Hop into Easter with Adorable bunny-shaped French bread! This unique twist on a classic recipe is certain to charm young and old. The whimsical shape of an Easter bunny produces a visually appealing centerpiece for your Easter table, adding a personal touch to your Easter festivities.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fun and Festive Way to Celebrate Easter: Easter Bunny-shaped French Bread is a unique and eye-catching centerpiece that adds a special touch to your Easter feast.
- Tried and True Bread Recipe: I’ve been using this delicious French bread recipe for as long as I can remember, with consistent results. As an added bonus, the bread machine does most of the work.
- Great Conversation Starter: Your family and friends will be amazed by your creativity, and they’ll have plenty to talk about as they enjoy the delicious bread.
- An Impressive Gift: Who doesn’t love homemade bread? This Easter bunny-shaped French bread is a thoughtful and unique gift that will surely be appreciated by anyone who loves homemade bread.
Ingredients – Here’s What You’ll Need
- For the French Bread: The French bread uses the following simple ingredients: Filtered water, Kosher salt, granulated sugar, bread flour, and instant yeast.
- The Bunny Eyes: I used two raisins for the bunny’s eyes.
Making the French Bread Dough
Making the French bread dough is super simple with the magic of a bread machine.
I added the filtered water, salt, sugar, bread flour, and instant yeast to the pan of my bread machine. Then, I selected the dough cycle and walked away.
Forming the Bunny: Step-by-Step
- Once the dough cycle finished, I transferred the bread dough to a floured surface. Then, I cut the dough into 11 pieces with approximage weights as follows:
Body – One 10.2-ounce piece rolled into a ball
Feet – Two 1.4-ounce pieces, each rolled into a ball
Hands – Two 1-ounce pieces, each rolled into a ball
Head – One 5-ounce piece rolled into a ball
Cheeks – Two 0.4-ounce pieces, each rolled into a ball
Nose – One 0.15 ounce piece rolled into a ball
Ears – Two 2-ounce pieces, each formed into a 12-inch rope.
- Once I had cut the dough, I started forming the bunny. I placed the body towards the bottom of a silicone-lined half-baking sheet, leaving enough room for the feet, and gently flattened the dough. Then, I placed the two feet below the body so that the feet touched the body.
- Next, I place the hands on either side of the body, towards the top, just touching the body. Then, I placed the bunny’s head above the body, just touching the body, and flattened the head slightly.
- After that, I placed the bunny cheeks side-by-side towards the bottom of the bunny’s face and placed the nose above the cheeks.
- For the ears, I folded each of the two long ropes into a loop and positioned the ears on either side of the head, just touching the head.
- Finally, I made three cuts in each of the feet and hands to form the bunny’s toes and fingers. Then, I gently pushed two raisins into the face to form the bunny’s eyes.
Finishing the Bunny-Shaped Bread
I covered the baking sheet and placed it in a warm location. I used the proof setting on my oven, but if you don’t have a proof setting, just place the bunny in a warm location for it to rise.
After around 30 minutes, the bunny was nice and puffy and ready for the egg wash.
I brushed the brushed the bunny all over with an egg wash made with one egg and a tablespoon of water.
I baked the bunny in a preheated 375°F oven for 25 minutes, until the bunny was golden brown.
I removed the bunny from the oven and allowed it cool.
Isn’t this adorable? Even the Master Taste Tester thought so!
I used this adorable bunny-shaped French bread as a centerpiece surrounded by fresh veggies and a cold spinach dip on the side.
Creating this Easter bunny-shaped French bread is a fantastic way to make your Easter festivities even more special. You should try it. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use store-bought dough in this recipe. You will need about a pound and a half or 24 ounces of dough.
This dough can be made using a stand mixer or even a food processor. If using a food processor, start by adding the dry ingredients and pulse four or five times to thoroughly mix. Then, add the water and process about 20 seconds. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes and process for another 20 seconds or until the dough is well formed.
Sometimes, I will make the dough the day before. In this case, I remove the dough from the food processor as soon as the kneading stops. I form the dough into a ball, coat it in olive oil, place it in an oiled bowl, cover it, and refrigerate the dough overnight. The next day, I let the dough come to room temperature before forming the bunny.
I always use instant or bread machine yeast in my bread recipes, including this recipe. You can, however, use active dry yeast, but it must be proofed before adding it to the other ingredients.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I highly recommend that you weigh your ingredients, especially the flour, when making this recipe. The reason is that different techniques for measuring flour can result in significantly different quantities of the flour. If the recipe doesn’t turn out, it’s probably because the ingredients weren’t weighed.
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale, do yourself a favor and purchase one. They are inexpensive and a real time-saver. I use my kitchen scale on a daily basis!
- It’s important to use filtered water when making bread. The reason is that the chlorine in tap water can retard the growth of the yeast or even kill the yeast. I generally use the filtered water from my refrigerator. You could also use bottled water or even club soda.
- Before I got my new oven, I used Julia Child’s technique to produce the perfect environment for proofing bread. She recommended turning her electric oven on for exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds. This brings the oven temperature up to 100°F, the proofing temperature on my new oven.
Other Easter-Themed Recipes
Easter is a special time of the year for family and friends. Check out these delicious Easter-themed recipes:
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Bunny-Shaped French Bread
Equipment
- Bread machine (See Tip 1)
- Kitchen scale
Ingredients
French Bread Dough
- 9.84 ounces filtered water (291 ml, about 1 cup and 4 teaspoons) (See Tip 2)
- ½ Tablespoon Kosher salt
- ½ Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 15 ounces bread flour (425 grams, 3 cups)
- ½ Tablespoon instant or bread machine yeast (See Tip 3)
Easter-bunny Shaped Bread
- 1 recipe of French bread dough from above
- 2 raisins for the bunny’s eyes
- Egg wash (See Tip 5)
Instructions
French Bread Dough
- Add all ingredients in the order listed to the pan of a bread machine. Select the dough cycle and press start. You’re ready to build the Easter bunny-shaped bread when the dough cycle finishes. (See Tip 4)
Easter Bunny-Shaped French Bread
- Transfer the French bread dough to a floured surface. Cut the dough into 11 pieces of varying sizes using the following approximate weights:
- Body – One 10.2-ounce piece rolled into a ball
- Feet – Two 1.4-ounce pieces, each rolled into a ball
- Hands – Two 1-ounce pieces, each rolled into a ball
- Head – One 5-ounce piece rolled into a ball
- Cheeks – Two 0.4-ounce pieces, each rolled into a ball
- Nose – One 0.15 ounce piece rolled into a ball
- Ears – Two 2-ounce pieces, each formed into a 12-inch rope.
- Place the body towards the bottom of a silicone-lined half-baking sheet, leaving enough room for the feet. Gently flatten the dough. Then, place the two feet below the body so that the feet touch the body.
- Place the hands on either side of the body, towards the top, just touching the body. Then, place the bunny’s head above the body, just touching the body. Flatten the head slightly.
- Place the bunny cheeks side-by-side, towards the bottom of the bunny’s face, and place the nose above the cheeks.
- Fold the long ropes for the ears into a loop and position the ears on either side of the head, just touching the head.
- Using kitchen shears or scissors, make 3 cuts in each of the feet and hands to form the bunny’s toes and fingers. Gently push two raisins into the face to form the bunny’s eyes.
- Cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and place in a warm location until the bunny is puffy, around 30 to 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Brush the bunny with an egg wash and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Yield: One bunny-shaped French Bread (See Tip 6)
Video
Tips/Notes
- If you don’t have a bread machine, you can make the dough in a food processor or a stand mixer.
- Do not use tap water when making bread. The chlorine in the tap water can retard the growth of the yeast or even kill the yeast.
- Active dry yeast must be proofed before adding it to the other ingredients. On the other hand, instant yeast and bread machine yeast can be added directly to the ingredients.
- If desired, the dough can be made ahead of time. When the dough finishes kneading, remove it from the pan of the bread machine. Place in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Whisk together one egg and one tablespoon of water for the egg wash.
- This bread can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for a day or two. It can also be wrapped well in aluminum foil and frozen for up to three months.
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