A slight confession - this isn't really a Samoan recipe. I'm not sure if they eat savoury coconut bread in Samoa. So why am I posting it for Samoan food month? Because - I found quite a lot of recipes for sweet coconut bread, but I really felt like making savoury bread instead so I just left out the sugar so that I could serve it with all my delicious savoury Samoan treats. It was perfect for mopping up the creamy coconut sauces of the other savoury dishes ("what creamy coconut sauces!?" you are thinking - don't worry I'll be posting up those recipes very soon!).
If you make this bread and serve it up to guests - they will have a hard time believing that you made it yourself! It's perfectly fluffy and it a sensational taste and texture thanks to the freshly grated coconut. If you buy a fresh coconut, you'll need a coconut grater to get the flesh out of the coconut. You can also use pre grated fresh coconut, which is available at some Asian markets. If you don't have either, you can use dessicated coconut instead. Just add an extra 2 tsp water to the dough so that it's not too dry.
Ingredients
1/2 cup finely grated fresh coconut
2 tbsp sugar
3 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 1/2 cups plain flour, plus more for kneading
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup coconut milk or cream
3 tbsp Nuttelex or other vegan margarine, melted
To Make
1. Combine the coconut, sugar, yeast and warm water into a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside for 15 minutes until frothy.
2. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture, coconut milk and melted margarine. Using your hands or a big wooden spoon, mix together well.
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and knead, dusting with additional flour as needed. Knead until soft and elastic, for 5 to 6 minutes. Form into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm spot (what warm spot?? See this post!) to let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
4. After rising, the dough should be at least doubt in size. Turn it our again onto your floured surface. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
5. Place pieces on a tray lined with baking paper about 3-4 inches apart. Set back in your warm spot, uncovered this time, for another 45 minutes to rise again. While they're rising you can preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
6. Bake the bread rolls until golden brown on top, it should take 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature. Don't put in the fridge, once they have cooled down just store them in an airtight container until you're ready to use them.
Makes 8 bread rolls.
This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from
Samoa.
Check out my other recipe posts:
i am obsessed with coconut so this recipe obviously looks AMAZING to me! can't wait to give it a try
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