I’m a firm believer that the more bread a restaurant gives me, the more that restaurant cares about me. I know other people agree with me because unlimited bread before meals is a common practice at places like Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse and Red Lobster. While rolls and breadsticks are nice, sometimes you need a good mini loaf of bread to fix your hunger, and that’s where The Cheesecake Factory’s bread comes in. Specifically, their sweet brown bread.
Their brown bread is so popular that people specifically request it to be the only bread in their basket so they don’t get any sourdough. When I say ‘people,’ I really mean me. I live for the brown bread.
Why do people go crazy for The Cheesecake Factory’s sweet brown bread? Let’s look at what’s in the dough.
While The Cheesecake Factory keeps their recipes under lock and key, I found a few copycat recipes for their brown bread that can give us an idea of what makes it taste so good.
From examining these recipes, there are various ingredients listed in each one that might explain how the brown bread gets its sweetness. For instance, honey and molasses are two sweeteners that play a huge role in the taste of the bread. With the addition of these two ingredients in The Cheesecake Factory’s bread, it’s easy to see why the brown bread doesn’t taste bitter or salty, like other restaurant breads.
Along with honey and molasses, apparently cocoa and espresso powder are also used in The Cheesecake Factory’s bread to give it slight chocolate and coffee undertones. With all these sweet and rich flavors, no wonder the brown bread tastes so unique.
If the flavors weren’t good enough, The Cheesecake Factory serves their bread warm to your table. This means your bread comes fresh out of the oven every time. Nothing like a warm slice of bread and melted butter to start off your dinner pregame. Since appetizers take a while to make even though you’re supposed to eat them before your main meal, this bread is your best bet to feed your appetite quickly.
Although we don’t know the exact recipe for The Cheesecake Factory’s brown bread, we have a good idea of what goes into it that makes it taste superior to every other bread. Honey, molasses, cocoa, and espresso powder are most likely the ingredients that really make the brown bread stand out amongst other kinds. Think of that the next time you request just the brown bread at The Cheesecake Factory.