Martin Hadsell do Nascimento

Pan de Coco is such a main stay on the Atlantic Coast, that more often than not it is referred to as ‘Pan Simple.’ Not particularly sweet or even coconutty in flavor, Pan de Coco employs coconut milk as a softening agent, turning an otherwise uninteresting white-bread into a deliciously rich, wholesome, and nutritious artisanal white-bread. (Just look at the pictures).

Ingredients:

3 Dried coconuts (can substitute with 3 or 4 cans coconut milk but less awesome)

4 Pounds flour

2 Cups water

3 Tablespoons yeast

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons salt

Butter/oil

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven (or whatever you’ve got) to as hot as it goes.
• Peal and shell coconuts with a machete!

• Grate coconut meat.

• Add 1 cup of water to grated coconut and press to extract coconut milk.

• Strain and repeat.
• Combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
• Add coconut milk gradually and mix to form dough.

• Beat/stretch/knead/pound dough a lot and until it becomes soft to the touch.
• Cut dough into individual portions and place on greased pan.

• Cover pans and place in dark, warm place for thirty minutes to allow dough to rise.

• Bake the bread until ready.

• Bam!

~ by Martin on January 2, 2011.

Posted in Cooking, English