Liam Charles’s Bear & Share Bread

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Step 2
For the dough, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and paprika into a large bowl, then add the parmesan and sunflower seeds and mix. Make a well in the centre.

Step 3
Mix the harissa paste into the yoghurt, then tip into the well in the centre of the flour and mix to combine.

Step 4
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently it bring together, handling it as little as possible. Separate 60g of dough.

Step 5
Add 2 drops of yellow gel food colouring to the larger piece of remaining dough and knead in lightly, making sure to evenly colour the dough.

Step 6
Shape the yellow dough into two long sausages and cut each sausage into six even pieces. Shape into 12 even balls.

Step 7
Arrange the balls into a circle, leaving enough space to set your ramekin in the middle and making sure that the balls are only just touching each other. These are your bear heads.

Step 8
Add 2 drops of brown gel food colouring to the 60g of dough you set aside and knead in lightly.

Step 9
Shape the brown dough into 24 larger balls and 12 smaller balls. Using a little water, stick two larger balls onto each bear head to create ears and one smaller ball for a nose. Repeat with the remaining balls to create 12 bears.

Step 10
Brush your ring of bears with the beaten egg.

Step 11
Bake for 30 minutes. If some of the bread is browning too quickly, cover with foil. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool.

Step 12
For the tapenade, blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor to form a smooth paste.

Step 13
Transfer the tapenade into a ramekin and sit in the centre of your ring of bears.

Step 14
To finish, use the black edible pen to draw eyes and mouths on each bear.