes the slices neater for serving or storing. I don’t always wait that long because warm bread is hard to resist, but that’s what you should do if you want neat slices!
Storing Tips
Room temperature: Keep the cooled loaf in a large airtight container or wrap it tightly to prevent it from drying out. It stays fresh for about three days at room temperature.
Freezing: This bread freezes very well. Wrap the whole loaf or individual slices in plastic and place them in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Thawing: Let the loaf or slices come back to room temperature on the counter. If you want a softer texture, warm the slices in the microwave for a few seconds or place them in a low oven for a short time.
For easier serving: If you slice the bread before freezing, you can pull out only what you need and toast it straight from frozen.
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Bread Machine Brown Bread
Equipment
- Baking sheet if baking in the oven
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (295 ml) water
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) honey
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) molasses
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons (12 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoons (10 g) fine sea salt
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (240 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 packet (7 g) instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon old fashioned/rolled oats optional topping
Instructions
- Add the following ingredients to the bread machine pan in this order: water, melted butter, honey, molasses, brown sugar, salt, cocoa powder, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and instant yeast placed on top of the flour.
- Insert the pan into the machine and secure it. Close the lid and select the whole wheat program and the medium loaf size.
- Press start and let the machine knead and rise the dough.
- If desired, open the lid briefly during the second rise and sprinkle a small amount of old fashioned rolled oats over the top. Close the lid to finish the rise.
- If you plan to let the machine bake the bread, leave the dough in the pan and let the program finish.
- If you plan to bake in the oven, remove the dough after the rise cycle and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- For machine baking, unplug the machine when the program ends. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Remove the paddle if it stayed inside the loaf.
Oven Baking Option
- Shape the dough into one loaf, two smaller loaves, or baguette style logs. Place the shaped dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- After shaping the dough, lightly sprinkle old fashioned rolled oats over the top. Let the dough rise until puffy.
- Cover with a clean towel and let the dough rise for 30 to 45 minutes, or until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F 190°C. Bake one loaf for 28 to 32 minutes, two small loaves for 20 to 24 minutes, or baguette-style logs for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are set and lightly browned.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes:
- Yield: 1 medium loaf, about 830 g, about 12 slices
- You can shape this dough into a classic steakhouse-style brown loaf or into baguette-style logs.
- Check your machine manual for the exact loaf size naming, since some machines label medium as 1 ½ pounds.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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