Yeast bread with an artistic touchYeast bread is fun to make, and this effort was inspired by the local 'Allentown Fair', complete with a variety of cooking competitions. Fleischmann's Yeast sponsored one such event and I decided to do a mermaid bread sculpture.
Fleischmann's Yeast baking contest Recipe 1 pack Fleischmann's yeast * 1 cup warm water * 1 Tablespoon sugar * 1/4 cup canola oil * 1 teaspoon salt * 3 cups unbleached flour (more flour as needed for Kneading) * sesame and pumpkin seeds (few pieces) * 1 egg for wash Pour water into large bowl and sprinkle yeast on top, wait 5 minutes. Add Oil and salt and mix, then add half the flour and stir together. Add remaining flour and mix until dough leaves sides of bowl, then place on a floured counter. Knead for 5 minutes then place in an oiled bowl for an hour or until it doubles in size. Punch the dough down wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnite. In the morning, remove from fridge and let dough come up to room temp. Knead again and roll out to rectangle shape. Cut dough pieces for body, chest, arms, fins hair and head. Assemble pieces, cut scales with scissors and form body detail. Brush with egg wash and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
Well, I took my mermaid loaf to the Fair and will live to bake another day. In fact, I look forward to Monday - that's when my chocolate chip fudge brownies are going up for the Ghiradelli Chocolate prize money! Ok, so what if my toasty mermaid came to life and went for a swim? Hmmmm.....let's see what that would look like!
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