Easy Jamaican Coco Bread (With a Video)

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, and you guessed it right, this bread is made with coconut milk and has a hint of sweetness, yet it goes really well with food like burgers and stews, and it tastes amazing with peanut butter, jam and honey! It 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 is Coco Bread?

Coco bread is a Jamaican delicacy, and it is made of flour, sugar, yeast, melted butter, and other simple ingredients found in any kitchen. 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. You get to see these recipes because coco bread is so popular in the Caribbean that other countries adopted it and created different recipes.

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.

Some make the bread too thick, and I find it difficult to stuff it with proper fillings. Hence, I make my bread into a size that makes it perfect as a sandwich!

However, if you want to go the Jamaican way, fill coco bread with Jamaican beef patty and enjoy! More on this Jamaican bread here.

Is Coco Bread Healthy?

Yes, but it depends on how much you consume and the filling you decide on. Like other bread, Coco bread is high in carbohydrates, and it has a good amount of fat coming from coconut milk and butter. So, will it make you gain weight? No, not if you were moderate in consuming it!

What does coco bread taste like?

If you want to compare it with another type of bread, the soft American Dinner Rolls are pretty 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, but you can taste a hint of it which allows you to enjoy any filling when converting it into a sandwich.

Coco Bread Ingredients

As I have mentioned many times before, I do my best to choose budget-friendly recipes, delicious and do not require special ingredients, and this recipe is no different. If you have the below mentioned ingredients in your kitchen, waste no time and make some coco bread!

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.

Sugar – Well, there is a hint of sweetness coming from the coconut milk. We need sugar to activate the yeast, and there is nothing wrong with having a little more sweetness!

Unsalted butter – Yes, it’s best to go for unsalted butter but if you have salted, then use half the amount of salt mentioned in the recipe. Butter gives richness to this bread and helps in keeping it tender.

Oil – We are adding one tablespoon only, and the oil helps the bread stay super tender and soft when reheating it.

Salt – We can’t do without it, can we? Salt enhances the flavor of food.

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 a Jamaican Coco Bread Recipe?

• Heat the coconut milk, butter, and oil together in a pan or microwave.
• In a medium bowl, pour the coconut milk mixture, add the sugar and yeast, and stir well until combined; make sure the coconut milk mixture is not hot or the yeast won’t get activated.
• Add the large egg and beat until combined. The egg should be at room temperature. A cold egg will stop the yeast from activating.
• Now add the flour and salt and knead until the dough is no longer sticky and has turned into a soft dough. You can use a stand mixer for this. The dough should also bounce back when you press it down gently.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover the dough and let it double in size while in a warm place.
• Knead the dough for a minute and then form 6 equal pieces; mine were 85gm each.
• On a floured surface, roll out one ball to 6 inches in 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 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 and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Bake in a preheated oven 350F/180C.
• When the bread is ready, remove it from the oven, place it on a wire rack, brush the surface with butter, and let the bread cool and then serve.

How to store coco bread?

The good news is coco bread stores well, and when you reheat, it comes out soft as if freshly made. Freezing is the best method to store this bread. Place the bread in a big Ziplock bag, put parchment paper between each bread, or just make sure they don’t touch. Freeze the bread for up to two months.

How to reheat coco bread?

There are two ways to reheat this bread.

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, microwave 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.

Can you make it ahead of time?

Yes, you can make the bread and place it in the freezer, as mentioned above. I do not let the dough that has coconut milk rise in the fridge overnight; I feel that the taste changes a little!

What is served with coco bread?

The sky is your limit! I mean, this bread is delicious with Strawberry Jam and butter. It’s mind-blowing with peanut butter spread. Coco bread can be served with Jamaican Chicken Stew and meat patties. You can make a vegetarian sandwich of tomato, cucumber, lettuce, and hummus spread.

Other bread recipes you will enjoy

Pita Bread.

Focaccia Bread.

Braided sweet milk Bread.

French Olive Bread.

Jamaican Coco Bread

Easy recipe to make. Find out how to make this recipe, a typical Jamaican recipe.

5 from 9 votes

Print Rate

Course: Bread,

Cuisine: Jamaican

Keyword: coco bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Dough resting time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 325kcal

Author: Muna Kenny

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 bread | Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 465mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g

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