Rudolph the Reindeer Sourdough Bread

This naturally leavened Rudolph the Reindeer shaped sourdough bread  made with  5  simple ingredients  bread flour, rye and spelt flour, salt, and water.

I like to make shaped sourdough bread, here is dog shaped and bird sourdough bread, Jack Skellington  Sourdough bread  and turkey shaped sourdough bread.

Naturally, leavened Rudolph  the Reindeer  Sourdough Bread can be centerpiece on your Christmas Table.

It is the holiday season.

It is easy to put together. You need ½ teaspoon red food coloring for his nose and black cocoa powder for the eyes.

If you have artistic mind and your little one is there to play with the dough, then try this easy Rudolph the reindeer sourdough bread.

How to make this Rudolph the Reindeer Sourdough Bread?

Use a clear shot of the ingredients for this recipe, prepped, and labeled if necessary. Insert the ingredients into the list below, omitting quantities.

Sourdough starter : I used  100% hydration 40 : 10  bread flour and Whole Wheat flour starter. If you don’t have active sourdough starter in hand, no problem,  make one with recipe in this website.  Starters comprise 20% of the dough.

Bread flour :  I used artisan bread flour (87.5%). Always use high protein bread flour.

Spelt flour : Spelt has light texture and nutty flavor with more goodness than whole wheat flour ( 7.4% of  total flour).

Rye flour  :  Adds nutty taste to the sourdough . ( 6.17% of total flour)

Water : Keep the hydration around 75% so that you will be able to score the dough .

Salt :  Adds  taste to the bread as well as adjust the rate of fermentation. Salt is at 2%.

Cinnamon : This is for decoration. This combo gives amazing brown color so do not miss this.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

For making  dough with  you need to add starter, flour, salt, and water. Do a bulk fermentation for 5 hours.

Divide the dough into 70:30 portions and set aside the dough for proof overnight in the refrigerator. Largest portion is for the head and 30 percent for antlers.

I think you can change to 80:20  80 for the head  20 for antlers. That way you will get thin antlers.

Variations

 If you want, you can  increase the flavor of sourdough bread with either dry herbs  or spices. Rosemary, garlic, chive will be great option. You can add to dough as well as topping

Use white whole wheat flour  to make this sourdough. That way it will be healthier bread.

Equipment

You need a good dough whisk, Pyrex bowl, weighing balance and a large pizza pan to make this bread.

Top tip to make Rudolph the Reindeer Sourdough Bread

Make sure to  use 75% hydration of dough which makes easier to score the dough.

Once you transferred the shaped dough from banneton do not brush them with rice flour. Then antlers and ears  won’t attach to the body.

Use black cocoa powder paste or charcoal paste for coloring the eyes

Dust with cinnamon  on the top of the dough to get characteristic  color after baking.

You need to cut dough pieces to make ears. Use boule for the head.

Antlers  shapes cut out  from the batard. However, if you use thinner dough, it will look pretty. But transferring from one to another will be difficult.

There is chance to break  into pieces.

Make sure to make a score underneath so that bread will not crack while in the oven.

Baking Schedule

Autolyse the Flours with  water 12.30 A.M

Incorporate the starter  into the dough 1.00 P.M

Add salt into dough around 1.30 P.M

After 1 hour stretch and fold the dough around 2.30 P.M

Then around 3.30 P.M  stretch and fold the dough once again

Divide the dough  into  70: 30 % pieces

Around 4.30 P.M Laminate  both the dough.

Pre-shape at 6.00 P.M.

For head shape the dough into boule, while for antlers shape the dough into batard.

Cold Retard/ Refrigerator Overnight up to 14 hours

Next morning  cut out the pieces for ears from the boule and make the head.

Divide the batard into two equal pieces and makes cuts so that it resembles the  antlers.

Bake at  7.00 A.M

I have made this bread as part of bread art event by #breadbakers

Print Recipe

5 from 50 votes

Rudolph the Reindeer Sourdough Bread

 

This naturally leavened Rudolph the Reindeer sourdough bread  made with 5  simple ingredients  bread flour, rye and spelt flour, salt, and water.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

12 hours hrs

Total Time12 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Rudolph the reindeer sourdough bread, Soudough bread

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 154kcal

Author: Swathi (Ambujom Saraswathy)

Equipment

• Pyrex bowl
• kitchen scale
• Pizza pan

Ingredients

Dough

• 350 g Bread flour
• 30 g Spelt flour
• 25 g Rye flour
• 80 g starter
• 305 g water
• 8 g salt
• Topping
• Cinnamon for sprinkling.

Instructions

Autolyse the dough

• When you are ready to make the dough. Mix all the flours in 305g water in a large bowl. And mix by hand until there are no dry bits. Knead for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes

Make Dough

• After 30 minutes incorporate starter into the autolyzed dough
• Then after 30 minutes add salt . Mix well and cover the dough again and set aside

Stretch and fold

• Then do two stretch and fold the dough at 1 hour interval. This means grabbing the underside of the dough and stretching it up and over the rest of the dough. Perform a few of these turns each time you manage the dough.

Laminate the dough

• Divide the dough into two pieces one is 554 g and other 237g and do a lamination of the dough. Means spread the dough into thin sheet and fold them into a letter fold.

Shaping the dough

• Then transfer the dough lightly floured workspace and shape the large pieces into round Boule. Small piece into batard. Fold the third of the dough closest to you inward, and then stretch the dough out to the sides. Fold the right, and then left sides in toward the center. Fold the top of the dough inward, and then wrap the bottom part of the dough over it all. If you want, you can make pre-shape and set aside for 15 minutes and then make a final shape.
• Place seam side up in a proofing basket lined well with flour.

Cold Proof

• After transferring to Banneton, Let rise the dough overnight in the refrigerator. You can keep this cold retard up to 14 hours.

Shape and bake

• When you are ready to bake preheat oven to 500°F/ 260°C.
• Remove the dough from the proofing basket and score .
• First make two cut on the round boule . which make it Reindeer ears.
• Then split the batard into two pieces which will become the antlers. Make a cut into between to create branches.
• Draw to eyes using black cocoa powder paste.
• Red nose with red food coloring.
• Dust with cinnamon which gives color to the bread when it is baked.
• Transfer shaped reindeer dough into large pizza pan lined with parchment paper.
• Bake at 450°F/ 232°C for 25 minutes with ice cubes in a pan
• Continue to bake for another 5 minutes or until the crust is deeply caramelized.
• Once bread comes out of oven cool completely in the wire rack and cut it into slice and enjoy

Video

Notes

If you want thin antlers, then reduce the amount of dough to 20 % instead of 30 % of total dough.

Nutrition

Calories: 154kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 313mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @nidhinikhil or tag #zestysouthindiankitchenrecipes!

Swathi

This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread.  All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.