My good friends know that I am not the most talented cook in the kitchen! but I am trying to be better about that. I suppose I enjoy baking, in that most often one is required to follow a recipe, thus less room for error! Ollie’s school puts out an annual cook book and I decided to share this recipe and while I was at it I decided to post it on Annie’s OMNIUM.
The recipe is taken from Elisa Kleven’s beautifully illustrated children’s book SUN BREAD. I recommend that you buy the book and enjoy it with your little ones and have fun making this bread with them.
SUN BREAD
1. Mix well: 3 eggs 3 tablespoons sugar (annie’s note: you can also add some citrus zest for added flavor)
2. Combine: 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 stick butter, melted
3. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat well.
4. In a small bowl combine: 2 packages active dry yeast 3 tablespoons milk Let stand until mixture is foamy, at least 5 minutes. (annie’s note: I also found following the instructions on the yeast packet helpful)
5. Add the yeast mixture to the batter and stir. Knead dough on greased, floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Place dough in greased bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour (until doubled in size).
7. Punch down dough, knead for a few minutes, then separate into two portions.
8. To form the sun’s face, shape one portion of dough into a round, somewhat flattened ball, then place on a large greased baking sheet. With the greased end of a wooden spoon, or with your finger, punch two ‘eyes’ in the sun; draw a mouth for your sun in the same way. (Make sure you make deep lines and holes in the dough so they won’t close up while the bread bakes.) Make a nose for your sun by securely attaching a small ball of dough to its face. (annie’s note: you can also use currents or raisins for face or other features.)
9. To make a corona for your sun, roll one half of the remainder of the dough into four or five long ‘snakes’. Then curl the snakes into puffy ‘snail’ shapes. Shape the rest of the dough into puffy triangles. Firmly attach the snails and triangles to your sun’s face. (Use a little water if the dough is too dry.)
10. Cover the sun and let it rise again in a warm place for about an hour.
11. Preheat oven to 400*F. Bake the sun bread for about 20 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into center of bread. (It should come out clean.)
12. Enjoy! Your sun bread is delicious plain or with butter, honey, or jam.
…again! check out Elisa Kleven’s books… they are all wonderful!