Coco bread is a popular Jamaican bread! It is fluffy, delicious, and almost melts in your mouth. The first word (Coco) is short for coconut; you guessed right, this bread is made with coconut milk and has a hint of sweetness, yet it goes well with food like burgers and stews.
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It tastes amazing with peanut butter, jam and honey! Coco bread is shaped like a folded sandwich, and all you have to do is fill it with your favorite filling. It is as soft as a pillow, and you can see that in the video tutorial in this post! What makes coco bread amazing is its flavor; you cannot believe how coconut milk pushes this simple recipe to a much higher level. The bread is served in the morning as breakfast or at brunch and dinner as a sandwich or beside gravy and grilled meat. In case you are looking for a different flavor bread, please try my Japanese Milk Bread Recipe.
🥘 INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED
I do my best to choose budget-friendly recipes, delicious and do not require special ingredients, and this recipe is no different.
Coconut milk: Use unsweetened coconut milk. Use the canned coconut milk since it is not diluted like most of the ones in the carton!
All purpose-flour: You can use bread flour, but AP did great in this recipe.
Unsalted butter: Yes, it’s best to go for unsalted butter but if you have salted, then use half the salt mentioned in the recipe.
Yeast: I have used active dry yeast but use what you have available.
Egg: You can omit the egg if you are allergic to it. Read the notes on the recipe card.
🔪 HOW TO MAKE
Step 1
Heat the coconut milk, butter, and oil together. In a bowl, pour the coconut milk mixture, add the sugar and yeast, and stir well until combined.
Step 2
Add the large egg and beat until combined. The egg should be at room temperature. A cold egg will stop the yeast from activating.
Step 3
Add flour and salt and knead until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover the dough and let it double in size.
Step 4
Knead the dough for a minute and then form 6 equal pieces. Roll out one ball to 6 inches. Brush the surface of the dough with soft butter and fold it in half.
Step 5
Place folded dough on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with milk, coconut milk, or egg wash. Cover them and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F/180C.
💭 COOKING TIPS
- Always preheat the oven to 20 to 30 minutes before baking.
- Use coconut milk sold in cans they are not diluted.
- You can roll out the dough balls thicker than what is shown in the video. Thicker coco bread tastes good when stuffed with steak or burger.
- Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature to help the dough rise.
- Coco bread freezes well, it is best to freeze it after it cools than to keep it at room temperature on the kitchen counter.
📖 DELICIOUS VARIATIONS
Add a flavor: You can add orange or lemon zest to the dough, these two flavors go well with coconut.
Stuff it before you bake it: Stuff the bread with cheese before baking for a delicious breakfast or brunch idea.
💬 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Coco bread is a Jamaican delicacy made of flour, sugar, yeast, and melted butter. There are a few different versions of coco bread. Some recipes call for coconut milk, others call for regular milk, some have eggs, and others don’t.
Yes, but it depends on how much you consume and the filling you decide on.
If you want to compare it with another type of bread, the soft American Dinner Rolls are close! Except coco bread is richer since we are using butter and coconut milk. However, it is delicate, melts in your mouth, and is full of flavor, and don’t worry; the coconut milk flavor is not strong.
Before baking, you can make the coco bread and place it in the freezer. I won't let the dough that has coconut milk rise in the fridge overnight; the taste might change a little.
The sky is your limit! This bread is delicious with Strawberry Jam and butter. It’s mind-blowing with a peanut butter spread. Coco bread can be served with Jamaican Chicken Stew and meat patties.
🍲 MORE BREAD RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE
🌡️ STORING AND REHEATING
coco bread stores well, and when you reheat, it comes out soft as if freshly made.
Freezing: Place the bread in a big Ziplock bag, put parchment paper between each piece of bread, or make sure they don’t touch. Freeze the bread for up to two months.
Reheat in the oven: Heat the oven to reach 350F/180C. Do not thaw the bread and place it on a baking sheet. Reheat in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until soft.
Reheat in the microwave: Place the bread on a microwave-friendly plate for 15 seconds, then flip the bread and microwave for 10 seconds. However, it depends on your microwave settings, but in general, this bread won’t take long to reheat.
📖 Recipe
Jamaican Coco Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut milk unsweetened
- 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon oil you can use coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 1 large egg at room temperature
*Soft butter to brush the bread before and after baking.
*Milk to brush the bread before placing it in the hot oven.
Instructions
- Combine coconut milk, butter, and oil in a microwave-friendly bowl. Heat until warm. or heat over a stovetop.
- Pour the previous mixture into a large mixing bowl and ensure it’s not hot or the yeast will not get activated. Add the sugar and yeast and mix until combined.
- Add the egg and beat until well combined; the egg should be at room temperature. A cold egg will stop the yeast from activating.
- To the previous mixture, add the dry ingredients, flour, and salt. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky. You can use a stand mixer in this step. The dough should also bounce back when you press it down gently.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl. Spray your hand with oil and rub the dough. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and let it double in size while in a warm place. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, the dough might take an hour to two hours to rise.
- Transfer dough to a working surface and knead the dough for a minute and then form 6 equal size balls; each ball should weigh 85gm.
- On a floured surface, roll out one ball to 6 inch diameter. Brush the surface of the dough with soft butter and fold it in half.
- Place folded dough on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the outside of the dough with regular milk, coconuts milk, or egg wash, choose one of the three options.
- Repeat the previous step with the remaining balls. Cover them with a damp tea towel and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated oven of 350F/180C. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
- When the bread is ready, remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Brush the surface with butter.
- Serve warm or store after it cools as per the instructions of storing in the post above.
Video
Notes
- You can use regular milk instead of coconut milk in this recipe. Make sure to use a little less milk since coconut milk is thicker, and one cup of milk might make the dough too sticky.
- To help the egg come to room temperature quickly, place it in a small bowl full of warm water.
- You can skip brushing the bread with butter after taking it out of the oven if you wish.
- Make sure the liquid is not too hot, or the yeast won’t make the dough rise.
- Suppose the surface of the bread didn’t turn golden while baking, do not overbake it. Turn on the broiler and keep an eye on the bread. Some ovens do not distribute heat evenly.
- The post above mentions how to freeze and reheat coco bread.
- If you are allergic to eggs or don’t want to consume them, discard them replace them with more coconut milk or regular milk, usually, a large egg is equal to ¼ cup of liquid.
angiesrecipes
They are new to me...so soft and tempting!
munatycooking
They are amazing, especially if you want to make a sandwich 😊
Tara Pittman
I want to try this bread. It would be great for sandwiches.
Amber Myers
I've never had this before. I will have to try it for sure. It looks amazing and I do love bread!
MELANIE EDJOURIAN
This sounds really yummy. I love that it melts in the mouth. i also like that you can stuff it if you want too!!
Beth
Coco bread looks delicious! I haven't had it before, but I'm excited to try it!
Terri Steffes
Ok, you've sold me on this! Wow, I love bread and I love everything you said it would go with. I'm not a fan of coconut, but it really doesn't sound like it is a key flavor with this bread.
Monica Simpson
I would love to try this. I'd love it with some soup or stew!
Catalina
Mmmmm.... This coco bread looks amazing! It is definitely a must try!
Beth Pierce
I love that you included a video. I'm so much better at following instructions in videos. I cannot wait to try this
munatycooking
Thanks for your kind words!
Gervin Khan
A new recipe bread that I need to make. It looks delicious and easy!
Rose Ann Sales
Wow this is a really great recipe that looks absolutely delicious and I would really love to try this this
Richelle Milar
Wow that looks absolutely delicious and tasty it is easy to make I love to try this
Lisa
This bread looks delicious! I can see myself making some to go with my breakfast!
Marysa
This sounds absolutely delicious! I'd never heard of this before, but it sounds like something I could make, and it is nice to make bread fresh at home.
munatycooking
It complements many dishes and I'm sure that you would make batches!
Brianna
Yum!! This looks so tasty! I want to try it!
Tasheena
Jamaican Coco Bread Is one of my favorite breads, looking forward to giving this recipe a try.
munatycooking
The video will help you a lot!
Swathi
I would love to try this bread. Coconut is my favorite I love them in all form. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
munatycooking
You are most welcome, I would like to know what you think about this recipe after making it!
Lynndee
Those look good! We also have Filipino coconut bread and it's one of my favorites. Yum!
Everything Enchanting
I love coconut! I haven't tried coco bread before, so will surely check out this recipe video and try it soon 😍
munatycooking
Hope you like it ☺
Melissa Cushing
I have never heard of this bread before but would love to try. Looks so delicious!
Janeane M Davis
This recipe looks and sounds delicious. I would like to try it for my family.