Owl Face Reveal Bread

Directions

1. 1In a small, microwave-safe bowl, whisk milk and egg yolk together and microwave 30 seconds. Set aside.
2. 2In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together flour, sugar and yeast.
3. 3Add milk mixture, butter and salt and stir to combine. Using dough hook and stand mixer or by hand on a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it comes together and is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes with stand mixer and 10 minutes by hand.
4. 4Divide dough into three pieces: two of equal size, one about 1/4 the size of the other two pieces.
5. 5Add red food coloring to one larger piece, yellow to the other larger piece and brown to the small piece. Knead in food coloring either by hand or in stand mixer (clean out bowl thoroughly between colors). Place dough pieces in three separate lightly greased bowls, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
6. 6Punch down risen dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut off a small piece of yellow dough and stretch it to form the base of the dough (it should be about 7 inches long, 2-3 inches wide). Roll out two more equal pieces of yellow dough into 7-inch logs to form the rest of the base. Place both logs parallel to each other on top of base, using a little bit of water on your fingers to help the dough adhere.*
7. 7Cut off a small piece of brown dough and roll it into a 7-inch log. Pinch one end to form the log into a long triangle and place it upside down between the two yellow logs, using water to adhere if necessary (the dough should almost look like a hot dog and bun at this point).*
8. 8Cut off another small piece of yellow dough and roll it out to a thin rectangle that will completely cover top and sides of dough (but not the edges).*
9. 9Use three more small pieces of yellow dough to roll into 7-inch logs and place them parallel to each other and about 1 inch apart on top of the dough, using water to adhere if necessary.*
10. 10Cut off a little less than half the red dough and cut that piece in half. Roll out each piece to a thin rectangle, about 7 inches long and 4 inches wide. Divide remaining brown dough in half and roll each piece into a 7-inch log. Place one brown log in the center of each red rectangle, lengthwise. Roll up red dough around brown dough to form a log.*
11. 11Place each red log between small yellow logs on top of dough, using water to adhere if necessary.*
12. 12Use remaining piece of yellow dough to roll out into a thin rectangle that will completely cover top and sides of dough (but not the edges).*
13. 13Use remaining red dough to roll out into a thin rectangle that will completely cover entire dough, including edges, using water to adhere if necessary.*
14. 14Place entire dough in a lightly greased 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
15. 15Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. When dough is risen, uncover and bake 30 minutes or until golden brown and a thermometer inserted in the bottom center registers 190 degrees F.
16. 16Remove dough from oven and loaf pan and allow to cool completely on cooling rack before slicing to reveal your cute owl face.
17. 17*NOTE: See article for more detailed step-by-step photos.