Samoan Coconut Bread Rolls (Pani Popo) *

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We made up 96 of these for a Church Dinner and the recipe doubled very easily.  We used dark brown sugar on top instead of raw sugar and they came out perfect.  We also made the dough and formed it into rolls the night before and let it sit in a refrigerator overnight, took them out a few hours before and then baked them with great success. 

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 12 rolls

Ingredients

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoon) Active dry yeast

3 tablespoons Warm water 105F- 115 F

1 can coconut milk 14-15oz divided in half

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large egg

¼ cup powdered milk I used full fat milk

½ cup Sugar

½-1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups to 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 -3 tablespoon brown sugar optional for the top

Instructions

In a standing mixer combine 3-tablespoon lukewarm water and yeast. Let it sit until dissolve for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a microwave safe medium bowl, combine 1 cup coconut milk, with the butter pieces, sugar, salt and microwave for about a minute. Stir until everything is melted. 

Lightly whisk in the egg and powdered milk to the butter mixture (if the mixture is too hot let it cool to a warm mixture to prevent eggs from curdling.)

Dump everything into the yeast mixture.

Mix for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add about 3 ½ cups of flour and continue mixing dough.

Add in enough additional flour (if needed) to make soft dough.

Turn dough on lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 12 minutes or more if you want airy bread.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the dough Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled.

Punch the dough down.

At this point the dough maybe shaped into a grease loaf pan, and place seam side down in the pan or divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into balls.

Place in greased 12 -inch round pan and bake. You may refrigerate before baking for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Add the remaining coconut milk in the pan. Brush the top of the loaf with coconut milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the baking pan and let it cool. I like to eat mine when it is still warm.

Recipe Notes

 Make sure the water is not too hot. You don’t want it warmer than body temperature.

Divide the coconut milk in half 1 cup for the dough and the other cup to use for baking.

A soft dough will firm up as it rises the first time, so try not to add too much flour. It’s better to err on the side of not adding enough flour than adding too much–you can always add more flour, but you can’t take it away once it’s in the dough.

In order for your bread to be fluffy it has to double in size- be patient with it . This one took about 3 hours to really double in size. Sometimes even more . It depends on the weather.

If your bread does not rise in an hour, try turning on the oven to warm for 10 minutes. Then, turn it off and let the dough rise in the oven.

If all fails mix rapid rise yeast into the dough and knead.

 *   https://www.africanbites.com/samoan-coconut-bread-rolls-pani-popo/