Bread Bear

I found this recipe in a magazine a long time ago and have been making it ever since. I used whole wheat flour this time, but it looks and tastes much better with white flour. I plan on re-making it with white flour and updating this Instructable.

Materials

Bread

• 1/2 ounce active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• about 6 cups flour

Honey butter

• 1/2 cup butter
• inbetween 1/4 & 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup sugar

Tools

• bowls
• oven
• pan
• whisk/mixer

My yeast has been in the freezer for I don't know how long. Rather than have faith and just start baking, uncertain of the state of the yeast, I decided to test if it was still alive. I did not know how to do this, so I googled it.

"To test or "proof" yeast to verify whether it's still active, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water (110°-115°). Sprinkle with 1 packet or 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast. Stir and let stand" (tasteofhome)

Mix together the ingredients for the bread, adding enough flour to make a soft dough.

After you have made your dough, get a large bowl and grease the INSIDE with butter. You could also grease the outside, but it seems kind of pointless and messy.

Then take the dough and knead it for about 7 min, until smooth and elastic. Do this on a floured surface to keep it from sticking to the surface.

After kneading the dough, let it rise in the greased bowl for about 1 hour in a warm place with a light cloth over it. Many ovens have a setting for proofing bread. After 1 hour, if you knead proof that it has risen, dough not be a baker.

After letting the dough rise, pre-heat the oven to 400F.

As the bread dough rises, melt together the ingredients of the honey butter and mix them together, then put the melted butter in the fridge.

This is the best part. After one hour, and the dough has risen, simply punch the center of it to collapse it.

Form balls out of the dough, and piece them together to form bears. Cover them again with a very light cloth in a warm environment for about 15 min. I let mine rise for too long, and they became too large. I should have either not let them risen for as long, or made more, smaller bears on two pans.

Bake your bread at 400F for 17-20 minutes.

Take the bears out of the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes, then you can decorate them.

• Cranberry eyes
• Chocolate chip buttons
• Chocolate mouth (my dad thought it looked MUCH better without the mouth)

These taste delicious, and are fun to eat. There is something satisfying about tearing off the limbs of a bread bear and consuming them. Because the bread is not sweet, the honey butter makes it even more delicious.

If you like animals or like this Instructable, feel free to comment, vote, and go for a swim. Have a nice day!