Honey Bear Loaf #BreadBakers

This adorable little honey bear is a great addition to the family dinner table when there are going to be young guests.  I made one large bear but you can make several small bears so that each person at the table has his/her own little dinner roll bear.

I served mine as part of the Christmas Dinner Buffet.  Unfortunately I forgot to snap a photo of it plated up prettily.  Holidays are hectic.......

Stacy of Food Lust People Love runs a fun group called Bread Bakers.  Each month one of the bloggers in the group chooses a theme and the rest of us bake a bread that incorporates the theme or ingredient.  This month Stacy is hosting and asked that we bake up some animals......

Well, we didn't actually bake animals, we shaped bread dough into animals and baked them.  Let's take a look at what animals were created.......

• Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia
• Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu
• Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Hedgehog Bread from Making Miracles
• Sourdough Animal-shaped Breads from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Matcha Milk Bread Turtles from A Messy Kitchen
• Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Peacock Shaped Pizza Rolls from Magical Ingredients
• Piglet Bread Rolls from Sneha's Recipe
• Turtle Bread from Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

What a fun theme....I wish I could have had my Angel Face helping me when I made this bread but she was still thrilled when she saw the end result. 

This recipe is from The Pillsbury Family Christmas Cookbook, published in 1991.  When Tony and Nicole were young I purchased this book and it has come out every year since.  It is full of fun ideas to make and cook with the family.  Like Snowmen on Skis made with popcorn balls and candy canes.  Easy to make candies and cookies.  Ornaments for kids to make and place on trees.  Complete themed menus to make meal planning easy.  And, of course, this Honey Bear.

I think perhaps next year I will make the dove that graces the cover of this cookbook that has now been packed away with all my Christmas stuff.

Breads, Holidays, Family Fun,

Bread

American

Yield: 12 servings

Author: Wendy Klik

Honey Bear Loaf

This adorable little honey bear is a great addition to the family dinner table when there are going to be young guests. I made one large bear but you can make several small bears so that each person at the table has his/her own little dinner roll bear.

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 Mininactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 3 Hour

Ingredients

• 3-3 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 T. baking cocoa
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/4 c. warm water
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 T. butter, room temperature
• 1 T. honey
• candies, icing, sprinkles, etc  for decorating

Instructions

1. Combine 1 cup of flour, the sugar, cocoa, salt, cinnamon and yeast in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  
2. Heat the milk, water and 1/4 c. butter in the microwave until very warm (120-130*).
3. Add warm liquid, vanilla and eggs to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until blended, increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes longer.  Turn speed back to low and stir in additional 1  1/2 cups of flour.  
4. Switch to dough hook and knead in the remaining 3/4 cup until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, as necessary.
5. Remove dough, form into a ball, spray the bowl with cooking spray, return the dough to the bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. Punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles.  Divide the dough into half.  Shape half of the dough into an oval for the body of the bear.  Divide the other half of the dough into equal parts.  Use half to form the head.  Pinch of two small pieces to form the ears.  Divide the remaining dough into 4 equal pieces and form the legs.  Attach all the pieces of the bear, cover loosely and let rise for another hour, until doubled in size.
7. Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.  While bear is baking combine the softened butter with the honey.  When bear is done baking brush generously with the honey butter and return to the oven for another 5 minutes to set the glaze.  Cool and decorate as desired using additional honey to attach the candies. 

Notes:

Adapted from a recipe found in Pillsbury Family Christmas

Calories

244.67

Fat (grams)

7.91

Sat. Fat (grams)

4.28

Carbs (grams)

37.60

Fiber (grams)

1.30

Net carbs

36.30

Sugar (grams)

8.23

Protein (grams)

5.57

Sodium (milligrams)

167.35

Cholesterol (grams)

47.08

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