Squirrel Bread

Taste: Sweet; Technique: Baking; Time: Several hours; Difficulty: Advanced.

Detailed Steps for Making Squirrel Bread

Put all the main ingredients except butter into the bread machine, start the kneading program.

After one cycle, add softened butter, start the kneading program again until the dough is smooth.

Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a clean container for the first proofing.

Let it proof in a warm place until it doubles in size.

Remove and deflate the dough, take out about 100g of dough, add cocoa powder, knead into a coffee-colored dough. Place it in a plastic bag and set aside.

Take another 15g of dough, add a little red yeast rice powder, knead into a red dough, place it in a plastic bag and set aside.

Take another 15g of dough, add a few drops of blue food coloring, knead into a blue dough, place it in a plastic bag and set aside.

Divide the remaining white dough into 6 pieces, about 40g each.

Flatten one piece of white dough.

Then let it proof in a warm place for the second time.

While proofing, make the ears. Take a portion of the coffee-colored dough, divide into small pieces of about 2.5g each.

Roll them into an oval shape.

Pinch one end tightly to form the shape of an ear.

Once all are done, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

After the second proofing of the white dough, remove it. Roll out the remaining coffee-colored dough thinly.

Use a round mold (slightly larger than the white face dough) to cut out a circle. Then use the mold to cut out one side with a curve, and cut out the other side with a curve.

Trim the cut dough pieces (if the tip is too long, you can trim it shorter), slightly stretch and arrange them, then cover them on top of the proofed white face dough.

Place the ears made earlier on both sides of the head.

Roll out the blue dough, use a small round piping tip to press out the nose. Dip the blue nose onto the tip of the coffee-colored dough.

Finally, make a bow. Cut the red dough into strips, then cut into small pieces, use chopsticks to pinch the middle, forming a bow shape.

Place it in the appropriate position on the head. Once everything is arranged, place it in a preheated oven, lower rack, at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. Cover with foil halfway through baking. Once done, remove and let it cool, then use black cocoa powder mixed with water to draw the eyes.