Have you ever had that amazing dark, warm honey wheat bread at Outback Steakhouse before?
Oh my! There was times (many!) that I ate that whole loaf myself. It was so soft and warm and had this deep wheat texture to it ~ but guess what I found out a few years back?
Do you know how they get that deep dark color?  Food dyes! Not only do they use yellow, but they use blue AND red. Food dyes in my most favorite bread of all time …(deep sigh ….)
I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again … there are 2 things that I think stop people from making their own bread.
- The 1st is they think it’s hard ~ it’s not!
- And I also hear people say they don’t have a bread machine ~ you don’t need one!
Making bread should not be intimidating. It’s very easy, you just need time for it to rise, which is a few hours. But you don’t need to stand watch. You can run out if you need to, get stuff done.
HOW TO MAKE OUR WARM SOFT BUNS:
- We begin by making the dough, which begin with yeast, water and sugar. A Kitchen Aid helps quite a bit with this process but it’s not completely necessary.
- Once the actual dough is kneaded it needs plenty of time to rise. It isn’t unusual for the dough to double in size during this time.
- After the dough has risen you want to divide it into separate pieces. I used a pizza cutter and cut through it like a pizza, making triangles.
- Then you want to shape them into little small round loaves or, like the traditional Outback bread, you can shape it into a log shape.
- Again, let them rise on the baking sheet you are going to cook them on.
- Preheat the oven and bake! If you choose to make smaller dinner rolls (approx. yield 12) be sure to reduce the baking time to approx. 10-12 minutes.
Honey Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ÂĽ Cups Warm Water (105–110 degrees)
- 2 tsp. Organic Cane Sugar
- 1 pkg Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Cups Bread Flour
- 1 Âľ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp. Instant Coffee
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Organic Salted Butter, softened
- ÂĽ Cup Organic Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Organic Molasses
Instructions
- Begin by adding 1 ¼ cups warm water to a measuring cup. The water MUST be between 105-110° in order for the yeast to activate. Use the microwave in 20 sec increments to help get the water as accurate as possible. Add the yeast and sugar. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes
- Meanwhile, sift the flours, cocoa powder, coffee and salt together in a large bowl
- Add the yeast mixture to a Kitchen Aid and beginning on low speed start adding the flour mixture 1 cup at a time letting it incorporate, stopping and scraping down the sides when necessary. Add the butter intermittently along with the honey and molasses. Add flour by the tablespoon if the dough is sticking or not forming into a ball. Continue mixing until the dough completely pulls away from the sides – approx. 5 minutes
- Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead for a minute or so until it is smooth
- Lightly oil a large bowl with oil and coat the dough, flip and cover with a clean towel – set aside in a warm spot to rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size
- Remove the dough to a floured surface and using a pizza cutter divide the dough into 6 sections. Form it into a small ball or a log shape.
- Place each of the balls or logs onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cover it lightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for another 60 minutes.
- Once ready, remove the plastic wrap and bake the dough in a preheated 350°F oven for 27-30 minutes for loaves or about 20 minutes for smaller rolls.
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I don’t have bread flour can I use all purpose?
sure
This bread looks so good! I love making bread. Is there something I could substitute for the coffee? I can’t do coffee.
gee Yadee … I don’t know. Does decaf work for you or you just don’t like the taste of coffee at all?
I made the bread this past weekend to serve with Belgian Beef Stew. So good to mop up sauce. Recipe was right on & really tasted like Outback bread. I made in my bread machine, removed it to bake up in 4 small loaf pans so it even looked like steakhouse bread. Ate two & froze two (also made great toast). Changed a few things for my taste…less honey & added 2 tabs dry milk powder.
Thanks so much for the recipe. And indeed, bread making is not hard to do after you learn a few tricks. I mostly always use my bread machine, but never bake in it. Much better to remove the dough and bake in my countertop oven.
I’m so glad you liked our recipe PattiAnn … there is nothing like homemade bread! yum! And thanks for the tips for our fellow bread machine owners. I do not have one myself and always enjoy feedback on alternative ways or substitutions made to our recipes!