Asian Coconut Bread 椰蓉面包

Name: Asian Coconut Bread 椰蓉面包
Prep time: 3 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 250 g All-Purpose Flour; 4 g Active Dry Yeast; 30 g Sugar; 2 g Salt; 1 Egg; 125 ml Milk; 20 g Butter; 75 g Desiccated Coconut; 30 g Butter; 30 g Sugar; 1 Egg

AuthorYun Zhang JohnCategoryBread, SweetsDifficultyIntermediateRating

Yields6 Servings

Prep Time3 hrsCook Time30 minsTotal Time3 hrs 30 mins

Asian Coconut Bread 椰蓉面包

Whenever I go to a Chinese bakery, I always pick up a pack of coconut buns or loaf.

If you are not familiar, these are soft brioche or milk bread layered with a slightly sweet and fragrant desiccated coconut filling. It's a staple item in any Asian bakery and my husband and I both love it!

Then, I moved to a country where Asian bakeries were not to be found and finding a good coconut bread recipe became a mission. I wanted a recipe that is easy enough for the home cook but tasted as amazing as the ones I used to buy. And after much testing, tasting, tweaking, I believe that I’ve come up with a real winner!

About the Flour

Many recipes for brioche or milk bread ask for bread flour due to its higher protein content that produces more gluten, thus making a chewier end product.

However, for this recipe, I decided to go with All-Purpose flour simply because I always have it on hand. And to compensate for the lower protein levels, I increased the kneading and proofing time.

Fermentation

In bread making, fermentation refers to the process in which yeast cells consume sugars and produce ethanol and other byproducts that develops flavour as well as carbon dioxide that inflate the gluten network which develops the structure of bread. Many bread recipes call for double fermentation or proofing, and this one is no different.

What I would like to stress here is…simply, do not rush it! This dough is quite wet and needs longer time to develop gluten. If you have a draft-free warm and humid place to proof that’s between 25-27C, then 1.5 hours might suffice. But if you leave it at room temperature, stick to the full 2 hours for the initial fermentation.

Choosing the right loaf pan

Depending on how you want the final appearance your loaf or buns to have, you can choose to have a longer / shallower pan vs. a shorter / deeper pan. I used a L24cm x W13cm x H5cm loaf pan which yield a shorter and wider shape than traditional bread loafs. Either way, just make sure to leave the dough some space to rise after it’s been shaped. I always ended up with a more dense bread when I tried to cram it in to a tighter pan.

Baking

In a convection oven, this bread will take 30mins to bake at 180C or 350F. Add 5 more minutes in a traditional oven where the heat comes only from the top and bottom. In both cases though, you’ll need to cover the top of the bread with tin foil after about 15mins to prevent the top from over browning.

Now you are ready to make this delectable bread in the comforts of your own kitchen…where ever in the world you might live!

You Will Need

Dough

250 g All-Purpose Flour

4 g Active Dry Yeast

30 g Sugar

2 g Salt

1 EggAround 60g with the shell

125 ml Milk

20 g Butter

Coconut Filling

75 g Desiccated Coconut

30 g Butter

30 g Sugar

1 EggUse about 80% for the filling and the rest as egg wash

Instructions

Prep - Dough

Warm up the milk until lukewarm and add in yeast. Mix to dissolve.

In a stand mixer, add flour, sugar and salt. Whisk to combine.

Add egg to the dry mixture and roughly mix it in.

Turn on the stand mixer with a dough hook attached to 1 and slowly pour in the yeasty milk. Knead for 5-7min.

Then, add soften butter and mix on low until all the butter has been incorporated into the dough. Scrape the sides as needed.

Increase the speed to 3 and knead for 10-15min.

When it's done, remove the dough from the bowl, roughly form it into a smooth ball. Add a few drops of oil in the bowl, cover the surface of the dough with the oil. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm and humid place to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Prep - Filling

Melt butter and add all ingredient into a bowl. Mix and flatten the mixture into an even thickness in the bowl to make it easier to divide. Put it in the fridge to set.

Shaping

Once the dough is properly risen, take it out and divide into 3 equal pieces. It is a sticky dough, so dust some flour if needed...but try to use as little additional flour as possible.

Roll out each piece into a long oval. Then spread a third of the filling on to the oval and smooth it into an even layer. Leaving about 1 inch of the dough uncovered on one end.

Flatten the dough on the uncovered end and start rolling the oval into a cylinder, starting from the end that is covered with filling. Then pinch the edges and 2 open ends tightly closed to secure the filling within the dough. Repeat this process with the other 2 pieces.

Then, the 1 cylinder and cut it in half. Expose the inner layers and roll the 2 halves into a braid. Pinch the ends together tightly. Repeat again with the other 2 pieces.

Coconut Bread | Yun's Family TablePasta

Tuck and nestle the 3 pieces into the loaf pan...making sure to leave some space for it to rise. ***this could mean either horizontally or vertically. Then leave it to rise for 1 hour.

Coconut Bread | Yun's Family TablePasta

After 1 hour, carefully brush an egg wash over the risen dough.

Baking

Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F. Bake for 30 minutes in a convection oven or 35 minutes in a traditional oven. Cover the top with tin foil half way through cooking to prevent too much browning on top.

When baked, remove from pan and leave it to cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients

Dough

250 g All-Purpose Flour

4 g Active Dry Yeast

30 g Sugar

2 g Salt

1 EggAround 60g with the shell

125 ml Milk

20 g Butter

Coconut Filling

75 g Desiccated Coconut

30 g Butter

30 g Sugar

1 EggUse about 80% for the filling and the rest as egg wash

Directions

Prep - Dough

Warm up the milk until lukewarm and add in yeast. Mix to dissolve.

In a stand mixer, add flour, sugar and salt. Whisk to combine.

Add egg to the dry mixture and roughly mix it in.

Turn on the stand mixer with a dough hook attached to 1 and slowly pour in the yeasty milk. Knead for 5-7min.

Then, add soften butter and mix on low until all the butter has been incorporated into the dough. Scrape the sides as needed.

Increase the speed to 3 and knead for 10-15min.

Prep - Filling

Melt butter and add all ingredient into a bowl. Mix and flatten the mixture into an even thickness in the bowl to make it easier to divide. Put it in the fridge to set.

Shaping

Once the dough is properly risen, take it out and divide into 3 equal pieces. It is a sticky dough, so dust some flour if needed...but try to use as little additional flour as possible.

Roll out each piece into a long oval. Then spread a third of the filling on to the oval and smooth it into an even layer. Leaving about 1 inch of the dough uncovered on one end.

Then, the 1 cylinder and cut it in half. Expose the inner layers and roll the 2 halves into a braid. Pinch the ends together tightly. Repeat again with the other 2 pieces.

Coconut Bread | Yun's Family TablePasta

Tuck and nestle the 3 pieces into the loaf pan...making sure to leave some space for it to rise. ***this could mean either horizontally or vertically. Then leave it to rise for 1 hour.

Coconut Bread | Yun's Family TablePasta

After 1 hour, carefully brush an egg wash over the risen dough.

Baking

When baked, remove from pan and leave it to cool on a wire rack.

Asian Coconut Bread 椰蓉面包

Ingredients Directions