COCONUT BREAD

I had some leftover coconut in the fridge that I wanted to get rid of, so I started looking up baked goods with coconut in them. I came across this coconut bread, along with these coconut brown butter cookies which are currently bookmarked and waiting to be made. The former recipe looked like the simpler and less messy one for lazy me, so bread it was! I just have to say that this bread rises beautifully and makes your kitchen smell wonderfully. If you’re into gifting people with food, a loaf of this to your friend who’s in love with the coco(nut) would be a great idea.

(look at that height and the beautifully crackled crust!)

A few notes: because the bread rises so much, it can be hard to gauge when the bread is done baking. At the hour mark, my toothpick check yielded an uncooked middle but a done end, so I kept the bread in longer. I wish I had kept a closer eye on it and checked more frequently though, because I think this loaf was a bit over-baked. So keep your eyes on the oven!

Coconut Bread

From Smitten Kitchen

Makes 1 9x5 loaf

2 large eggs

1 ¼ cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup granulated sugar

5 ounces sweetened flaked coconut (about 1 ½ cups)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and browned

Vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray for baking pan

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

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add 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 butter, and stir until just smooth — be careful not to overmix.

Butter and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or coat it with a nonstick spray. Spread batter in pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 1 to 1 ¼ hours. Cool in pan five minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack.