Okay. To be honest, the real name of this treat is Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread and this is one of those “copy-cat” recipes, because as far as I know Cheesecake Factory doesn’t reveal their recipes. Heck, are they still in businees? We used to eat at our local one all the time and then…we didn’t. Still, the food was good–if a bit pricey–and it was fun for special occasions. And yes, I really liked (still do!) their bread. As far as bread making goes, this one isn’t too hard.

Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 (.25-ounce) packet active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups bread flour or to taste
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons salted butter melted
Semolina flour or cornmeal to taste, for the bottom of the pan
Oil to taste
Old-fashioned oats to taste, for topping

Directions
1 – In a bowl, mix the warm water, the honey, the molasses, and the brown sugar together.
2 – Sprinkle the yeast on top of the sugar mixture and let it sit until it is foamy, about 5 minutes.
3 – In a second, large bowl, mix 2 cups of the bread flour, 1 cup of the whole wheat flour, the cocoa powder, and the salt together.
4 – Add the yeast mixture and the melted butter to the flour mixture and mix until a dough forms, adding more of the bread flour and the whole wheat flour as needed until the dough is elastic, not dry, and only very slightly sticky.
5 – Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. If using the dough hook attachment of a stand mixer, mix for 6-8 minutes. The dough should be smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky when ready.
6 – Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, sprinkling the paper with the semolina flour.
7 – Lightly oil a clean bowl and add the dough.
8 – Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1-2 hours.
9 – Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
10 – Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.
11 – Form each dough piece into a 7-8-inch-long loaf.
12 – Spread the loaves out onto the prepared sheet, leaving some space in between.
13 – Top the loaves with the oats.
14 – Cover the loaves loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise until the dough puffs up, about 30-40 minutes.
15 – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
16 – Uncover the loaves and bake, rotating the pan once, until they are cooked through, about 30-35 minutes.
17 – Let the bread cool before slicing.

If you haven’t read MONTANA MOON, let me tell you a little about it. Lauren Reilly was a historical archivist at the Pentagon. You know that old joke about “If I tell you, I have to kill you”? Yeah, turns out it’s not so funny when it’s real. Running for her life, she’s rescued by Tait “Shooter” McCord, a lone Wolf “friend of a friend” living off-grid in Montana and working as a bounty hunter. Turns out, Cheesecake Factory is one of Lauren’s favorite restaurants. She promises that she’ll learn to bake the bread. Soon. No, really. Tait just rolls his eyes and makes a grocery list. He’ll end up making the bread for her because he’s just “that” guy. If you’re interested in their story, which is a standalone set in the overall Moonstruck world, just click on a pic or the book title to be magicially transported to Books2Read’s landing page where you can find your favorite on-line bookstore.

If you want more info on the recipe, here’s the Hey Recipe link. Who else remembers Cheesecake Factory and loved their bread? 🙋🏼‍♀️