Panda Bread (Demonic Version)
Note to mods: I'm so sorry! I must have been so sleepy, I linked to my main blog page instead of the recipe itself. It's been fixed now, though! Also, my post shows that I've included the recipe under an LJ cut, so I'm not sure what else I can do except blink at the entry draft and hope it shows up this time...?
It’s like a Rorschach test-quick! What do you see?
Yup, it’s a panda all right! I knew you’d guess it.
…Okay, I admit-it does look sort of possessed. But at least it’s a possessed panda, right? Imagine how much cuter the end of the world would be if, instead of possessed spirits and zombies, we were invaded by possessed pandas.
My loaf's pet name is Frankie the Panda (Devil) Bread loaf. Hi! Nice to meet you.
So what possessed (pardon the panda pun) me to make this demonic bread? I'm hosting a weekly reading club and thought it would be fun to show the girls a really cute edible for our short stories this week. Unfortunately, this first attempt turned out, er, less aesthetically pleasing than anticipated--but the good news is that since we're reading Carl Sandburg's children's nonsense stories, I'm just going to call this "nonsense panda bread" and go from there. Still sounds pretty cute, right?
Anyway, I had plenty of adventures with this bread--and next time I make it (hopefully properly), there will be lots of adorable rolling panda bread photos for all of you to see. The bread itself came out amazing, though--believe it or not, this is one of the best, softest, chewiest sandwich "white-and-green" loafs I've ever made. Go figure!
For an entire photo-by-photo detail of how to make this bread, along with some panda-rific nonsense adventures, hop on over to my blog, Wallflour Girl! Hope to see you there (especially with comments if you like it!)--happy eatings, and happy reading!
Ingredients
- 3 cups 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 (or 1 standard packet) active dry yeast
Directions
- In a small bowl, microwave milk and egg yolk for about 30 seconds, until warm to the touch but not scalding hot.
- Add yeast and sugar, then stir in slightly. Allow your yeast to “proof” for 5 minutes; it should start to foam and smell like bread if your yeast is active. (If your yeast is not active, you will have to throw it out and start again with a fresh package. Make sure your milk mixture is just warm enough that it will activate the yeast, but not so hot that it kills it.)
- Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add in butter and salt, then stir until well-combined.
- Add flour 1 cup at a time, until it is incorporated and the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Remove it from the bowl and place on a lightly-floured cutting board. Continue to knead the dough for another 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Divide dough into three pieces, two about equal and one about 1/3 the size of the other two.
- Place one of the large pieces in the stand mixer bowl and mix with green tea/water mixture OR green food coloring until desired color is reached. If your dough gets sticky, add a bit of flour.
- Remove dough from bowl and place in a lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled.
- Clean 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.
- Place plain piece of dough in a separate, lightly greased bowl, covered, to rise until doubled. All pieces should double in about an hour.
- Once 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. Wet your fingers with water and brush it over the dough to keep the pieces sticking together.
- Quickly 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.
- Take last two quarters of cocoa dough and form the ears.
- Divide green dough in two pieces, one twice the size of the other. Take the small piece to fill in the space between the ears. Brush adjoining pieces with water if needed. Take the larger piece of green dough and stretch over the whole bread to lock everything in place.
- Place dough in a lightly greased loaf pan, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Once 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.