Panda bread

by Barry Lewis

Ingredients

*note you may want to increase ingredients by 50% to make extra dough if you wish*

450g plain flour

3tbsp sugar

220ml milk

1 egg yolk

1tbsp salt

1 ½ tbsp butter

1tbsp active dry yeast

1tbsp matcha powder

2tsp green food colouring

1tbsp cocoa powder

Panda bread has been one of those quirky recipes i’ve been wanting to try for a while! Essentially a loaf of bread, that is coloured with cocoa powder and matcha powder respectively, that when built in a certain way and baked should reveal a panda, in a green background! The results i’d seen had been phenomenal to complete epic fails! This was a really fun project to try out and ultimately the bread tasted phenomenal! If you try it, check out some of the hints and tips i’ve provided in the recipe write-up! Have some fun and play with your food!

Panda bread has been one of those quirky recipes i’ve been wanting to try for a while! Essentially a loaf of bread, that is coloured with cocoa powder and matcha powder respectively, that when built in a certain way and baked should reveal a panda, in a green background! The results i’d seen had been phenomenal to complete epic fails! This was a really fun project to try out and ultimately the bread tasted phenomenal! If you try it, check out some of the hints and tips i’ve provided in the recipe write-up! Have some fun and play with your food!

How to make panda bread

First up, in a microwave safe bowl / jug add the milk, egg yolk, butter and salt. Microwave together on small blasts of 20 seconds, stirring in between, until warmed and dissolved, you want the mixture to be not piping hot, but warm to help the yeast.

In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar and yeast. Mix to combine, then pour in the warmed milk mixture, stir then either knead with your hands until smooth using extra flour as necessary or do this step with a stand mixer or electric whisk with dough hook attachments.

Divide the dough up. 2 larger pieces, then 1 smaller (about a third of the others) I actually rolled mine out to a 7 inch log and divided into 2 x 3 inch logs and a single 1 inch log.

One of the larger portions of dough, place into a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover with cling film, leave to prove until doubled in size.

For the other larger piece. In a small bowl mix the matcha powder with approx. 1tbsp of hot water, until a paste is formed, work this into your dough, until a consistent colour is achieved throughout. Add green food colouring if you wish to make it more vibrant and again knead until a consistent colour is created. Place into a greased clean bowl, cover with cling film again and leave to double in size.

For the final small piece mix the cocoa powder with 1tbsp hot water (adding only a small amount extra at a time if too dry) until a paste is formed. Knead this into the dough mixture again until a consistent colour is achieved, pulling and stretching to make it nice and neat. Place in a clean greased bowl, cover with cling film and allow to double in size.

The dough will rise really well and you’ll need every bit of it!

Next we make the panda shape itself. Get your loaf tin ready and lightly grease it all over the bottom and sides with butter. Measure the length of the bread tin.

Cut up the cocoa powder dough into 4 pieces, roll them into logs the length of the tin, leave to one side.

Divide the white/un-dyed dough into 2 larger pieces, with an extra piece 1/3 the size of the others (like we did earlier)… Take one large piece, roll it so it is still thick but the same length as the bread tin again. Get a pastry brush with some water and brush the top of the dough and place 2 of the cocoa logs on it with a little gap in between. Wedge the smaller piece of white dough between the 2 logs, again wetting with water, to help space the 2 logs apart. This will be the eyes. Wet the tops of all the dough and drape the final larger piece of white dough over the 2 logs, pressing lightly to encase and hold it all together.

Wet the top of the white dough and place the 2 remaining logs on top of it, again slightly spaced apart. Cut the green dough into 2 pieces one smaller piece to act as a filler between the cocoa logs, again the same length as the tin, then brush more water on top and place the final piece of green dough all over the top, draping the dough, fully encasing and holding everything together. It may look a bit like a weird caterpillar now. Lift it into your loaf tin, cover and let it double in size – at least an hour.

Bake in an oven at 375f/170c/190fan for 35 minutes, allow to cool, before removing and slicing away hopefully revealing a panda, or a pug, or…. Anything really, but a very tasty bread recipe indeed!