Skip to content
List

Bunny Loaf

Recipe

Serves:  12 slices of bread | Prep time:  30 minutes, plus 2 hour prove time | Cooking time:  42 minutes

British | Snack | Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 280ml Water
  • 1 sachet Fast Action Yeast
  • 1tbsp Granulated Sugar
  • 3tbsp Olive Oil
  • 500g Plain White Bread Flour
  • 1tbsp Milk

You will need parchment paper, a large cast iron dish with a lid and some cocktail sticks

Method

  1. Measure the water in a jug and add the yeast and the sugar. Allow this to sit for 5-10 minutes until it starts to look a little foamy.
  2. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the olive oil and pour the yeast mixture in gradually, mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
  3. Knead for ten minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
  4. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel, allowing this to prove somewhere warm until it has doubled in size.
  5. Knock the dough back and shape this into a ball, then place it on a floured piece of parchment paper.
  6. Preheat the oven to 450F 230C 210Cfan or gas mark 8.
  7. To shape the bunny, cut 1 inch off the bottom of the dough and roll into a ball for the tail. Secure this on the back of the loaf using a cocktail stick.
  8. Cut 2-inch-wide slices along both sides of the dough, keeping them intact at the back, fold and tuck these under to form the back legs.
  9. Cut another 1-inch strip off each side and place these in a V shape to create ears near the front of the loaf. Tie some string around the front third of the loaf to make a head.
  10. Cut two final 1-inch pieces off the sides and roll into balls to make the paws, then secure these using cocktail sticks just behind the bunny’s head.
  11. Carefully lift the bunny shaped dough into the cast iron dish and place it in the oven with the lid on, then bake for 30 minutes.
  12. Remove the lid, brush with a little milk and cook for a further 10-12 minutes, until the loaf has some lovely golden edges and is cooked through.