Easter Bunny Brioche Rolls with Red Star Yeast—with Video!

Easter Bunny Brioche Rolls | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Yes, we took on the Pinterest Easter bunnies. Have you seen them, pinned on everyone’s holiday boards? Turns out that picture is actually of a bunny cookie, and these sad rolls are more an accurate visual of how things would turn out. But, I’m happy to tell you that after making dozens upon dozens of rolls, we have some tips to help you make some cute little bunnies.

However, I won’t lie to you (it is Easter, after all) that these Easter Bunny Brioche Rolls are a little tricky. And you may have some rolls that end up a little wonky. But, as my children oohed and ahhed over even the misshapen ones, I could see we had a winner idea.

Easter Bunny Brioche Rolls | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Easter Bunny Brioche Rolls

I made the Easter Bunny Brioche Rolls with the whole wheat brioche dough, the challah dough, and the master dough. The master dough made slightly better bunnies – the ears held their shape a bit better, but I will admit the brioche made for a tastier treat (especially coated in sugar). Whichever dough you use, make sure it is very cold (chilled at least overnight).

To Make the Bunnies: (Head to our Instagram page for videos on how to make the bunnies! You can find them located in our Instagram Stories). This recipe is in partnership with Red Star Yeast.

Preheat your oven to 350F, and then line baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 2 ounce pieces, and roll into a ball on a lightly floured surface. (The rolls puff up quite a bit, and I found making them any bigger didn’t work well; the bunnies just looked very ‘blobby’.) Shape the dough into an oval, and then use a sharp scissor to cut the bunny ears. You want the ears to be a bit thick; if they are too thin they will bake right back into the roll without any shape.

After snipping out ears, gently pull the ears back and round off the point (I’ve found this to be important, otherwise the ears shrink and take the shape of pigs or cat ears). Gently press the ears into the roll, but not too much or they will bake right back in. Gently brush the bunnies with egg wash, and then use the sharp end of a skewer or toothpick to poke eye holes. Use the dull end of the skewer to make ear indentations. You may have to do this a few times to make it stay. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 15 minutes (this will help bunnies keep their shape) and then bake for 13-17 minutes until golden brown.

Let the bunnies cool slightly on the baking sheet. If desired, you can use a pastry brush to brush them lightly with melted butter, and then roll the bunnies into granulated sugar, or sprinkle them lightly with the sugar. You may have to re-poke the eye holes both after they come out of the oven, and after rolling them in sugar.

(Of course, if you are getting frustrated at any point, you can roll the 2 ounce portions into balls, and bake them into circles. Then, brush with butter and roll into sugar, and serve! Easy sugared brioche rolls for breakfast or Easter brunch.)

Note:  Red Star Yeast is a sponsor of BreadIn5’s book promotion and other activities, and provided free samples of Red Star and Platinum yeast for testing. BreadIn5.com is readers supported–when you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.

50 thoughts to “Easter Bunny Brioche Rolls with Red Star Yeast—with Video!”

  1. Great idea! Just yesterday I made up a batch of brioche to see how it would turn out for Easter (first time I ever made it and only the second time I’ve made bread). Love your recipes. Thanks so much!

  2. A family member is allergic to eggs. What do you suggest for substitute for eggs in breads. I like to have food that everyone can enjoy. Thank you.

  3. Chilling my dough tonight and hoping for the best tomorrow! Serving these at an early Easter dinner this Saturday. Thanks for taking the time to work out the kinks. Hoping (or should I say “hopping”) my bunnies have ears once they are baked!

    1. Have not, but bet it’ll work in place of whole wheat. See Healthy Bread in Five or whole grain recipes in the other books.

  4. I have a question about the pizza spirals in APin5. It says to bake them at 450 degrees, is that a typo? I baked mine for slightly less than the 15 minutes called for, and they were burnt. My oven is 25 degrees cooler, so I adjusted accordingly, so I know my oven temp was correct. I would think they should be baked at like 400 degrees instead of 450…
    Also, I have a question about the savory brioche dough, also in APin5. It’s an enriched dough, so I thought it couldn’t be baked at the high temps that the lean doughs are cooked at, but I don’t see a note about that in the recipe (it just says to use with any pizza recipe in the book), and I don’t see a note about it in any of the recipes that say you can use the savory brioche dough. Anyway, I guess my question is, what temp should the savory brioche dough be baked at?

    1. Hmm. Not a typo, and I can’t figure out what’s wrong here. Assume you’re using an oven thermometer to test the oven when completely preheated, something like https://ow.ly/8CVPU. Savory brioche can be baked at high temp as long as the baking time is short, as in pizza. You can get away with the much-higher temps even with brioche.

      1. Yes, I use an oven thermometer, which is how I knew my oven is 25 degrees cool. I’ve adjusted the oven so it’s now correct, but I still glance to make sure the oven temp is correct when I go to bake something. Weird. Maybe I’ll just try a lower temp next time. They looked like they would be good!

  5. I should note that I did NOT use the savory brioche dough for the pizza spirals, those were two separate questions. I used the cornmeal olive oil dough for the pizza spirals. Just wanted to clarify.

  6. I’m baking from your first book, Artisan Bread in 5, and wondering if I should wash the dough bucket when I try a different type of bread. I’m baking the master recipe boule, and want to try the rye bread recipe. I’m enjoying being able to bake excellent bread thanks to you!

    1. don’t have to! (unless there’s dairy or egg in the recipe). In addition to a lazy solution, it’s nice to jump-start sourdough flavor in the next batch this way.

    2. I’ve had no problem following the Master Recipe or the Tossable Pizza Dough with rye or the Healthy Master Recipe, but if I have a rye with caraway in it the caraway flavor lingers.

      So, for my tastes, I wash after any bread that has a strong flavoring agent in it — caraway, garlic, rosemary, etc.

      1. Yes, maybe that central European caraway thing maybe doesn’t go with southern European pizza… 🙂

  7. Hey, my hubby found the picture and got me to make some for Easter, too! They were fun! Though,I am noy as precise as you are. Call them bunny buns. . . Will make them again.

  8. I didn’t make the bunnies, but I did make a homemade batch of McDonald’s Cinnamelts-like treats with your brioche dough using a large, Texas size muffin/cupcake pan. Wow! Rolled the chilled dough into a rectangle, cut small bits with a pizza cutter, and made two “layers” of dough pieces with a cinnamon/brown sugar/butter “filling” placed in between the two layers and again on top. Baked them and then topped some of them off with homemade cream cheese frosting while they were still warm. I have the others in the freezer. Really delicious and now I am going to try and make a similar type of bread loaf in my pullman pan to use for making French toast!

  9. I once heard that brioche buns make the best hambuger buns in the world. I just got your Artisan Pizza, and Artisan Bread, in five min. a day books, (awesome books btw,) and was very excited to see the brioche recipe. How would a guy go about adapting this recipe to make hamburger buns, and would you even recomend it? Thanks!

  10. I have tried numerous breads from your books, they all taste great but…..I live at 4000 feet and I think this is affecting my bread…it comes out dense and moist in the middle any suggestions?

  11. My husband and son just made a batch of beer and have the leftover “spent grains” which I know can be used in bread. Any suggestions? I know they can be dried and ground or used as is, but I wonder how to incorporate them into the bread in 5 recipes?

    1. Hi Sarah,

      If you use them wet, then I would add them to the liquids and reduce the liquid by a couple of tablespoons. I’d start with not more than a 1/2 cup of the spent grain per batch. If you like the result then add more the next time.

      Let me know how it goes, Zoë

  12. I want to make these today as a practice run. At the top of the post it says “Making these bunnies is way too much fun, lots more photos are here…
    Are there more photos I can click on and see?

    1. Hi Stephanie,

      That is just where the page break is, so if you press “continue reading” you will see lots more pictures.

      Thanks and enjoy! Zoë

  13. Why does my refrigerated dough sometimes look gray? Why does it, other times, have an alcohol smelling liquid?
    I am not sure but could it be from the times I do not wash the bucket between mixing batches of dough?
    Also would you please consider a way for us to get your posts other then social media, like a mailing list? Thank you

    1. Have you tried the RSS feed, click on the icon above…

      About gray– not a problem, click on our FAQ tab, then scroll to “Gray color on my dough: Is there something wrong?” and click on it. About the alcohol smell, try shorter storage times, or else try a low-yeast version, again on the FAQs tab, click on “Yeast: can it be decreased in the recipes?”

      None of this has to do with omitting the wash between batches.

  14. Forgot to tell you which dough I mix up. It is the olive oil dough on page 134 in your first book. It is my go-to for everything: bialy, focaccia, pizza, calzones and even baguettes.

    1. Well, same answer– the olive oil doesn’t change any of the facts on this one… see what you think with my suggestions.

    1. Hi Jade,

      Yes, it will work wonderfully. I love the taste of both recipes, but the texture of the whole wheat is a bit heartier and not as light.

      Thanks, Zoë

  15. Hi !

    The dough has been in the fridge for 24 hours now. Can I shape the bunnies and then leave them all in the fridge overnight?
    (I want to gain some time tomorrow morning by already having the shapes done)

    Thank you ! 🙂

    Jade

  16. Hi !

    How long are they good until ? (Texture-wise)
    Is it better to keep them in the fridge or not?

    Thank you !

    Jade

    1. Hi Jade,

      Like any bread that doesn’t have any preservatives in it, they are best the day they are baked. If you can’t eat them immediately, then you may want to freeze them.

      Thanks, Zoë

  17. I tried to make these with the master recipe and they do not look anything like bunnies, maybe moles! Oh well, they taste good anyway.

    1. Laura–takes a bit of practice, yes. And something you only do once a year–may not get much of that! Moles are good too…

  18. what is the texture of this buns? is it smooth & light like usual buns or have crust at the outside?please help me thanks

    1. Hi Kemala,

      Breads that have eggs and butter don’t really develop a crust, so they are soft throughout.

      Thanks, Zoë

  19. Such a refreshingly honest post! I dearly wanted to make those cute bunny buns, but it’s nice to find out that they are really cookies, and also good to find out before I spend an afternoon trying to make them, how tricky these bunny buns really are to make! I think I’ll stick to the simple buttered buns with sugar! Thank you! You all are amazing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.