Bunny Bread!

I wasn't planning on posting this, but my mom liked it a lot over Easter, so maybe you will, too!  It's a fun breakfast bread that we finished every scrap of this year.

Not perfect, but the girls thought it was sufficiently bunny-like

In your breadmaker, combine 4 cups whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup honey, 2 tablespoon yogurt, 3 eggs (or just egg whites), 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel, and 1/4 cup apple sauce.  Start on the 'dough' cycle to mix it well.  Turn off breadmaker once mixed, place 1/4 cup whole wheat flour on top of mixture, with 1 envelope yeast and 2 teaspoons of salt on top of the dry flour.  Allow to sit for 12-24 hours before running the 'dough' cycle fully.

Add 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup dried cherries to the dough as you knead the dough until smooth and elastic.  Placed in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover and let rise for 1 hr or until doubled.

Shape into a bunny; cut off 2/3 of the dough and form it into an egg-shaped ball.  Place onto your baking sheet.  Cut the remaining dough in half, form one into a teardrop shape.  This will be the bunny head and ears.  Roll and pull the thin end longer, then cut the thin end down the middle to be the two ears, attached to the head.  On the narrow part of the egg-shaped body, press down on the edge of the dough to make an indentation where the head will rest and position it.

Cut 1/3 of the dough remaining, make a rope 6 inches long, make a u-shape and slide it until the body and head, leaving loose ends sticking out about 2 inches to make the front paws.

From the last of the remaining dough, make a rope 9 inches long, and make the ends fatter and the middle thinner.  Fold the rope in half and make a ball in the middle to be the tail.  Tuck the thin parts under the bunny body and leave the tail and ends of the back legs sticking out.

Cover your bunny and let it rise about 30 min.  If desired, then use scissors to form rabbit toes, slits for eyes, maybe tiny cuts for eyelashes.  Pinch the nose into place.

Bake at 350 for 40 min.

Serve with bunny salad (made with canned pear halves, cloves for eyes, marshmallows, and a maraschino cherry):