The Famous Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread Recipe You'll Want To Keep Forever
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Some chain restaurants are beloved for a specific dish or appetizer, like Chili's and its famous Triple Dipper, while others are well-known for the free bread they offer before you even crack open a menu. One such chain restaurant known for its free and popular bread appetizer is The Cheesecake Factory, which technically offers diners more than one type of bread upon sitting down, but the most famous and beloved option is, of course, the brown bread. Perfectly soft, dense, and slightly sweet, Cheesecake Factory brown bread is no doubt something to look forward to before diving into the restaurant's extensive menu, but you aren't limited to enjoying the bread only at a restaurant location.
Thanks to recipe developer Patterson Watkins' copycat Cheesecake Factory brown bread recipe, you can enjoy all of that fresh-baked goodness in the comfort of your own home. "That brown bread is an impressive loaf– big eye appeal," Watkins says. "That dark color, those flecks of oats — rustic. The flavor and texture are fun too — those deeper molasses notes, the bitter bite from the cocoa powder, the tender chew from the wheat flour," Watkins adds. You'll find all of these essential brown bread qualities in this copycat version, with the added bonus of your loaves being about as fresh as they could possibly get.
Gather the ingredients for copycat Cheesecake Factory brown bread
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Like any good bread recipe, it all starts with the flour. For this copycat brown bread, you'll need both bread flour and whole wheat flour. While Watkins does note that you technically can use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour, you'll end up with the best results if you stick with the bread flour-whole wheat flour combo. "Bread flour is what gives our loaves that chewy texture and superior rise/puff," she explains, adding that if you were to use all-purpose flour instead, you'd end up with a more cake-like loaf. Bread flour and whole wheat flour also help contribute to gluten elasticity of the loaf, with the latter flour also contributing a distinctly nutty flavor profile. So, if you do end up using all-purpose in place of bread flour, at the very least keep the whole wheat flour in the mix.
Other than the flours, you'll need a packet of dry active yeast, a little bit of honey, and warm whole milk for the yeast mixture. Then, for the bread itself, you'll also need dark cocoa powder, salt, softened salted butter, more honey, molasses, cornmeal, more whole milk, and oats to top the loaves.
Step 1: Dissolve honey in warm milk
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Drizzle the warm milk with honey and stir until it's dissolved.
Step 2: Sprinkle yeast over the milk
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Sprinkle the sweetened milk with the yeast and set it aside to rest for 5 minutes or until foamy.
Step 3: Add flours, cocoa powder, and salt to mixing bowl
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Meanwhile, place the bread flour, wheat flour, cocoa powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Step 4: Whisk to combine
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
Step 5: Add bloomed yeast and milk, butter, honey, and molasses to the flour mixture
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Add the yeasty milk, softened butter, honey, and molasses to the bowl.
Step 6: Use the dough hook attachment to form the bread dough
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Swap out the whisk attachment for the dough hook and stir until a sticky dough forms.
Step 7: Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth, springy, and mildly tacky (about 5 minutes).
Step 8: Grease a bowl
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Grease a large bowl with cooking spray.
Step 9: Set the dough aside to rise
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Place the dough into the bowl, cover with plastic, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
Step 10: Remove the dough from the bowl
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Once doubled, remove the dough from the bowl.
Step 11: Divide the dough
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Divide the dough into 4 even portions. (If you would like longer loaves, cut them into 2 portions.)
Step 12: Form the dough pieces into loaves
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Form those portions into short squatty loaves.
Step 13: Transfer the loaves to a baking sheet
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Transfer the loaves to a large, parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 14: Add cornmeal to a bowl
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Place the cornmeal into a shallow bowl.
Step 15: Coat the bread bottoms in cornmeal
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Coat the bottom of the loaves in the cornmeal and return them to the baking sheet.
Step 16: Sprinkle on the oats
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Brush the top of the loaves with milk and sprinkle with oats.
Step 17: Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Spritz a couple of sheets of plastic wrap with cooking spray.
Step 18: Coverthe loaves with greased plastic wrap
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Loosely drape the greased plastic wrap over the loaves and set aside to rest for 1 hour.
Step 19: Preheat the oven
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step 20: Bake the bread
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the loaves are cooked through (internal temperature of the loaves should be about 200 F).
Step 21: Cool the bread slightly then serve
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Remove the loaves from the oven and set them aside to cool on wire racks until they're warm enough to handle. Serve warm.
What pairs well with Cheesecake Factory brown bread?
Our copycat Cheesecake Factory brown bread is an impressive, tender loaf with a little sweetness from molasses and a hint of bitterness from cocoa powder.
- For the yeast mix
- 1 ½ cups warm whole milk (approximately 100 F)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 (.25-ounce) packet dry active yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoons
- For the bread mix
- 2 ½ cups white bread flour
- 1 ⅔ cups whole wheat flour
- 2 ½ tablespoons dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- Drizzle the warm milk with honey and stir until it's dissolved.
- Sprinkle the sweetened milk with the yeast and set it aside to rest for 5 minutes or until foamy.
- Meanwhile, place the bread flour, wheat flour, cocoa powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
- Add the yeasty milk, softened butter, honey, and molasses to the bowl.
- Swap out the whisk attachment for the dough hook and stir until a sticky dough forms.
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth, springy, and mildly tacky (about 5 minutes).
- Grease a large bowl with cooking spray.
- Place the dough into the bowl, cover with plastic, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
- Once doubled, remove the dough from the bowl.
- Divide the dough into 4 even portions. (If you would like longer loaves, cut them into 2 portions.)
- Form those portions into short squatty loaves.
- Transfer the loaves to a large, parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place the cornmeal into a shallow bowl.
- Coat the bottom of the loaves in the cornmeal and return them to the baking sheet.
- Brush the top of the loaves with milk and sprinkle with oats.
- Spritz a couple of sheets of plastic wrap with cooking spray.
- Loosely drape the greased plastic wrap over the loaves and set aside to rest for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the loaves are cooked through (internal temperature of the loaves should be about 200 F).
- Remove the loaves from the oven and set them aside to cool on wire racks until they're warm enough to handle. Serve warm.
| Calories per Serving | 265 |
| Total Fat | 5.2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2.7 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.1 g |
| Cholesterol | 10.9 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 48.8 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.3 g |
| Total Sugars | 11.8 g |
| Sodium | 234.3 mg |
| Protein | 7.6 g |
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Can I make something other than loaves with this brown bread recipe?
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Not all chain restaurants serve their bread in the same shape or form. Texas Roadhouse is known for its rolls, while Olive Garden has perfected the breadstick. The Cheesecake Factory, on the other hand, opts for a rustic approach by serving its brown bread in tiny loaf format, which Watkins accurately replicates in this recipe. However, if you want to venture outside of that classic loaf format, you've got plenty of options.
The first option is to transform the brown bread dough into rolls. To do so, prepare the recipe the same exact way, up until you remove the dough from the bowl after the first rise. "You can portion the dough into individual rolls, divide it up into 24 even portions, roll into balls, and bake (less bake time, about 20-30 minutes)," Watkins advises. Follow a similar approach for sandwich rolls, but instead of portioning into 24 rolls, make 12 slightly larger (and longer) ones instead.
Another rustic option is to shape the dough into boules or round loaves. The recipe will yield two boules, and Watkins recommends proofing them in round boule baskets to help maintain that desired shape. Use a Dutch oven to bake the round loaves, baking at 450 F for about 30 minutes. Finally, baguette-style loaves are an option with this dough as well. "If you want longer, leaner loaves use a baguette loaf pan for baking (these will keep your loaves from getting squatty)," Watkins recommends.
What's with the molasses, honey, and cocoa powder?
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Even a novice bread
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