A recipe for authentic Jamaican Coco Bread – the most delicious sandwich bread ever – and a delicious recipe for a snapper sandwich on coco bread with jerk mayonnaise 
Whoever invented coco bread must have been trying to come up with the perfect sandwich roll – firm on the outside, tender on the inside.
And best of all – it’s constructed with buttery layers that can be opened and then folded perfectly around the sandwich filling, making a neat and delicious package.
Have you ever been on a week-long vacation and ordered the exact same thing for lunch, day after day? I have. A grilled snapper sandwich on freshly made coco bread with lettuce, tomato and jerk mayonnaise. Our family has a favorite destination in Jamaica – a small hotel called Rockhouse. We’ve gone there several times during the kids’ February vacation.
It’s set on a cliff by the ocean, and we basically sit and read and take in the view all day, with an occasional break for snorkeling. Lunch is cooked nearby, in a little open prep kitchen with picnic tables set up in front and a barbecue grill off to the side.
Once the grilling begins, it’s hard to concentrate on reading as the delicious scents of charred jerk spices start wafting over.
Year after year we all concur on how delicious the sandwiches are and say we should really get the recipe for coco bread. Well finally I did! Chef Warren at Rockhouse generously shared his recipe for coco bread and also explained how to make the grilled snapper sandwich. Now I can make it at home and so can you!
HOW TO MAKE JAMAICAN COCO BREAD
Coco bread is quick and easy. All the dry ingredients go into the mixer. The wet ingredients are added. After five minutes of kneading the dough ball is formed.
Cut the dough into ten pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball and leave the balls to rise for five minutes.
Now comes the part that makes Jamaican coco bread so special and so perfect for sandwiches:
Roll each ball into a thing pancake, brush with butter, and fold in half.
Brush with more butter and fold in half again.
Place the little triangles of dough on a greased baking tray.
After a ten minute rise, use the tips of your fingers to make four light impressions in each triangle of bread.
This step is essential for keeping the bread from puffing up too much in the oven.
After 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, you have coco bread!
I’ve also included chef Warren’s recipe for the delicious grilled snapper sandwich that I just can’t seem to get enough of. He uses gray snapper, a tender, flaky fish that’s more abundant than over-fished red snapper.
If you can’t find gray snapper, you can substitute red snapper, mahi mahi or tilapia.
And if you’re not in the mood for fish, try making your favorite sandwich using delicious homemade coco bread.
While we’re on the topic of bread, at some point you also might want to check out this delicious recipe for no-knead olive bread.
Now here’s the recipe for Jamaican Coco Bread. If you try this recipe I hope you’ll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I’d love to know what you think!
PrintJamaican Coco Bread
Jamaican Coco Bread is perfect for sandwiches and especially good with a simple piece of grilled fish and some spicy mayo.
Recipe adapted from Rockhouse Hotel chef Warren Rowe’s recipe.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: jamaican
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 packs active dry yeast or 4 ½ teaspoons
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Wet Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk, warmed (not more than 120º F)
- ¼ cup water, warmed (not more than 120ºF)
- 2 tbs softened butter (at room temp) plus more for brushing
- 2 tbs coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix all dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment. Add butter, coconut oil, milk and water. Mix at low speed for 5 minutes. Dough should be a ball that can be removed from the bowl.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Cut into 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Allow balls to sit for 10 minutes.
- Place a small bowl of softened butter (about 3 tablespoons) and a pastry brush on your work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball flat (about 7 inches diameter and 1/4-1/8 inch thick). Rub a thin layer of softened butter over the surface of each piece of dough, using a brush or your fingers. Fold dough in half. Rub a layer of butter over the top surface. Fold again. Place onto a lightly greased jellyroll pan. Repeat with remaining pieces.
- When all the balls are rolled, buttered, shaped and on the pan, let them sit for 10 minutes. After a ten minute rise, use the tips of your fingers to make four light impressions in each triangle of bread. It keeps the bread from puffing up too much in the oven.
- Bake them in the center of the preheated oven for 15-20 mins, until they are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and brush the rolls with a bit more butter. Serve warm or allow to cool and store in an airtight container for a day or two. (They are best served fresh)
- See notes below for Jerk fish sandwich recipe.
Notes
Make Jerk Fish Sandwiches on Coco Bread (serves 5) Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon store-bought jerk spice. Brush grill grates or cast iron grill pan with oil and preheat to medium-high. Brush 5 6-oz snapper, Mahi-mahi or tilapia fillets on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill fish 3-4 minutes per side, until cooked through. Open the coco bread and spread jerk mayo on the inside bottom and top, add a lettuce leave, a tomato slice and the fish. Enjoy!
Keywords: homemade coco bread, authentic coco bread
Jill
September 14, 2019 at 9:29 amI tried this recipe and it ultimately came out delicious. When mixing the ingredients it was more like cake batter. I added 1 3/4 cup more flour and that seemed to remedy the issue. The rolls came out so soft and fluffy. Thank you for the recipe.
Tammy
July 13, 2018 at 10:34 amCould the coconut oil be substituted with coconut milk?
Lisa
July 13, 2018 at 12:53 pmI wouldn’t recommend that. Substituting coconut milk for coconut oil will change the texture of the bread. You can use butter in place of coconut oil.
Elsa O Cox
June 6, 2018 at 10:47 pmI don’t have coconut oil what can i use í have coconut milk
Lisa
June 9, 2018 at 2:00 pmYou can use an equal amount of butter as a substitute for the coconut oil.
Andrew
February 5, 2018 at 9:20 pmDelicious bread. I used coconut milk (added the yeast to that first) and both butter and coconut oil. Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Kym
January 1, 2018 at 10:54 pmI gave a try at this wonderful recipe. My bread came out great only one problem my dough was too soupy like so I had to keep adding flour as it was extremely sticky, other than that it was absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing. I use it to make my hubby bacon egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. (For work)
Heidi
July 6, 2016 at 12:28 amAlso, I noticed there’s no proofing or rise time noted other than the 10 minute rest after folding. Lastly, the recipe calls for active dry yeast, but there doesn’t seem to be a step for blooming the yeast, is it rapid rise yeast?
Lisa
July 8, 2016 at 9:45 amHeidi, this recipe comes directly from Chef Warren at the Rockhouse Hotel in Jamaica. It may not be the most conventional bread recipe, but it’s an amazingly delicious recipe. I hope you’ll give it a try!
Heidi
July 6, 2016 at 12:10 amThis is the only recipe I’ve seen for coco bread that doesn’t contain eggs,,,
Lenie
May 19, 2015 at 9:00 amMy coco bread opened up when baking. Any idea? Also, you left out the part about indenting the dough with your fingers in the recipe.
Lisa Goldfinger
May 19, 2015 at 10:11 amLenie, I’m sorry to hear that your bread opened up. I apologize if my omitting that indenting part in the recipe caused your problem. I really appreciate you pointing that out – I made the change. I hope you’ll try the recipe again with the indents – I think that is the key to keeping the dough folded while cooking. Thanks so much for letting me know!
adam
April 3, 2015 at 3:41 pmWe have been to the rockhouse twice in the last 6 months. So glad I found this recipe thanks for posting.
Lisa Goldfinger
April 3, 2015 at 4:32 pmTwice in 6 months!? Wow, I’m jealous. I love the place so much. So you know the pleasure of sitting out on the edge of the cliff, enjoying freshly grilled fish on freshly baked coco bread!
Cynthia Spencer
April 3, 2015 at 8:02 amWhat type of flour? All purpose or Bread flour?
Lisa Goldfinger
April 3, 2015 at 1:03 pmHi Cynthia, yes – all Purpose flour. Thanks for asking – I’ll go back and specify that in the recipe.
Cynthia Spencer
April 3, 2015 at 3:36 pmThank you! I will be using coconut milk too hope that is okay.
Lisa Goldfinger
April 3, 2015 at 4:30 pmHi Cynthia, I’ve never tried it with coconut milk. I bet it will be good! Let me know.
Ashley's Naturals
March 7, 2014 at 4:59 pmThis bread was fabulous!!!! I made a couple minor changes and made it vegan but it is so delicious. So perfect and supple. It reminds me of the bread back home (New York).
Peace and Blessings & thank you for this awesome recipe guide. Ah how I’ve missed coco bread.
Lisa Goldfinger
March 7, 2014 at 5:59 pmSo glad you enjoyed it Ashley!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
February 7, 2014 at 4:02 pmRecently in Seattle I ate at a small restaurant which specialized in food from Trinidad. I had a bread there that was UNBELIEVABLY delicious. Seriously—I had never tasted a bread anything like it. It is probably a good thing that I live 2 hrs away and part of that is a ferry ride or I would be eating that bread very day. This looks different, but looks unbelievably soft. I am not much of a bread maker, but your instructions do
look simple. I am going to give it a whirl. Albeit if it’s as good as the Trinidad bread, it might be best for my hips if I failed at making it. Laughing—-
Rocquie
October 15, 2013 at 11:50 amSo beautiful and looks so delicious. I can’t wait to try it–thank you for sharing.