Coconut bake is a soft, delicious bread made with freshly grated brown coconut, nutmeg, and more. Once kneaded and proofed, it is baked in a preheated oven at 400°F for 20 to 30 minutes.
It is a and is served with saltfish buljol, eggs, and more.
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Coconut bake ingredients
For this recipe, you will need:
- brown coconut: or dried coconut. Shake before buying – once liquid is sloshing around, that means the coconut is good and fresh, no liquid could mean it is spoilt. You can substitute freshly grated coconut with shredded coconut and substitute the warm water with coconut milk for a similar taste.
- typical bread ingredients: all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, yeast, sugar, butter, and warm water.
- nutmeg: adds wonderful flavor to the bread.
Watch how to make coconut bake
This video is on my Youtube channel:
Step by step instructions
Extract and blend the coconut ‘meat’
Step 1: Crack open the coconuts. To do this, hold the coconut over a bowl or the sink and strike the center of the coconut hard using the back of a cleaver or small mallet. The shell should crack and coconut water should spill out into the bowl. Continue the strikes until the coconut has cracked completely open. By the way, the water is drinkable.
Step 2: Remove the white coconut meat using a small paring knife or a coconut meat extractor. Insert the knife between the meat and the shell and move slowly, twisting slightly to pry the meat out.
Step 3: Cut the coconut meat into small pieces (you can peel the brown skin on the back of the coconut if you like).
Step 4: Add the pieces to your blender or food processor with about two cups of warm water. Blend until the coconut meat becomes fine.
Activate the yeast
Step 5: Add the yeast to the warm blended coconut and set aside to proof for about 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can use store-bought shredded coconut in place of the coconut pieces in your blender. But, if the smell and flavor of the coconut are very mild, then add warmed coconut milk instead of warm water to the blender. Add the yeast after and set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients
Step 6: Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and nutmeg to a large bowl. Give everything a good mix.
Add butter
Step 7: Rub softened butter into the dry ingredients. When you’re done, the ingredients should resemble a coarse mixture.
Mix in the wet ingredients
Step 8: Add the blended coconut with the yeast to your dry ingredients. Keep a half cup of warm water on the side just in case you need a little extra liquid. Extra flour will come in handy too.
Step 9: Knead everything together until a soft, smooth dough forms. This will take some time and a little elbow grease but you want to develop the gluten bonds in the dough.
Step 10: Cover the smooth dough and leave to proof for about 30 minutes or so.
Roll out
Step 11: Remove the cover and punch down the dough. Divide it into two.
Step 12: Roll each one out until it is three quarter of an inch thick. If you want the bake thinner, roll out until it is half an inch thick. Place in a buttered tray or dish or cast iron pan. Poke holes in the top with a fork. These allow the gases to escape when baking.
Step 13: Cover the bakes again and leave to rest for another 15 minutes or so.
Bake in the oven
Step 14: Preheat the oven at 400°F while you are waiting for that fifteen minutes to pass.
Step 15: Bake for 20 – 30 minutes. The bakes are done when the top has browned and the center is cooked all the way through. When they’re done, remove from the heat. You can brush the tops with melted butter at this point to keep the bakes soft and fluffy.
Cut into wedges or squares and serve hot with saltfish buljol, fried plantains, avocado, or anything else that goes well with coconut and bread.
Hot, homemade coconut bake with butter and New Zealand cheddar is a delicious comfort food in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s nostalgic and so, so good!
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Soft Trinidad coconut bake recipe
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5 from 3 votes
Trinidad coconut bake recipe
Trinidad coconut bake is a delicious, soft bread made with grated coconut and nutmeg. Those flavors come through making this a delicious, feel good and fulling breakfast food to enjoy with salted fish, vegetables, and more.
Prep Time1 hour hr
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Caribbean
Keyword: coconut bake, trinidad coconut bake
Servings: 16
Calories: 180kcal
Author: Ros Singh
Ingredients
- 1 brown coconut or ¾ cup finely grated coconut meat
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 4 ½ cups flour
- ½ tsp baking powder (optional)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ cup cookeen or butter (softened)
Equipment
food processor or blender
Instructions
Crack open brown coconut. Remove the meat. Cut into pieces.
Add warm water and brown coconut pieces to blender or food processor.
Blend until relatively smooth.
Add yeast to the blended coconut. Set aside to proof for 10 – 15 minutes.
Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl – flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and nutmeg.
Rub butter into the dry ingredients until it has a coarse texture.
Add blended coconut and water to the dry ingredients.
Knead to form a soft, smooth dough (about 5 to 10 minutes of kneading).
Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
Remove cover. Punch down.
Divide dough into two.
Roll out each dough ball until it is ¾ inch to ½ inch thick (based on your preferences).
Use a fork to poke holes in the dough (so it does not rise much while baking).
Place in a buttered tray, baking dish, or cast iron pot.
Cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven at 400°F.
Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until a golden brown color develops on the top and the center is fully cooked.
Remove from heat.
Brush with melted butter (optional) and cut into wedges or squares.
Slice in half and serve hot.
Trini coconut bake calories
If this recipe provides 16 servings, one serving of this Trini coconut bake will provide 180 Calories. The all purpose flour and the coconut meat are the main contributors to the calorie count.
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