Steakhouse Brown Bread

 

I have never been to the Outback Steakhouse, but I hear they serve great bread!  Served piping hot at the table with small crocks of whipped butter.  Soft, sweet and perfectly delicious.

This recipe, which I have adapted from a book by Tiffany Dahle is supposed to be a very similar version. I can't really compare it to the original, never having had that, but I can tell you that it is incredibly delicious! 

 

 

The closest I have ever come to a restaurant bread experience is the bread that we used to get back in the day when we would go out for supper to the Spaghetti Factory in Calgary, Alberta.

To a green Nova Scotia girl, who had scarcely travelled very far from home, this was a wonder!  A bottomless bread basket?  Served fresh at the table!  Wow!  And it was good too!

 

This tasty loaf might require a bit more effort than merely sitting down at the table, but the bread machine makes easy work of it to be honest.  The end result is a delicious loaf with a fabulous taste and texture! 

Soft, sweet, perfection, it goes beautifully with soups and stews.  On this occasion I enjoyed it with a bowl of that hot chowder I made the other day. Oh boy, but was it ever some good!

I have also enjoyed it just plain on its own, sliced and buttered.  And I also enjoyed a chicken salad sandwich made with it. Sublime perfection.

A few nights I enjoyed it toasted and buttered for my evening watching-the-boob tube snack!  

Toasted deliciousness! 

 

As you can see it has a beautiful texture with a nice tight crumb.  No air holes per se.  Easy to slice into thin (or thick if you prefer) slices.

I dare say you could even do this on the dough cycle and then just take the dough out and continue on to shape, rise and bake it in the conventional way.

The fact is, no matter how you do it, this is a loaf that is meant to be enjoyed! 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE STEAKHOUSE BROWN BREAD

Very simple every day ingredients.  This is for a  1 1/2 pound loaf.

• 1 cup (240ml) water
• 3 TBS molasses (in the UK, use 1 1/2 TBS golden syrup and 1 1/2 TBS dark treacle)
• 2 TBS honey
• 1 1/2 TBS canola oil
• 2 cups (280g) bread flour
• 1 cup (140g) whole wheat flour
• 1 TBS vital wheat gluten
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (not chocolate drink mix)
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsp bread machine yeast

 

I just use regular tap water for my bread. You can certainly use filtered water if you wish or bottled spring water. Just don't use the sparkling version.

Molasses is something which I grew up with, but was very surprised to find when I moved to the UK that it was very difficult to procure there.  Back home it was usually on the supper table every night! 

 

If you are in the UK and cannot find molasses, I found an excellent substitution for it was to mix together equal parts of golden syrup and dark treacle. 

Dark treacle, whilst very similar to molasses appearance wise, has a very strong flavor which makes it unsuitable to use in baked goods such as this without diluting it a bit. Golden syrup does this perfectly.

 

Point in fact, when I first moved to the UK, I made Elizabeth's Gingersnaps for my friends at a get together using dark treacle instead of molasses. Totally inedible.  

It was a darn shame actually because my MIL Elizabeth makes the best gingersnaps on the planet!  And my friends were left with the initial impression that I didn't know how to bake.  Be it noted that I was able to redeem myself on future occasions!

 

Vital Wheat Gluten (not to be confused with Vital Wheat Gluten Flour) is not totally necessary, but it does make for a better loaf.  It helps your bread to rise to a higher loaf with a nicer texture than you can get without using it.

The cocoa powder does not flavor the loaf, instead it helps to give it a darker color than you loaf might have had without it.

Altogether this is a beautiful loaf of bread. I highly recommend enjoying it with some whipped honey butter!  This is a bread with a lovely texture and is utterly delicious! 

I have enjoyed it buttered with a hot bowl of chowder as well as sliced, toasted and buttered and both ways it brought me immense eating pleasure!

 

HOW TO MAKE STEAKHOUSE BROWN BREAD

Making bread in your bread machine is such an easy thing to do. You can almost do it with your eyes closed and success is ensured so long as you follow the instructions  recommended by the manufacturer as per your model of bread machine. 

1. Place all of the ingredients into the bread machine according to the manufacturers instructions.
2. Bake on Basic bread, medium sized loaf, light crust.
3. Remove from the pan as soon as it is baked, tipping it onto a wire rack to cool.
4. Enjoy!

 

Some other bread machine loaves which you might enjoy are:

BASIC RUSTIC LOAF - This is the perfect loaf of bread for every day, with a beautiful texture and crust. The time taken is variable according to your own bread machine. 

BUTTERMILK WHOLE WHEAT BREAD - This is a recipe for the bread machine that makes an absolutely beautiful loaf of bread. Of all the loaves I have made thus far, it is my favorite. Moist from buttermilk and sweetened with maple syrup.

Steakhouse Brown Bread

Yield: 1 (1 1/2 lb.) loaf

Author: Marie Rayner

I am in love with this brown bread. It is delicious and fabulous serve with soups, stews, chili, etc. Also really great on its own spread simply with butter, or toasted! Adapted from the Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml) water
• 3 TBS molasses (in the UK, use 1 1/2 TBS golden syrup and 1 1/2 TBS dark treacle)
• 2 TBS honey
• 1 1/2 TBS canola oil
• 2 cups (280g) bread flour
• 1 cup (140g) whole wheat flour
• 1 TBS vital wheat gluten
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (not chocolate drink mix)
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsp bread machine yeast

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients into the bread machine according to the manufacturers instructions.
2. Bake on Basic bread, medium sized loaf, light crust.
3. Remove from the pan as soon as it is baked, tipping it onto a wire rack to cool.
4. Enjoy!

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