So Many Recipes, So Little Time: April 2011

Bunny Bread

After seeing several different "bread bunnies" prior to Easter, I decided to make my own.

I had planned to take pictures at each stage of "bunny creation," but the events of the day didn't permit it.

I ended up in the emergency room with my 13 year-old son after a freak kitchen accident. He had second degree burns to his cheek, and first degree burns on his eyelid and nose.

Here he is sporting his bandage and showing off his new eagle.

So, as a result of the ER visit, my dough sat in the fridge for several hours and it was very late into the evening. Enough excuses for lack of photos.

The recipe I use is one that I've modified over the years to get it just where I want it. The original came from a Betty Crocker cookbook I got as a wedding gift in 1989. (We're still married.)

I throw the dough into the bread machine on the "dough" cycle to simplify the process, but I've made the dough in my Kitchenaid mixer as well.

~Dinner Roll Recipe~

one egg (room temperature)

1/2 cup milk (skim or 2%)

1/2 cup water

3 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tsp vital wheat gluten

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter flavor shortening (I use Crisco)

2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) yeast (I buy this in 1 lb packages at Sam's Club)

I start by cracking the egg into the bread pan.

Next I fill a glass measuring cup with 1/2 cup cold water and microwave it for a minute.

To the very hot water, I add cold milk to make 1 full cup of warm liquid which I add to the egg.

Next I add the flour, salt, vital wheat gluten and sugar. I generally sandwich the salt and gluten in between cups of flour. Sugar goes on top.

Last I add the butter flavor shortening. The original recipe called for either butter, margarine, or shortening. I get the best result from shortening, so I use the butter flavor for a richer tasting bread.

I put the shortening into the four corners of the bread pan and place the yeast in the middle. About 90 minutes later I have dough.

Occasionally I need to add either a little extra warm water or flour. The humidity plays a part here. Be sure and check on the dough after about 15 minutes to determine if you need to add anything. More often than not, I have a nice smooth dough and don't need to do anything more.

I used about half of this batch to create one dough bunny and made rolls from the rest. With more time I'd have made two rabbits. I usually make 24 dinner rolls from this recipe.

This was a bit of experimentation on my part. I started with a large chunk of the dough and formed it into a ball.

One smaller ball of dough I attached to the body to form the head. I formed two ropes which I folded in half to form the ears and attached these to the head.

Smaller pieces were formed into front feet and tucked under the body. Slightly larger pieces were attached to the sides toward the back as back legs. A smaller ball was attached to the backside as a tail.

I formed much smaller balls which I attached to the face as you can see in the photo.

I wadded up some plastic wrap and used it to support the head and tail during the rise.

After the rise (I really should have given it a little more time, but I was really getting tired), I decided to add some highlights. I mixed an egg yolk, a little water, and some brown Wilton icing color. I painted this onto the rabbit as in the next photo.

At this point, I replaced the plastic wrap with aluminum foil for baking.

I usually bake my rolls for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Mr. Bunny was a bit larger than a traditional dinner roll. I lowered the temperature to 375 and baked the bread for about 15 minutes. Then I removed the bread and brushed the whole thing with an egg wash (1 beaten egg and 1 TBSP water).

I raised the temperature to 400 and baked the rabbit for about 3 more minutes to deepen the color and give it a nice shine.

The rabbit's head was tilted slightly. I didn't realize this when I put him together, but after baking, this really became apparentand gave it more character.