Buff bear bread

Ran (@konel_bread) is a bread artist who teaches baking classes and creates various original designs of sweet and savory breads.

She's most famous for coming up with the idea for a bread featuring a hilarious contrast between an adorable bear head and a muscular body, which became a hot topic on Twitter, as we've reported previously in grape Japan.

A new presentation reignites the buff bear bread boom

Seeing how her buff bear bread got such a good response, Ran had another fun idea. It may not be unique to Japan, but baked goods are sometimes sold in disposable clear plastic containers in Japanese supermarkets and bakery shops to preserve their freshness. Ran put some of her popular breads into containers and snapped a photo!

Here's the photo of the breads, which she shared in a Tweet on June 10th, 2021, that already has over 244,000 likes at the time of writing.

The sight of a buff bear crammed into a container is so surreal you can't help but chuckle!

Some people commented on the photo, saying, "It's just too funny," and "I laughed so hard! It's not what I was expecting."

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Bread artist Ran reveals her inspiration

A writer from our sister site Grape asked Ran what inspired her to create the bear bread that continues to delight so many people.

Grape: So, how did the buff bear bread come about?

Ran: "One day, when I was making a loaf of bread, it started to look like muscles. So I thought, 'Why can't I make a buff character bread?'"

Grape: But why did you choose a bear as the motif?

Ran: "I personally like bears, and I make a variety of breads with a bear motif. On Instagram, you can see the breads I've made with the hashtag #konelのくまパン (konel's bear breads)."

Ran has made many variants of her buff bear breads.

For example, here are some which can be enjoyed by many people at parties:

It's a great use of those muscles, and it looks really tasty! According to Ran, the bread not only looks good, but the people at the party loved it too.

Grape: How did you come up with the idea of putting one of your breads in a container?

Ran: "The reason I put them in containers was to give them to people.

At first, I put one in a plastic bag, but since the chocolate on the face had not yet hardened completely, it stuck to the plastic bag and became messy, so I hurriedly put it in a disposable clear plastic container I had at home to protect its face.

The bread fit perfectly inside the container (laughs)."

You're probably wondering about this by now, but unfortunately, for the time being, these breads aren't sold as products. Ran usually makes them for the enjoyment of her family and friends.

"I would like to sell them someday if I have the chance," Ran said.

Grape: How do people around you react when they eat your buff bear breads?

Ran: "Everyone laughs the moment they see it.

After looking at it for a while, they take the plunge and gingerly tear off a piece of muscle and eat it, after which they say: 'Delicious!' and proceed to eat the rest, tearing off the muscles one by one.

Not only are they fun to look at, but they also taste good, making these buff bear buns fun to look at and delicious to eat!"

Ran's creative sense and her desire to make people happy is probably the reason why her bear breads have captured the hearts of so many people! Let's hope she does indeed realize her dream of selling them one day so that even more people can enjoy them.