Turkey Shaped Bread
Turkey Shaped Bread RECIPE BY: CECE KIRKWOOD THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS.
What’s better than turkey on your festive holiday dinner table?
Turkey Shaped Bread! Well at least it is for me. But if you still love the actual turkey more, I promise, this bread will be one of the most beautifully delicious sides to the holidays.
I love this design because it truly brings a little bit of magic to your dinner tables. It is oh so simple to make and guess what?
You can use my Easy Homemade Bread Recipe as a base for the dough!
The Process
Prepare the Bread Dough
Follow my Easy Homemade Bread Recipe up through the final rest and rise (step 12)
Shape the Turkey Bread
This recipe is inspired by TikTok user @cottageloaves who first created this beauty in 2021. She uses a Sourdough bread for most of her bread designs, which you can also absolutely do!
Start with the upper “wings”
Using a dough scraper or a sharp knife, cut two small diagonal lines on either side of the top of the bread dough, but do not go all the way through the dough here. There should be about an inch of dough still holding the wings onto the top middle of the dough.
Grab the ends of the upper “wings”, stretch them slightly and pull them up and into the dough to rest on the main “body” of the dough. Press down the tips slightly into the dough so they stay in place.
Next, the “legs”
Cut similar diagonal lines on the bottom of the turkey, but this time, cut all the way through. We will reattach these to the bottom of the dough so they look like true drumsticks. To do this, twist the cut dough slightly and reattach to the body a little lower down than where they were originally cut from. Grab the edges of each “leg” and twist them together, folding one on top of the other to get that “tied up” bird look.
Dust the Shaped Turkey Bread
Finally, to achieve the sort of “golden deliciousness” that all turkeys get from their glaze, dust equal parts cocoa powder and paprika lightly over the dough. It’s okay if some spots are darker than others.
Bake and Enjoy!
Transfer the turkey to a lined baking sheet. Before placing it into the oven, grab another lined pan and fill it with ice cubes. Throw that pan in the oven on the bottom rack and place the pan with the turkey shaped bread on the middle rack.
Bake this for 15 minutes, then decrease heat to 375°F and bake for another 30 minutes. You’ll know when your bread is done, when you give it a little “tap” and it sounds nice and hollow.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack fully. Before cutting in, take a brush and dust off the excess cocoa powder and paprika mix. This will leave behind a nice golden “shine” for the bread!
Now it’s time to gobble it up!
The Turkey Shaped Bread Recipe
PrintTurkey Shaped Bread
- Prep Time: 3 hr
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 3 hr 45 min
- Yield: 1 Loaf 1x
Ingredients
- 1 Everyday Bread Loaf Dough
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp paprika
Instructions
-
Follow my Easy Homemade Bread Recipe up through the final rest and rise (step 12).
-
Shape the Upper Wings:
-
Using a dough scraper or a sharp knife, cut two small diagonal lines on either side of the top of the bread dough, but do not go all the way through the dough here. There should be about an inch of dough still holding the wings onto the top middle of the dough.
-
Grab the ends of the upper “wings”, stretch them slightly and pull them up and into the dough to rest on the main “body” of the dough. Press down the tips slightly into the dough so they stay in place.
-
-
Next, the drumstick “legs”:
-
Cut similar diagonal lines on the bottom of the turkey, but this time, cut all the way through. We will reattach these to the bottom of the dough so they look like true drumsticks. To do this, twist the cut dough slightly and reattach to the body a little lower down than where they were originally cut from. Grab the edges of each “leg” and twist them together, folding one on top of the other to get that “tied up” bird look.
-
-
Dust the “bird”:
-
Finally, to achieve the sort of “golden deliciousness” that all turkeys get from their glaze, dust equal parts cocoa powder and paprika lightly over the dough. It’s okay if some spots are darker than others.
-
-
Bake:
-
Transfer the turkey to a lined baking sheet. Before placing it into the oven, grab another lined pan and fill it with ice cubes. Throw that pan in the oven on the bottom rack and place the pan with the turkey shaped bread on the middle rack.
-
Bake this for 15 minutes, then decrease heat to 375°F and bake for another 30 minutes. You’ll know when your bread is done, when you give it a little “tap” and it sounds nice and hollow.
-
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack fully.
-
Before cutting in, take a brush and dust off the excess cocoa powder and paprika mix. This will leave behind a nice golden “shine” for the bread!
-
Now it’s time to gobble it up!
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Keywords: Bread, Fall Recipes, Turkey Shaped Bread, Turkey Bread
