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Love coconut? Try this coconut bread recipe for a tropical breakfast!Coconut Bread My Auntie Emily has a ton of African recipes in her head. I grew up eating her wonderful creations. I have her to thank for showing me how to make this bread.
My Auntie is in her seventies. She has lived in Liberia all her life. She has had to cook and bake African Style. That means everything is made from scratch. In this case, she has to break open the coconut, peel off the dark skin, and grate it BEFORE she can EVEN BEGIN to make the filling for the bread. In fact, Auntie Emily is here visiting us now (her first trip to the States). I went up to Philadelphia (from North Carolina where I live) a few months ago to see her at my brother's house. While I was there, I got her to help me write down the recipes that we carried around in our heads. We had to also test them. The expression on her face was the funniest thing. She couldn't get over being able to buy ready-to-bake grated and frozen coconut from the grocery store. We were able to cut off HOURS from the African baking time.
Coconut bread filling
1 lb frozen grated coconut, ~ 3 Cups (found in the frozen
2 C water Defrost coconut by setting at room temperature or microwaving for a minute or two. Place coconut along with other ingredients in a deep pot. Bring mixture to a boil on medium high. Reduce heat to medium and cook until most of the water is gone (about 15-20 minutes.) Stir frequently so that the coconut does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Coconut should be moist, not dry. When done, set aside and allow to cool.
Bread Dough
4 1/2 C all-purpose flour
Measure out and combine 4 C of flour, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Use a fork to cut the butter into the flour. To cut, you simply mash the butter into small pieces while mixing in the flour. Cut and mix until the small pieces of butter are more or less spread out in the flour. Stir sugar in milk. Pour sweetened milk into flour mixture. Fold milk into flour evenly. Use your hands to gather dough into a ball. Dough will be sticky so you will have to use some of the extra flour. Place on lightly floured surface. Coconut Bread Divide the dough into two. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten each piece of dough into a 14 x 9 rectangle. Grease and flour a 13 x 8 inch pan. Place one of the rectangle into the baking pan. Spoon the cooled coconut mixture on the rectangle in the pan and spread evenly with a knife. Cover the coconut with the second piece of rectangle. Seal the filling by pinching the two layers of dough together around the edges. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the coconut bread is golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy with some Next time, why not try one of my other bread recipes. You can use two 8 or 9 inch pans instead. Just divided the dough into four pieces and the filling into two parts. Make sure to scrape the coconut from the bottom of the pot while stirring and cooking Use 8 tsp baking powder if it is NOT double acting. I like to use I can’t believe it’s not butter margarine. It doesn’t have any man-made trans fat and cholesterol like butter. It also has lots of Omega 3 oils (known to reduce hypertension, heart disease and more.) Use an oil/flour spray like Pam to grease your baking pans. It is faster. Remember to always read the entire recipe BEFORE beginning
Reurn from Coconut Bread to African-Recipes-Secrets
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