Sweet Brown Molasses Bread : Ugly Duckling Bakery

Name: Sweet Brown Molasses Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 300 min
Ingredients: 1¼ cup 150 grams whole wheat flour; 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or instant coffee (or combination of both, for color); ¾ teaspoons instant yeast; 2 tablespoons molasses; 1 cup lukewarm water (plus more as needed); 2½ cup 300 grams bread flour (plus more as needed); ¾ teaspoon instant yeast; 1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon salt

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This Sweet Brown Molasses Bread recipe is the most requested bread for sandwiches in my household. That’s because it’s a partial whole wheat bread, but it’s still soft and a little sweet, so everyone will love it.

Read on to learn about different types of molasses and all the tips and tricks for this molasses bread recipe. Or just grab your apron, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make a sweet brown bread!

a loaf of sweet brown bread on a cutting board with two slices, knife, and napkin.

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Ingredients
Variations and substitutions
Recipe tips and tricks
What to serve with this sweet molasses bread
Recipe FAQs
Related bread recipes
Recipe
💬 Comments

Ingredients

A few years ago, a baking friend passed along a copycat sweet brown bread recipe from the Outback Steakhouse. It woke up some fond memories, but it was too sweet and soft. So I’ve adapted this sweet brown bread recipe for everyday eating.

It’s the favorite sandwich bread in my house. And we eat a LOT of sandwiches.

Molasses

Molasses is the thick syrup by-product of sugar production. It comes in many forms – sulfured and unsulfured, light and dark. Read everything you need to know about molasses here.

An unsulfured light molasses works best in this molasses bread. If you only have a dark or blackstrap molasses, you might want to consider adding another tablespoon of your favorite sweetener to counteract the bitterness.

Whole wheat flour

Using some whole wheat flour in this recipe makes your sweet brown bread more nutritious while keeping it soft. You can use all bread flour if you want an even fluffier loaf, or increase the amount of whole wheat flour if you are an experienced bread baker.

Yeast

This bread recipe calls for instant yeast, because that is the easiest to work with. You can use whatever yeast you’re most comfortable working with when making bread.

Also for convenience, the recipe calls for using a packet (just over 2 teaspoons) of that instant yeast, but you’re the one in control. Unless you’re in a hurry (e.g. you’re a contestant on the Great British Bake Off), you can nearly always use less yeast in your bread recipes.

Smaller amounts of yeast are great when you want a longer rising time or even a cold proof in the refrigerator. This molasses brown bread doesn’t need it, but you should definitely do a slow proof with bread recipes whose flavor depends only on its flour, yeast, and salt – like my overnight pizza dough.

Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations and substitutions

If you don’t have molasses, substitute an equal amount of honey or dark brown sugar.
Skip the cocoa or coffee powder. They’re in this sweet brown bread mostly for color anyway.
Make a spiral loaf! Make half of the dough without cocoa and coffee powder, and use black cocoa in the other half. After the first rise, roll out the two doughs, spiral them together, and let the swirled bread loaf rise in the pan.

slices of a black and white spiral bread.

Recipe tips and tricks

For those of you thinking, “I love bread, but it fails every time,” I want you to hear this. Once upon a time, I had the same thoughts, and someone said this to me: try Jim Lahey’s No-Knead bread before you give up baking bread forever. Once you make that loaf a few times, this sweet molasses bread will be super easy.

Making bread

If you’re not doing a cold proof, the best temperature for bread to rise is 75 to 80 degrees in a draft-free place. If your kitchen is cooler than this, you can put your bread in your oven that you turned on low for just a minute. Or put a cup of water in the microwave, heat it for a couple of minutes, then quickly open the door and put in your bread dough.

Step by step

This molasses bread has three stages – a sponge and two rises.

Step 1: Make the sponge. Mix half of the yeast with a cup and a quarter of whole wheat flour, coffee granules, cocoa, molasses, and water (Panel #1, below). The remaining flour and yeast is added (Panel #2), and you let it sit until it starts to bubble through (Panel #3).

four panels steps in making this sweet brown bread.

Step 2: Mix and knead the dough and shape into a round for the first rise (Panel #4 above). You can obviously knead the dough by hand instead of in the mixer, but I’m too lazy for that.

Tip from the wise quacker: if you use a mixer to make bread, make sure you switch to the hook once your dough has come together. Otherwise you run the risk of burning out your motor (and I say this from experience!).

Step 3: Let your molasses bread rise until it has doubled in size.

ball of brown bread dough in a mixing bowl after rising.

Step 4: Once your molasses bread has doubled in size, shape it into a loaf and put it in a greased loaf pan for the final rise. Here’s a great video showing how to shape loaf bread.

Step 5: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and again let it rise. Preheat your oven when it has risen to about one inch over the edge of your loaf pan.

a loaf of brown bread rising in the pan.

Step 6: Bake for about 30 minutes, until the internal temperature is 195 degrees Fahrenheit and it gives a hollow sound when thumped. Let cool at least an hour before slicing!

Basic yeast breads are cooked when the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit, and enriched breads like challah and brioche dough are cooked to a slightly higher temperature. All breads should make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

What to serve with this sweet molasses bread

This sweet brown bread will work with your favorite sandwich, no matter the sandwich. Here are a few other ideas for this bread:

My kiddo loves cinnamon toast on this molasses bread.
Serve together with your favorite soup, like this garbanzo bean soup or sweet corn soup, or BBQ beans.
Make a compound butter and serve with a salad like this peach Caprese salad or rainbow salad bowl.

Recipe FAQs

Is it “sulfured” or “sulphured” molasses?

While both spellings are in use around the world, “sulfured” is the correct spelling. This was designated by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, based on its origin from Latin.

Why do I need to wait until the bread cools before cutting it?

As it cools, your bread continues to firm up as the moisture redistributes throughout the loaf. Cooling retains this moisture and makes the bread loaf easier to slice.

How should I store my sweet brown molasses bread?

This molasses bread is best stored in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature. It’s best in the day or two after it’s made, but it will keep for up to five days.

Can I freeze this molasses bread?

Yes, bread freezes well and is preferable to storing it in the refrigerator, where it will dry out. Simply wrap the bread whole, or cut the cooled bread into slices and freeze it in a freezer bag for up to three months.

Check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery bread recipes like:

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