Pan de Coco

I was craving for some Pan de coco. And I still have left over grated coconut from cooking kutsinta quite a while back, sitting in the freezer, and I wanted so much to use it. So I searched on the internet for a good recipe. Luckily, I found this recipe and luckily, it is quite good too. At least in my humble opinion. What I like about this dough recipe is there's no Kneading. Yup, NO KNEADING.

I tweaked the recipe a bit, but not too much. As they say, if it's not broken, don't fix it. It just that from experience, I need more yeast than what it says in the recipe. And less sugar, without compromising the taste of the pan de coco.

And I must say, the result was very very good. I made some pan de coco, the way it was written in the recipe, but I also made some traditional round ones. I dunno if that's traditional, but that's the way I've known them since childhood.

Dough:

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
2 tbsp instant dried yeast
1 1/2 tbsp salt
4 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, melted
7 cups all purpose flour
egg wash

1. Mix yeast, salt, eggs, honey and butter with the water in a bowl.
2. Add the flour and mix without kneading. Use a wooden spoon or wet hands.
3. When thoroughly mix, cover the bowl with cling wrap or tea towel and allow to rest at room temperature until dough double in size. I put mine on top of the oven, switch the oven 100 C and rest the bowl on top of the oven.
4. This dough is heaps. As in lots, plentiful. I was able to make 1 bread and lots of pan de coco. Apparently, the dough freezes well. Only use half of the dough for the pan de coco, and either freeze the rest of the dough or make this bread from the same cook of the pan de coco.

Coconut Filling:

2 cups unsweetened grated coconut
1/2 cup sugar (I used raw brown sugar)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan, simmer in medium heat until all the liquid si absorbed. Set aside to cool.


Directions:

1. Dust the half the dough with flour and roll into a ball. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide into two smaller balls.
2. Take one dough and roll out into a rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the coconut filling in the centre of the rectangle, leaving about 1/2 inch on all sides. Roll lengthwise and seal seams and ends. Now you have a long log. Divide it equally using a sharp knife in the desired size you prefer.
3. Alternatively, make the round, traditional pan de coco. Take a small amount of dough, the size of a golf ball. Roll it and flatten it. Put the filling in the middle. Then, gather the edges of the dough and pinch it towards the middle. Shape into a ball again, and lay it on the baking tray, seams down.
4. Place in a non stick tray about an inch apart. Cover with a tea towel and put it in a warm place until doubled in size. Again, I put mine on top of the oven.
5. Preheat oven to 190 C.
6. Remove the towel, brush the top of the pan de coco with egg wash.
7. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in a wire rack.