Bird Bread Rolls | #BreadBakers

 Soft in the center and slightly crisp on the outside, Bird Bread Rolls are slightly sweet. These make a lovely accompaniment to hot soup. Kids love to eat the little bread birds just plain or with some butter.




Winter has been pretty severe in our latitude so far. It hasn’t snowed yet but the low temperature   has caused the lotus pond to freeze and the adjoining birdbath looks like a massive piece of misshapen glass.

Simple things in life keep us going and give much more happiness than the grander affairs. And happiness never comes in large doses. Small flecks of happiness are all around us. It needs a receptive soul to savour these.




A rose finch peeping through a glass window is happiness.




A Black Lored Tit flitting on the branches of the Cherry tree and letting out sonorous notes is happiness.




We are the happiest people in the world when the Sun magically appears on a cold winter day, lifting spirits and letting rid of top layers of heavy clothing. For a moment, it feels that we are in Spring.




It was a warm day yesterday and we baked bird-shaped bread rolls for dinner. Happiness is also the squeals of excitement let out by the kids as they shaped the birds with balls of dough. It became an interesting family project and in no time we had a tray of bird rolls ready in the oven.




I kept the dough on the sweeter side. You may reduce the sugar. Use any bread dough that works for you. We got so excited with the shaping that we made the rolls twice.




 The first time, we made two birds and the next day, one bird. 

You may use whole wheat flour as well. In that case, you will have to increase the liquids.

Bird rolls were enjoyed with hot soup.


 


Bird Bread Rolls

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour/ whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup milk + ½ cup water (more if required and 2-4 tablespoons more if using whole wheat flour)
  • 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
  • 4 tablespoons unrefined sugar
  • ¼ cup oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter (to brush warm rolls)
  • Few black raisins or choco chips for eyes
  • A toothpick.

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk flour and salt. Keep aside.
  2. Mix milk and water and heat it until warm. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add yeast. Mix and cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Add oil and mix.
  3. Add dry ingredients and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Transfer to the counter. Knead to get a soft and smooth dough. Add more water only if the dough feels very dry.
  4. Transfer to a greased bowl. Turn around once to coat evenly with oil. Cover and keep in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until almost double.
  5. Punch and knead for 1-2 minutes. Let dough rest for 5-6 minutes. Pinch out small balls of dough. Roll out one ball at a time into a rope of about 6-8 inches in length.
  6. Now tie each roll into a knot from the center. Lift one free end of the knot and shape it into the birds head. Pull out the beak. Shape the head and beak. The other free end of the knot will be the tail. Flatten it with the index finger and press it with a fork to make feathers. You can also cut with a knife and shape the tail feathers.
  7. Arrange the rolls on a lined baking tray. Cover and keep in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes or until puffy.
  8. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls turn a beautiful golden.
  9. Transfer from the oven to the cooling rack. Brush warm rolls with butter.
  10. With a toothpick, make holes for eyes. Press a choco-chip / black raisin into the hole.
Linking to #BreadBakers


#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

The theme this month is animal-shaped bread. And our host is Stacy who blogs at Food Lust People Love.  Check out some animal-shaped deliciousness by our members.

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121 comments:

  1. Cute looking birds, beautiful color they have!

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  2. Your birds, both photographed and edible, are beautiful, Namita! I love that this became a fun family project. Perhaps your children will want to make some of the other breads we are sharing today!

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  3. You are a constant amazement to me.....everything about this post is beautiful, calming and serene.

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  4. Beautiful. Thanks for showing us how to shape them! I can't wait to try this.

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  5. These are just so precious! What a beautiful roll!

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  6. These are really cute birdies, love both bread and birds picture .

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  7. These are incredibly adorable! Who knew that a little twist of the bread would create these darling little rolls!

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  8. Those are absolutely adorable and amazingly shaped! And gorgeous color on them as well.

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  9. Stunning birds! The color of the bread is beautiful. Lovely bird bread.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Radha😊

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    2. Can I use frozen dough balls for this recipe or canned biskets. Those look so adorable

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    3. Hallo, i am German. I tried it twice. But the birds always lost fashion while baking and their are looking more than seals🙈 My dough is still firm.

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  10. Those birds are the cutest. I need to invite my little cousin to make some birds.

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    Replies
    1. I am sure that your cousin will really enjoy making the birds 😊

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  11. LOVELY AND SO NCCE OF YOU TO SHARE YOUR RECIPES

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your wonderful cooking. Love the shape birds.

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  12. Wow they look so so cute. It's amazing and the color of the bread or the bird has come out so well..Awesome

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  13. You really make great breads. As an accomplished bread maker , can u tell me the difference texturewise between no-knead bread and regular bread.

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    1. Hello! a no knead bread has an open crumb, while a kneaded bread has a closed crumb, its more like a store bought bread. No knead breads are made with a high hydration dough, we do a couple of stretch and fold before baking. If a no knead bread has a long fermentation time, it will have more complex flavours.

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  14. All your bread recipes are truly exceptional. Its high time you start with recipe videos which would really help nivices like me.

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    1. Thank you so much! That's so sweet of you. If you are on instagram, you'll find the video on shaping these in the highlights. My account handle is @ambrosiasoulfulcooking

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  15. I am really excited to try your bread. I have the dough rising now. I just checked the temperature for baking and it says 380 C. When I did the conversion that is 716 F. My oven only goes to 500, and that is on the cleaning setting. Am I miss reading?

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    1. Hello! That was an error. Thank you for bringing it to my notice :) The temperature is 180 Degrees C

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    2. How many does this recipe make. Getting g ready to start for tomorrow

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    3. LOL those would be black birds!

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  16. Can I use regular sugar instead of unrefined? If not do they sell that in stores?

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    Replies
    1. You may use any sugar to activate the yeast.

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  17. I've been making these for years, but my recipe includes a lemon glaze.

    Glaze:
    In a small bowl, combine 1-1/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 to 3 tablespoons evaporated milk, 2 to 3 drops yellow or red food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; beat until smooth. Glaze bodies of chicks, not heads or tails.

    *If desired, cover chicks with plastic wrap; refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let chicks sit at room temperature, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Bake and glaze as directed.

    Note: Serve in a basket lined with a blue towel, with pink and yellow hard boiled eggs, and tiny artificial flowers.

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    Replies
    1. That's a genius idea. Am sure the birds in the basket must have looked beautiful.

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  18. Can we just use bisquick dough rolls instead?

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    Replies
    1. The bisquick dough will not be as pliable as yeasted dough. You may have difficulty in shaping the birds.

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  19. Is it possible to make this dough a day ahead before baking it! Would love to prep before all the family comes in.

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    Replies
    1. Yes. You may prepare dough in advance and freeze it.

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  20. I would so like to see a video of the shaping process. I am lost with the photos! 😒💗

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    Replies
    1. I have posted the video in the Instagram. You can see it in the highlights, my insta handle is @ambrosiasoulfulcooking

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  21. How many rolls does this recipe make?

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    Replies
    1. I could make around 14 medium size birds

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  22. Can you use ready to bake rolls?

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  23. How many bird rolls does a batch make?

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  24. What size are the birds? What size and length of bread dough roll?

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    Replies
    1. I shaped medium sized birds. Sorry, I did not measure the birds.

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  25. Can you make ahead and freeze? Cute idea! Thank you!

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  26. My hands won't let me knead bread dough anymore. Is there a ready to cook dough that might work with these? They are adorable!

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  27. Can you use almond flour instead?

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    Replies
    1. Almond flour will not work. it will not be pliable as the regular dough.

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  28. Do you have a video of how you shaped these rolls?

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    1. I have posted a video on shaping the rolls on my Instagram. You can see it in the highlights. My insta handle is @ambrosiasoulfulcooking.com

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  29. How do I make it so the beak doesn’t puff while baking?

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  30. How many rolls/birds does this recipe make?

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  31. Omg, I tried to make these using my Hawaiian roll dough and my birds looked like the seals on the docks in SF Bay....lmao I'm gonna keep trying.

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  32. Adorable. Was making them for Easter but I thought the tails made them look more like seals. My husband loved them and though they were totally appropriate. He said "haven't you ever heard of Easter Seals?"

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  33. Please how many will this make? Looking to make for Easter. Thank you they are adorable!

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  34. What do you use for the eyes

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    Replies
    1. Little chocolate chips or raisin pieces.

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  35. How many does this recipe make?

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  36. What about brushing on a bit of color before baking?

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  37. Can you please add Fahrenheit along with Celsius? Thank you and thanks for the recipe.

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  38. How many rolls does this bird roll recipe yield? Trying to figure out how to divide up the dough to make birds.

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  39. how many does it make?
    How big are the balls that you pinch off?

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  40. So 180 C. degrees c. Is what degree F.?

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  41. Ok so 356 F. Degrees = 180 C.

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  42. How many little birds does one batch make?

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  43. How many birds does this yield? I am currently making them now for Easter Dinner at Church. Thank you so much for the recipe!!

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  44. About how many bird rolls does one batch make?

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  45. Approximately how many does one recipe make?

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  46. I know it wouldn't be the same, but would canned biscuits/crescent roll dough work?

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  47. How many does it make

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  48. The little fat birds also look like seals.

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  49. Love them!! :D Is it possible to make them gluten/lactose free?

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  50. Could I use thawed frozen bread dough? I have some sub and some hoagie “bun” shaped frozen dough! I would love to make these birds!!! ❤️

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  51. Can the dough be made the day before?

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  52. How many little birds does one recipe make?

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  53. How many rolls does this recipe make? Thank you

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  54. How long can we store this and how can we keep this please

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  55. Would love to know approximately how many birds this recipe makes. I need to know how many grams each dough ball should weigh so they turn out so nicely shaped! Thanks!

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  56. Can this recipe be done in a bread maker ? Thanks

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  57. i’m pretty sure that i had followed the instructions properly but it won’t bake all the way into the middle. do you have any advice?

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  58. They were meant to be some delicate sparrows and mine came out overweighy birds 🐦

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  59. So adorable

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  60. 👍🙏💖

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  61. These look absolutely lovely - I'm sure I missed it in the recipe, but how many servings does this make? I can't quite work out how small I should be making the dough balls before starting to shape them.

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  62. Hello! Would you pls add the number of rolls this makes? Thank you!

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  63. Would this work using something store bought like a can of biscuits or crescent rolls?

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  64. Thanks! These are great!

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  65. How can I print recipe

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  66. Would love to see a video on this.

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  67. Can you refrigerate the dough and use later

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  68. The birds are really cute

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  69. They are beautiful. Will have to get my granddaughter round to make some of these.

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  70. My 11yo son made these today! They turned out beautiful and delicious. The only problem is there aren't any leftovers. We will have to double the recipe next time. Thanks so much!

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  71. Do they a book if so I would buy one right away

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  72. Thank you for your recipe got to try this thank you again God Bless You 🌹💖🙏

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  73. Looks great, I will try.
    Thanks!

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  74. Wow very nice ideas

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  75. I have been making these for over 35 years, I always brush a honey butter on them when I remove from oven.

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    Replies
    1. That's a great idea. Thank you for sharing:)

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  76. How thick should the dough roll be. You gave the length, but it would be helpful to have thickness.

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    1. Hello, it should be as thick as a rope, approx. 1 inch. Happy Baking!

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  77. Merci beaucoup pour les souvenirs que vos petits oiseaux ont fait renaître! Ma maman nous en faisaient avec le reste de pate à pizza ...

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    1. Thank you Sylvie. I translated your comment. I am so happy that it made you nostalgic.

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  78. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’m in the process of making them today as a surprise for my daughters birthday with her favorite meal. ( Deer Stew)

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    1. I am so happy that you are baking these for your daughter. Hope she loves these :)

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  79. If you leave the beak out, they are cute little seals!

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  80. First attempt today, followed the recipe but ended up needing 4 cups of all-purpose flour vs. 3 to get the dough to come out smooth vs. sticky. Should the flour be packed vs. loose in the cup?

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    Replies
    1. Use a scoop to fill up your cup. It should not be tightly packed.

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  81. Can I use self rising flour in this recipe thanks for sharing

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  82. How small are the rolls in comparison to, say, your hand. I can't seem to work out how small they are with the marble table top :)

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    Replies
    1. The rolls are smaller than the palm. The rolls however become slightly bigger when baked.

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  83. Thank you so much for this! I've made a large tray of these and every time my parrots misbehave too badly, I bite the head off one of the breads and eat it in front of them. They have been very well behaved ever since! Thank you for bring peace and serenity back into my life!

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    1. This is really hilarious. I am so happy that you are enjoying the rolls and also putting them to good use :)

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