Sweet Molasses Bread

This sweet molasses brown bread, made with whole wheat, molasses, and honey, is delicious sliced warm and served with butter, or used as sandwich bread or toast the next day!

Who’s ready for a new bread recipe?? If you’re anything like me, you’ve been cooking and baking a little more than usual recently.  I’ve definitely been spending more time in the kitchen making all sorts of baked goods, trying new recipes, attempting a sourdough starter, and of course baking lots and lots of bread. Yum!!

It’s been cold here in Michigan, which means it’s still soup weather. We’ve been enjoying homemade bread with soup a few times a week, with leftovers made into toast for breakfast. This sweet molasses bread is the latest experiment in bread baking and I’m happy to say it was a huge success! We LOVED this bread and one child in particular ate piece after piece after piece the night I made it. 

This bread is reminiscent of the sweet dark brown bread you get from popular steakhouses.  It is soft and tender and just slightly sweet from the addition of honey and molasses. It’s full of flavor and tastes amazing warm out of the oven with plenty of butter on top. 

This recipe makes 3 big loaves of bread. And it’s so good that you’ll be glad to have all 3 loaves! We sliced one immediately and served it warm with soup, gave one away, and the other is in our freezer just waiting to be eaten. It was absolutely perfect for dinner and the few slices we had leftover were delicious when toasted. This bread is so soft and easy to slice that I think it would be perfect for sandwiches as well.

If you enjoy the bread you get when eating out at popular steakhouses, you need to try this sweet molasses bread! It is even more delicious when you make it at home and can enjoy it straight out of the oven. 🙂

Looking for soup to serve with this bread? You can view all my soup recipes here: Soup and Stew Recipes

If you’re interested in more bread recipes, you can find them all here: Yeast Breads and Rolls

Yield: 3 loaves

Sweet Molasses Bread

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This sweet molasses brown bread, made with whole wheat, molasses, and honey, is delicious sliced warm and served with butter, or used as sandwich bread or toast the next day!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened, natural cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups white whole wheat flour
• 3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• Old-fashioned oats for sprinkling

Instructions

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook combine the water, yeast, molasses, cocoa powder, oil, honey, salt, and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. Mix until combined.
2. With the mixer running, slowly add the rest of the whole wheat flour. Start adding the white flour gradually until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-7 minutes. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky, but not overly sticky.
3. Turn the dough into a large, lightly greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap or a light towel, and let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.
4. Lightly punch down the dough and divide into three equal pieces. Form into tight oval loaves and place on parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheets. Lightly cover and let rise until puffy and doubled in size. Right before baking, using a very sharp knife, cut three deep slashes in the top of each loaf.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the loaves for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly brush with about a tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with the oats and bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until done.

Notes

adapted from Mels Kitchen Cafe