Spider Bread Recipes

SANTA BREAD

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer, then remove from the heat and let cool to 115 degrees F. Stir in the yeast and let stand until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the sugar, butter and 2 of the eggs and stir until smooth. Add the flour and salt and mix on medium-low speed until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium high and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a rimless baking sheet with parchment.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pinch off 1 golf ball-size piece of dough and roll it into a ball for the pompom of Santa's hat. Pinch off 1 ping pong ball-size piece of dough and roll it into a ball for Santa's nose. Cut off a 1-inch-wide, 9-inch-long, 1/4-inch-thick strip and roll it into a smooth log for the brim of Santa's hat. Cut another piece of dough into a roughly 2-inch-wide, 5-inch-long, 1/4-inch-thick strip of dough. Snip evenly from the bottom (but not all the way up) and spread the strips out slightly to form a mustache.
• Roll out the remaining dough into an elongated diamond with the top triangle of the diamond double the length of the bottom triangle. Position the diamond on the prepared baking sheet with the top of the longer triangle hanging over the edge. Working on the shorter triangle, use scissors or a knife to cut 1/2-inch-wide strips of dough up toward the middle, stopping at the imaginary line where the top and bottom triangles meet. Pick up each strip of the beard and twist it, if you like, lying the twists down next to each other naturally so they look like a beard.
• Fold over the overhanging corner of dough so that it fits back within the edge of the baking sheet and position it slightly to the right to form the tip of Santa's hat. Position the dough log across the top triangle where the tip of Santa's hat ends and tuck the ends under the sides of the triangle; this is the brim of Santa's hat. Position the golf ball-size ball of dough over the tip and against the brim and press lightly to adhere for the pompom of Santa's hat. Arrange the mustache at the top of the beard, then position the ping pong ball-size ball of dough above the mustache to make Santa's nose.
• Beat the remaining egg with the cream in a bowl to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the dough, including the pompom and brim of the hat but not the body of the hat, with the plain egg wash, making sure to get into all the crevices of the shapes. Add the food coloring to the egg wash, stir to combine, then carefully brush the body of the hat with the red egg wash, being careful not to let it stain the pompom or brim.
• Bake until the bread is golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately set the chocolate chips proportionally on either side and slightly above Santa's nose to form his eyes. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a wire rack. Using cut pieces of parchment paper or foil to shield Santa's nose, face and the body of his hat, dust the beard, brim and pompom with confectioners' sugar. Remove the paper and serve the bread while still warm with butter.

SPIDER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the water, milk and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add 1 egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape half of the dough into a ball and place in the center of a greased baking sheet. Divide remaining dough in half. Roll one half into a ball and place at the top for head., Divide remaining dough into eight portions. Roll each into a 5-in. rope. Attach ropes to body, forming legs. If desired, place a ball of foil under each leg to prop. Press all edges together to seal. Add raisins for eyes. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 25 minutes., Beat the remaining egg; brush over dough. With a sharp knife, make a shallow cut on face for smile. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

SPIDER BREAD

Steps:

• Sift together the cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking soda.
• Combine the buttermilk and eggs and stir into the cornmeal mixture. Mix until smooth.
• Grease a nine-inch cast-iron pan with legs and pour in the cornmeal mixture. Bake over coals for about 30 minutes.

SPIDER BITES

Steps:

• Place parchment paper on baking sheet; set aside.
• In a large glass microwave-safe bowl combine chocolate chips and peanut butter. Melt on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and stir until smooth.
• Stir in pretzel sticks. With clean hands grab pretzel sticks and drop on prepared baking sheet in clusters to look like spiders.
• Place in freezer for 5 minutes or until to chocolate is hardened. Remove and serve.

SPIDER CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Place cornmeal in a bowl. Sift in flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix well.
• In a separate bowl, combine eggs and 2 cups of milk. Add approximately 1/2 of this to the dry ingredients.
• Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet or round baking dish. Pour in batter and spread evenly.
• Pour in remaining cup of milk/eggs over top. Do not stir.
• Bake at once in a preheated 375°F oven for about 25 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

SPIDER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, blend all the dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, egg, and melted butter. Lightly blend until just mixed. Pour into well-greased 10-inch Dutch oven using 4-6 briquets under the Dutch oven and 18-20 briquets on the lid to bake, or 9-inch or 10-inch cast iron frying pan and bake. If no cast iron frying pan is available, use a large cake pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes at 350°F. Spider bread is done when toothpick inserted into bread comes out clean.Spiced with More Tall Tales - Breads

HALLOWEEN SPIDER BREAD

Steps:

• Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
• Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, minus the egg wash, mozzarella, marinara, and spider eyes. If possible, put the activated charcoal in your bowl first and gently cover it with the other ingredients. The charcoal powder poofs and gets airborne very easily. The dough should feel fairly dry, like pizza dough.
• Cover and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. Then perform a round of stretching and folding on the dough. You probably won't need any more gluten development but if your dough doesn't feel strong and elastic already, you can do another round of stretching and folding after a 20-30 minute rest.
• Let the dough rise until it has expanded by about 75%. This took 8 hours from when I mixed the dough (cool kitchen). At this point you can refrigerate the dough overnight or begin shaping now.
• Shaping and Final Proof (See the Photo Gallery below)
• Place a sheet of parchment paper on a half baking sheet or an even larger baking sheet.
• Scrape the fermented dough out of your bowl onto a lightly oiled work surface.
• Press down on the dough to evenly de-gas it. Cut it in half, then cut one of the halves in half (two quarters). Finally, cut one of the quarters into four pieces (eighths). For less spider head and more spider leg length, cut the second half differently: 1/3 for the head and 2/3 for the four leg tubes.
• Roll the half into a tight ball for the body. Place it on the parchment paper.
• Put cheese in the center of the quarter and wrap it into a ball for the head. Place this 1-2 inches in front of the body, leaving space for the legs.
• Press the four small dough pieces flat and line them with cheese. Wrap the dough around the cheese, sealing it on all sides, and then roll the tube longer under your palms. Lay the four tubes across the space between the body and head so that each tube is two legs.
• Lay a damp cloth or oiled plastic wrap over the dough for the final proof. My dough proofed for about 1.5 hours as it was slightly chilled from being refrigerated overnight.
• Baking and Decorating
• Preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Brush the surface of your spider with a beaten egg and then load it into the oven.
• Bake the spider for about 35 minutes or until the center of the body segment is over 190°F. The legs will crisp up but shouldn't burn.
• Let the bread cool for about 30 minutes and then cut out the well in the spider's body for your dip. You can do this by placing the top of the dip cup you've chosen on the spider and tracing with your knife around it. (The spider "guts" are a tasty snack heated up with some extra cheese and marinara.)
• Warm up your marinara, place it in the cup, and fit the cup into the spider's body.
• Serve and enjoy!

NEW ENGLAND SPIDER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Combine the milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside to sour. In another bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the eggs into the soured milk; stir into the dry ingredients and set batter aside.
• Melt butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and pour in the batter. Pour the cream into the center and slide the skillet into the oven. Bake until golden brown on top, about 45 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve warm. (It's perfect on its own, but be prepared that people are going to want to put something on the spider cake -- butter and honey, jam, or just butter.).
• NOTE: You can use 2 cups of buttermilk instead of souring regular milk. And, if spider cake inspires you to buy a cast-iron skillet, you'll need to season it when it first comes out of the box (unless you buy a preseasoned one.).

IRISH SODA BREAD WITH BUTTERMILK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (191 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix flours, rolled oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix buttermilk and melted butter together in a small bowl.
• Make a small well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk-butter mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
• Turn the dough out on a generously floured surface and knead into a smooth, round loaf. Place on the cookie sheet and cut a shallow X into the top of the dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Carefully tap the bottom of the loaf; it should sound hollow. Cool on a baking rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

SPIDER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, blend all the dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, egg, and melted butter. Lightly blend until just mixed. Pour into well-greased 10-inch Dutch oven using 4-6 briquets under the Dutch oven and 18-20 briquets on the lid to bake, or 9-inch or 10-inch cast iron frying pan and bake. If no cast iron frying pan is available, use a large cake pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes at 350°F. Spider bread is done when toothpick inserted into bread comes out clean.Spiced with More Tall Tales - Breads

NEW ENGLAND SPIDER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside to sour. In another bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt. Whisk eggs into the soured milk. Stir into dry ingredients and set batter aside.
• Melt butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Pour in the batter. Pour cream into the center, slide skillet into the oven and bake until golden brown on top, about 45 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve warm.