Steakhouse Brown Bread With BACON!

What would make the brown bread like you get at a certain steakhouse even better? BACON! I have been testing out several recipes in an effort to bake my own version of this bread and this time I added bacon. Bacon does make everything better.

1 1/3 cups of VERY strong coffee
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (or bread machine yeast)
1/2 cup of bacon bits (approximately)

I don't like using bacon bits that you buy from the store, so I make my own. To make your own:

Turn on the oven and set to 400 degrees
Lay out your bacon slices on a cookie sheet
Bake for about 20 min.

Note: You do not need to preheat your oven.

Once the bacon is cooked, remove from the baking sheet and allow to cool. Chop into bacon bits.

Always follow the directions for how to add ingredients to your bread machine. I use a Zojirushi, and I add my ingredients in this order:

1. coffee
2. oil
3. molasses
4. salt
5. brown sugar
6. bread flour
7. whole wheat four
8. rye flour
9. cocoa
10. yeast

Wait for the "add" cycle on your bread machine to add the bacon.

For this bread, I use the basic setting instead of the wheat setting. Add the bacon after the first knead cycle. My bread machine beeps when you need to add additional ingredients.

Slice and enjoy! I would have included a picture of the bread after I sliced it, but my family ate most of the loaf before I could grab the camera.