Cat Loaf

Cute cat shaped loaf bread, crunchy exterior and soft inside

Course Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword Cat, Milk bread

Put all the ingredients in a stand mixer in the order listed above.
Knead for about 10 minutes using a dough hook. Start from a slower setting, then once the dough starts to come together, switch to a middle setting.
Cover with plastic wrap and proof until it has doubled in size (about 1-2 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is).
Once the dough has doubled in size, grease the cat bread tin (top, bottom, all sides). Bottom = the side with ears (for better balance)
On a floured surface, split the risen dough into roughly 3 equal portions and shape into rolls (the width of the rolls should be about the size of the width of the tin), then place them in the greased bread tin. No need to close the lid of the tin. You also do not need to push down the dough down into ears as proofing will take care of that part!
Cover with a damp cloth (or a clean shower cap) and proof again until the dough reaches a little over the top of the bottom tin (2cm over). Once it reaches a little over the top, close the lid of the tin completely.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Bake for 25 mins until the top is a hard golden brown. The crust is going to be very crunchy and the inside will be soft.
Let it cool on a cooling rack.
Store in a bread box or a plastic bag.