Learn how to make some Jamaican style coco bread. A soft and buttery bread that's perfect for any patty made from flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt and coconut milk. My version is gluten free and free from dairy too.

Finally a coco bread recipe! Ever since I discovered how great Caputo flour is for making gluten free bread I've been testing in a number of recipes.

In case you missed my Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls that I made a few months ago that's when I first showcased Caputo.

Coco bread is a cultural staple bread that is firm yet buttery and soft in the inside.

If you're from Jamaica or even visited the island then you most definitely know about this bread because it is literally everywhere.

What is coco bread?

In short it is a half moon shaped bread that is made from flour, bread, yeast, butter, sugar, pink and coconut milk, some people include egg in their bread and others omit it.

The wet ingredients are combined with the dry ones where a soft pliable dough is formed and left to prove.

Once the dough is proved it is knead and divided into equal parts and then small balls of dough are rolled out into a circle where the inside is brushed with butter and folded over to create a half moon shape.

Then baked until golden brown before being brushed one more time to enhance that beautiful golden colour.

The bread is usually eaten with a patty sandwiched in between it, that is very much the most common and classic way that coco bread is eaten.

However, you can make it into a sandwich or even mop up your favourite curry with the bread, it's very much multipurpose.

What is it called coco bread?

The orgins of the name is up for debate and very much a mystery, some say that the name comes from the use of coconut milk as one of the primary ingredients.

Others say, the name originates from the days of slavery, more specifically the colonial era by enslaved Africans and indentured labourers from India and China.

Recipe preparation

A few things that I want to highlight with this recipe. First of all you will need Caputo flour, I can't emphasize how important it is to use this flour.

I tried making this bread with my own flour blend and it didn't work. Caputo is by far the best flour that I have used for bread recipes so far.

Also, the butter and soy(a) protein isolate are crucial for the structure of the bread. After doing some testing and tweaking I found that these 2 ingredients made a huge difference.

The butter is added at 2 stages, don't skip this step at all.

It may seem unworkable when you are kneading the butter in but it is important not to cut corners or omit the butter, just work through it.

The butter will give the bread more softness, making it as close as possible to conventional bread.

Of course gluten free bread isn't the same as conventional bread however, you can adjust and adapt to make it very similar.

I do find that Caputo doesn't really brown much, so don't be suprised if your coco bread doesn't bake until very golden brown.

You can add a very small amount of turmeric to enhance the colour if you want to.

The most important thing is the soft texture of the bread.

Ingredients you need

Ingredients you will need for Jamaican Coco Bread

Gluten free flour - You will specifically need CAPUTO gluten flour to make the bread. This is the flour that is responsible for achieving these results as pictured.
Instant yeast - This is more handy because it doesn't need activating and is ready to use.
Vegan butter - I use vitalite unsalted.
Raw cane sugar - Helps to counterbalance the yeast and contributes to the breads texture.
Pink salt - To enhance the taste.
Coconut milk - Full fat coconut milk is one of the primary ingredients.
Eggs - One large egg, cracked and beaten.
Soya protein isolate - A very important ingredient which replaces the "gluten" in bread and helps to hold the structure as well as provide elasticity.

The steps

Steps 1-4 Adding the coconut milk, eggs, vegan butter

Line and grease a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, add the coconut milk, melted vegan butter , eggs and whisk then set aside.
In another bowl, combine the gluten free flour, instant yeast, raw cane sugar, soy protein isolate and pink salt then stir.
Make a well in the centre of the bowl.

Steps 5-8 adding dry ingredients to the bowl

Pour the wet ingredients into the centre of the dry bowl.
Use your hands to knead and make a soft pliable dough, try not to add any flour, the softer the dough the lighter the coco bread will be.
Add the butter and work it into the dough, it will feel strange and very sticky at first but continue to knead it in (this will take a few minutes and a bit of perservance), again, try not to add any flour, alittle is fine but the dough should be soft but not extremely sticky.

Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl (with oil).
Cover with saran wrap/cling film.
Leave to prove (preferably in a warm place) for 1-2 hours until the dough increases (it won't double) in size.
Once proved, transfer the dough onto parchment paper (you shouldn't need any flour).

Steps 13-16 kneading androlling the dough

Preheat the oven 180C/356F.
Cut the dough into 4 or 6 equal parts (depending on the size that you want the bread to be).
Knead and then roll the dough in the palm of your hands until smooth and then repeat with the remaining dough.
Use a rolling pin to roll out each ball until it's almost an oval shape with ¼ inch in thickness on a piece of parchment paper.

Use a pastry brush to coat the top with vegan butter then fold over into a half moon.
Coat the remaining half (top side) with vegan butter.
Place the dough on a baking tray, leaving a gap in between.
Repeat the above 4 steps with the remaining dough.
Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes or until the bread is slightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven and brush once more with melted vegan butter.

Notes and tips

I highly recommend using CAPUTO flour for this coco bread recipe. I have NOT...I repeat I HAVE NOT tested any other flour to make the bread so if you choose to deviate from the recipe, than I cannot be responsible for the outcome.
I highly recommend serving the bread while it is still warm.
Please, please follow the recipe to the TEE, including kneading with the butter.
You should be able to get 6 coco bread in total, however, if you want to increase the size then split the dough into 4 instead of 6 portions.
You can freeze the bread for up to a month, when you are ready to use thaw out on the countertop overnight and re-heat (wrapped in the oven).
Use the baking time as a guide only, the bread will be light-slightly golden in colour.
Try not to use add too much flour when kneading the dough, the softer the dough the softer the coco bread, remember that!
You can purchase Caputo flour online at Amazon.
If you want to re-heat the bread, simply wrap it in aluminium foil and heat in the oven for a few minutes.
If you don't have instant yeast, then you dry yeast that needs to be activated, warm the coconut milk and whisk and leave for 5- 10 minutes.

More bread recipes to try

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