Panda Bread

Who doesn't love eating? And what better to eat than something cute? Well, I did try to make something cute and edible. Though the panda bread didn't really look as cute as it should have, it did taste great! M had requested for it when he saw pics of the panda bread my sister had made, so I had no excuse but to make one for him.

Click on the link for the Panda Bread recipe. And for the step-by-step pictorial, check this out. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 cups Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup milk w/ 1 egg yolk (both should total 1 cup together)
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp green tea (matcha) powder mixed w/ 2 tsp hot water, OR green food coloring
• 3 1/2 tsp cocoa powder mixed w/ 1 1/2 tsp hot water
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Directions

1. 1In a small bowl, microwave milk and egg yolk for about 30 seconds. Set aside.
2. 2In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar and yeast.
3. 3Add in butter, salt and milk mixture, stirring on low speed with the dough hook attachment.
4. 4Increase speed to medium and knead until dough comes together and pulls away from the sides, about 5-10 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add a tbsp-ful of dough at a time until it is smooth and elastic.
5. 5Divide dough into three pieces, two about equal and one about 1/3 the size of the other two.
6. 6Place one of the large pieces in the stand mixer bowl and mix with green tea/water mixture OR green tea food coloring until desired color is reached.
7. 7Remove dough from bowl and place in a lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled.
8. 8Clean stand mixer bowl, then place smallest piece of dough in stand mixer and combine with cocoa powder/water mixture until color is blended through. Remove dough from bowl and place in a separate, lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled.
9. 9Place plain piece of dough in a separate, lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled. All pieces should double in about an hour.
10. 10Once dough is risen, on a floured surface, divide plain dough in thirds, with one piece being half the size of the other two (as you did before). Use one of the larger pieces to form the face. Divide the cocoa dough in quarters and use two quarters to form the eyes.
11. 11Quickly place the smallest piece of plain dough between the eyes to keep them in place. Stretch remaining piece of plain dough over the whole bread to lock everything in place.
12. 12Take last two quarters of cocoa dough and form the ears.
13. 13Divide green dough in two pieces, one twice the size of the other. Take the small piece to fill in the space between the ears. Take the larger piece of green dough and stretch over the whole bread to lock everything in place.
14. 14Place dough in a lightly greased loaf pan, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
15. 15Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
16. 16Once dough is risen, bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on the outside (the inside should register 190 degrees F). Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing or serving.