Bunny Bread

I came across an adorable recipe for "Teddy Bear Bread" in The Family Fun Cookbook, and just had to adapt the idea to the Easter theme. So here is my rendition: may I present to you "Bunny Bread"!

First, I had my son wash his hands thoroughly with soap and water, and emphasized the importance of washing up always before cooking!

After I washed up too, we then gathered the ingredients. I spoke to Bode about the importance of having all the materials "in place" before starting because it makes cooking so much easier that way. I threw around the fancy French term for this, "mise en place" (literally "putting in place"), that I learned in a cooking class way back when.

THE RECIPE:

Ingredients used:
1.5 cups warm milk + .5 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
5.75 cups of all-purpose or whole wheat flour
2 tsp. salt
Oil  
Dried fruit (raisins, dried cherries, blueberries, etc)
Egg

Step one: Pour milk-water combination into a bowl, make sure it is warm. Add a packet of yeast and then sugar. Whisk until dissolved. Here I talked about how yeast is actually alive but it has been "asleep" while in it's packet. The sugar and warm liquid "wake" it up and helps it to grow.

Step two: Measure 2 cups of flour and whisk it into the mixture. I talked to Bode about the "proper" way to measure out flour- fluff it up first and then spoon it into the measuring cup, then level off with the flat edge of a knife (although he kept wanting to smoosh it down with the spoon, oh well!)
Let dough sit for 10 minutes. While the dough "proofed", I showed Bode the bubbles that were being formed and told him that that meant the yeast is now awake and working. The bubbles will create air in the dough and help the bread to rise when left to sit and the process will continue in the oven as well.

Step three: Stir in salt and then add the rest of the flour, adding in increments.

Step four: Turn dough onto a floured surface; Knead by folding dough in half and away with heel of your hand. Rotate and repeat until blended well. I gave my son a small amount of dough to knead himself. He seemed to really enjoy the sensory aspect of this step.

Step five: Place dough in oiled bowl. Flip over so that entire surface of dough gets coated. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for an hour until it doubles in size.

Step Six: Knead again to get out air bubbles.

Step Seven: Cut dough with knife and create different shapes for the bunny's body. I pinched the dough best I could to connect the pieces. As you assemble bunny, place on a baking tray lined with oiled parchment paper.

Step Eight: Decorate Bunny's body with dried fruit. We used a raspberry for nose, dried cherries flattened and cut in half for whiskers and claws, and dried blueberries for eyes and belly button.

Step Nine: Cover Bunny with plastic wrap and let sit again for 30 min. Preheat oven (to 400 degrees) as the time approaches 30 min.

Step Ten: Brush egg wash over bunnies body (one egg + 1 Tbsp. water, whisked).

Step Eleven: Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Step Twelve: Serve warm, or seal tightly with plastic to save for later.

Despite some minor cosmetic imperfections, I think our bunny turned pretty cute. AND not only that it tasted delicious as well! We coated our pieces with softened butter while it was still warm! Mmmm, mmmm, good! :)

Here are some more "bunny breads" that I found on the internet. I googled it, out of curiosity. They were pretty amazing. I found this Bunny Bread here, in which a hole is made in the belly and filled it with dip. Pretty clever and I think a perfect addition to an Easter Potluck! I also found this one here that I thought was so artistically crafted. I would love to try sculpt the bread in the same manner next time. It's such a charming bunny!

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