Outback Steakhouse Bread Recipe: Three Copycats Compared

Outback Steakhouse bread recipe inspiration: slices of dark brown whole wheat bread fanned out on a wooden board
Outback Steakhouse bread recipe inspiration: slices of dark brown whole wheat bread fanned out on a wooden board

An Outback Steakhouse bread recipe is a honey-sweetened whole wheat dough, darkened with cocoa, shaped into small loaves, dusted with cornmeal, and baked at 350°F, about 20 to 25 minutes for eight small loaves. Outback publishes calories and allergens for its table bread but no recipe, so every home version is a copycat, and the three below disagree on plenty.

I built the working version from where they overlap. I haven’t baked this exact blend, so treat the amounts as a starting point you’ll want to tweak!

What Outback says about its bread

Outback’s nutrition guide lists it as Table Bread with Butter. One serving is 360 calories, with 51 grams of carbohydrate, 4 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, 10 grams of protein and 420 milligrams of sodium.

A second listing for the bread in that guide says 370 calories. How big is a serving? The guide defines it only as “1 Serving,” which makes the number a ballpark, not a loaf weight.

The allergen page, dated September 2026, flags milk, sesame, soybean and wheat for Table Bread with Butter. It doesn’t flag eggs. It lists allergens and not ingredients or amounts, and it says its information comes from approved vendors and can change.

Outback's published facts for one serving of Table Bread with Butter: 360 calories, 51 grams of carbohydrate, 420 milligrams of sodium, and four allergens flagged
Outback’s own numbers for one serving of table bread with butter. The copycat recipes are compared in the table further down.

The Outback Steakhouse bread recipe I’d start with

These amounts sit inside the ranges the three copycats print. Makes eight small loaves.

  • 1 1/4 cups warm water
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (optional, for color)
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 teaspoons yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Cornmeal, for dusting
  1. Mix. Stir the water, honey, molasses, oil and yeast together. With active dry yeast, wait about 10 minutes for it to foam, then add the flours, cocoa, coffee and salt.
  2. Knead. Work it until smooth and slightly tacky: about 8 to 10 minutes in a stand mixer, closer to 15 by hand. If the dough feels very wet and sticky, add a little flour.
  3. First rise. Cover it and give it about an hour, until doubled.
  4. Shape. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a log about 6 inches long. Set them on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal.
  5. Second rise. Cover and let them puff for about an hour.
  6. Bake. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and hollow-sounding when you tap them. Cool before slicing, and serve warm with whipped butter!

Three copycats, side by side

Each column is copied from the recipe itself, and Chef My Life’s metric weights are shown as written.

DetailFood.comI’m Hungry for ThatChef My Life
Honey1/2 cup1/4 cup85 g
MolassesNone2 tbsp60 g
Flour2 cups bread, 2 cups wheat2 1/4 cups all-purpose, 1 3/4 cups whole wheat250 g bread, 245 g whole wheat
Cocoa1 tbsp2 tbsp10 g
Instant coffee2 tspNone5 g
Caramel coloring1 tspNoneNone
Fat2 tbsp butter2 tbsp oil60 g vegetable oil
Water1 1/2 cups1 1/4 cups300 g
Loaves8, 6 to 8 inches48, about 6 inches
Bake350°F, 20 to 25 min350°F, 30 to 35 min350°F, 20 to 25 min
MethodBread machine dough cycleStand mixerBy hand, about 15 min kneading

All three darken the dough with cocoa, and I’m Hungry for That says the cocoa is mostly for color and shouldn’t taste like chocolate. Two add instant coffee, one adds caramel coloring, and two use molasses. Dark color is clearly the goal!

Bake times follow loaf size: the two recipes that make eight small loaves bake 20 to 25 minutes, and the one that makes four larger loaves bakes 30 to 35. That’s a pattern across three recipes, not a rule.

Outback Steakhouse Bread Recipe

A copycat isn’t the restaurant’s bread

Outback flags sesame for its table bread, and none of the three copycats uses sesame. Only the Food.com recipe has dairy, through its butter, while the other two use oil.

Those lists aren’t the same thing! If you’re cooking for someone with an allergy, read your own labels, and check Outback’s page for what the restaurant serves.

Serving and storing

I’m Hungry for That says to keep the bread tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 2 months, and that warming slices before serving helps bring back the soft texture.

For a steakhouse dinner, add the Outback-style broccoli, and the seared pepper ahi tuna works if you’d like something lighter beside it.

You can copy the look and the method at home, but only the restaurant can tell you what’s in its own loaf.

FAQ

What is the brown bread at Outback?

Outback’s nutrition guide and allergen page both call it Table Bread with Butter. Home recipes often call it honey wheat Bushman bread, and the Food.com copycat uses that title.

How many calories are in Outback bread?

Outback’s nutrition guide lists Table Bread with Butter at 360 calories per serving, with a second listing at 370. The guide doesn’t define the serving size beyond “1 Serving.”

Does Outback give you bread?

Both Outback documents list Table Bread with Butter as a menu item entry, but neither says whether it’s free. Ask your server.

How do you make honey wheat Bushman bread at home?

Mix warm water, honey, molasses, oil and yeast, then add whole wheat and bread flour with cocoa and salt and knead until tacky. Let it rise about an hour, shape eight logs, rise again, and bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.