Dreaming of an Island Life and BBD #18

Thank you to the Fun and Food Blog for hosting Bread Baking Day #18. I’m a new blogger and it is my first BBD. The theme that was chosen by the host for March, is Quick Breads.

It has been a long winter. By the end of March, the mind turns to visions of blue oceans, hot tropical islands and coconut palms if you hail from the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore I decided to make a Coconut Loaf for BBD.

So join me on a short journey visiting some of my favourite island destinations. I hope it will inspire someone to bake a loaf that tastes of the island life.

Caribbean Coconut Loaf

1 Cup / 250 ml desicated coconut
100 ml Boiling water
330 ml Unbleached flour
125 ml Cornmeal / Polenta
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice or ½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
Grated zest of 2 limes
100 ml Demerara sugar
125 g Butter, melted
100 ml Coconut milk
1 Cup sultanas

• Pour the boiling water over the coconut and let it cool. Then pour the water off the coconut and reserve 90 ml.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and prepare a 1 Kg loaf pan.
• Put the flours, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices into a bowl.
• Add the grated rind and coconut and mix well.
• Add the sultanas.
• Make a well in the flour and add the butter, coconut water and milk.
• Mix well, the dough will have a soft, dropping consistency.
• Bake the loaf for 40 minutes, till golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Let it cool in the pan a while and turn out. The loaf will have a dense texture.

Notes:
I used 200ml unbleached flour and 130ml breadflour to make a heavier loaf with more texture.
My original recipe called for freshly grated coconut and the liquid from a fresh coconut. I adapted it because fresh coconuts are not always readily available where I’m living.

Our original plan to go hiking around Suomenlinna Island over the weekend was postponed due to a snowstorm and fog. So we pretended to be living the island life by warming up in the sauna, followed by toasted coconut loaf for breakfast and dreaming of warmer climates.