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Monday, March 25, 2013

Crazy about Coconut Bread

I don't know if my brain is just getting soft from not working, but lately I can't remember anything. It has gotten so bad I have set myself about 10 notes and online reminders that I have jury duty on Tuesday. The problem is that I now have to remember which day is Tuesday. Not only have I been forgetful, but just crazy scatter-brained. I find this happens for a couple of weeks around this time every year. My whole internal clock gets thrown for a loop with all this light. Today, I was about to take the dogs for a walk and when I got outside I looked down to find instead of gloves, I had oven mitts on my hands! In that moment I knew I had to take a deep breath and go back inside. I went around and made sure I had turned the stove and oven off and checked on the wood stove. This kind of absent mindedness can burn a house down. Everything was fine, but it made me a little nervous that my mind is that preoccupied.
I believe it was that short circuit in my brain that caused this coconut loaf cake to come into being. It is almost as though my brain just got stuck on the coconut setting. The milk became coconut milk, the flour became coconut flour, and the butter was replaced with coconut oil. I'm positive if I would have had coconut sugar, I would have used that too. I honestly feared that so many substitutions was going to lead to one big expensive disaster. I was so thrilled to find that my baker instincts are still right on target. Yes, this loaf was absolutely perfect. A wonderful, not too sweet loaf that is great for breakfast or with an afternoon cup of tea. I used the sweetened coconut because it was all I had in the house after making a huge batch of coconut granola last week. If you wanted an even less sweet loaf, you could easily swap it out for the unsweetened stuff. Although I think it was the coconut flour that made this loaf a little more crumbly than the original, I wouldn't trade it and lose the sweet and nutty flavor it provides.
So, have you ever gone all out swapping out ingredients for a recipe? How did it turn out for you?

Crazy about Coconut Bread
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
5 ounces plus 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted plus extra for baking pans

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, mix together both flours, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add turbinado sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add coconut oil, and stir until just smooth — be careful not to over mix. Batter will be quite thick.

Oil two 8-1/2x4-1/2"-inch loaf pans (This will create flatter loaves, more like a tea cake. If you prefer a taller loaf use a large 8 cup bread pan, cooking time will be extended), or coat with a nonstick spray. Spread batter in pan and smooth top. Place in oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Cool in pan five minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack. Loaf will be less crumbly if you let it cool completely before slicing.

2 comments:

  1. This is great---I love the idea of going whole hog on the coconut. I bet it's incredible toasted. I have some coconut flour that I have yet to use so I'm all set to give this a try,
    Good luck with the jury duty!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I AM crazy about coconut, and so going to try this bread!

    ReplyDelete

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