Spiders are scary. I know very few people who aren’t afraid of them, and whenever I see one I get a creepy feeling! I guess that’s why spiders seem to be featured everywhere on Halloween. Of course I would never recommend eating a real spider, but if you are having a Halloween BOO-ffet or just making a special dinner for family, you can make a delicious edible one which will elicit oohs and aahs from both children and adults. Black sesame seeds are available at Asian grocery stores and also on the Asian aisle of larger grocery stores.

This giant spider is great at a buffet; the legs serve as breadsticks and the head and body can be sliced. You can also hollow out the body and fill it with your favorite dip. (I generally fill it with my favorite spinach dip because it’s green and I assume that spider innards may just be green too.
I have also included instructions to make the dough into four individual spider bread bowls for your favorite soup, stew, or chili have been making this spider every Halloween for years. I just started adding black gel paste food coloring to make it even scarier. You can add the coloring or leave the spider white and cover it with extra black sesame seeds. It is cute both ways.

12 Servings
Dough
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Several squirts of black gel paste food coloring
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon yeast

Topping
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
2 to 3 tablespoons black sesame seeds
2 raisins, or craisins

1. Place the dough ingredients in the order given into the pan of the bread machine; set the cycle on dough.
2. After the machine has mixed for a minute or two, check to make sure there is enough flour to make a soft dough; if it is too stiff, add a few tablespoons more water; if it is too soft, add a little more flour.
3. When the cycle has finished, transfer the dough to a lightly floured pastry cloth.
4. Form the dough into a ball; cut 1/3 of the dough from the ball and pat that 1/3 into a rectangle.
5. With a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into four strips, then cut each strip in half (legs).
6. Take the remaining dough and cut 1/4 off; form into a ball for the head.
7. Make a ball from the remaining dough to form the body; place the head and body on a large parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Brush with the egg white so they stick together.
9. Pull 2 large sheets of aluminum foil from the roll; roll up loosely and fold in half to make 2 cylinders (see picture); spray both cylinders on all sides with non-stick spray.
10. Place one on each side of the body; place 4 legs on each side and push toothpicks into each leg to secure.
11. Drape the legs over the foil so they are elevated like a real spider.
12. Brush again with the egg white and sprinkle liberally with black sesame seeds and press 2 raisins into the head for eyes.
13. Let the spider rise until doubled in bulk.
14. Spray with water and place in a preheated 425° oven.
15. Bake until browned, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly.

Mini Spider Bread Bowls

1. Prepare the dough as above.
2. Divide the dough into four pieces and shape each into a miniature spider according to the directions for the large spider.
3. Bake at 400° 20-25 minutes or until browned and crisp.
4. Remove from the oven and cool thoroughly.
5. When ready to serve, cut the top of the body off and hollow out each spider; fill with chili, soup, or stew.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 153 Calories from Fat 23
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 15% Protein 12% Carb. 74%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 3 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 394 mg
Total Carbohydrate 28 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 5 g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 3%



No automatic Bread Machine? You can purchase one at Amazon:

Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker

Cuisinart CBK-200 2-Pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker