Easter is just around the corner and many families are looking for great recipes - or a way to add a new twist to old favorites. This painted bunny bread is a perfect way to add new life to your favorite bread or dinner roll recipe not to mention these cute bunnies add another element of décor to the table. I did not go into great detail when I made this bunny bread because I wanted to create something simple enough that others could easily copy and create this cute bunny in their own kitchens. For those who wish to get even more creative, add a basket to the bunnies hand, or place dough Easter eggs on or around the bunny and paint them vivid colors just like you would real Easter eggs. Let your imagination go - and remember if you make a mistake, dough is forgiving until it is baked.
Here is how to make this painted bunny bread.
The first step is to make the bread or dinner roll dough. You can use any recipe you like. I used this Toasted Seasame Herbal Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe. Once the dough is ready to rise the second time, go ahead and punch it down to get rid of the air and then shape it. This bunny is made up of various size dough balls and dough logs. I used a large ball for the body, and one slightly smaller for the head. Push the dough together so it touches. As it rises it will connect. I then created four additional dough balls of equal size - two for the feet and two for the hands.
The ears were created by creating two larger dough balls and then rolling them out into a log shape. The belly button, nose and eyes are all dough balls as well. The bowtie was a bit tricky to create. I rolled out a small dough log, then used a bamboo skewer to cut away some of the dough to create the bowtie shape. This bowtie was quite delicate and thus I used a small spatula to scoop it up and place it on the bunny.
This is what my bunny looked like before it was baked. As you can see all the pieces of dough are in place. At this point I allow the dough to raise slightly so all the pieces are well connected. It will continue to rise slightly in the oven so be careful that you do not allow the dough to rise too much. If you do, the bunny will look distorted. The next step is to paint the dough.
I used gel food coloring and a paint brush to do the painting. I put about a teaspoon of water on a plate, then used a bamboo skewer to dip a tiny amount of the gel food coloring out of the container. I missed this together and then used a food grade paint brush to paint the mixture onto the bread. Be careful as you do not want the food coloring to be too runny. Paint the bunny bread as you desire and then bake it for 10 to 15 minutes at the temperature the bread recipe you use suggests.
Allow the bread to cool slightly and then serve.