Coco bread might just be the world's most perfect sandwich bread. Unimaginably fluffy with delicious buttery folds that open to hold your favorite filling.
Use it for sandwiches or enjoy it warm from the oven, slathered with butter and jam. Anything you'd normally pair with regular rolls or sandwich bread will be even better on this delicious authentic homemade Jamaican coco bread.
A Jamaican Twist on Buttery Rolls
Coco bread is a unique twist on the buttery yeast roll - a beloved staple in Jamaica that is served everywhere from school cafeterias to outdoor food stands to upscale restaurants. In Jamaica you'll often find it stuffed with beef patty or other sandwich fillings.
The dough is typically made with flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter and either dairy milk or coconut milk. Sometimes coconut oil is added. What truly sets coco bread apart is its unique folded construction. It can be opened, stuffed and then folded back over the filling to make a neat and delicious package.
The origin of the name coco bread is a bit of a mystery. Some claim it's because the original recipe called for coconut milk, others say it resembles a coconut that's brown on the outside and can be split open.
How I found the Best Coco Bread Recipe
How many times have you come home from vacation wanting to recreate some of the amazing dishes you enjoyed on your trip? It happens to me all the time.
It was on a family vacation in Jamaica at the Rockhouse Hotel where I fell in love with a grilled jerk snapper sandwich. It wasn't just the delicious filling, but the incredible bread it was served on – a fluffy, pillowy bread that was unlike anything I'd ever seen or tasted before.
Despite all the other tempting items on the lunch menu (the Rockhouse is one of Negril's premiere fine dining destinations) I found myself ordering that jerk snapper sandwich on coco bread every single day.
After several years of returning to Rockhouse, my love for that sandwich only grew stronger and I finally knew I had to have the coco bread recipe! I am so grateful to Executive Chef Warren Rowe for sharing his wonderful recipe with me.
It's a thrill to make delicious buttery coco bread at home!
Coco Bread Ingredients
Here’s an overview of what you'll need:
- All-purpose flour
- White sugar
- Active dry yeast
- Kosher salt
- Whole milk
- Butter
- Coconut oil
How to make coco bread
Coco bread is quick 4-step process. Here's an overview:
- Mix up the dough in a stand mixer.
- Divide dough into 10 pieces, roll into 10 balls and leave to rise for 10 minutes.
- Roll each ball into a flat pancake, brush with butter, fold in half, brush with more butter, fold again and leave to rise, for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 20 minutes, brush with more butter, and enjoy!
Here's a more detailed step-by-step overview with photos of the process:
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer: flour, sugar, yeast and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients: butter, coconut oil, milk and water.
- Mix until the dough forms a ball that can be removed from the bowl.
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- Form the dough into a long roll and then cut it into ten equal (ish) pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball and leave the balls to rise for ten minutes.
Now comes the part that makes Jamaican coco bread so special and so perfect for sandwiches:
- Roll each ball into a thin pancake, brush with softened butter, and fold in half.
- Brush with more butter and fold in half again.
- Place the little triangles of dough on a buttered baking sheet and leave, to rise, for ten minutes.
- 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.
- Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven and you have coco bread!
Make it dairy free or vegan
This recipe calls for (dairy) milk but you can substitute coconut milk. Whole milk and full-fat canned coconut milk are interchangeable in the exact same quantities.
To make vegan coco bread, use coconut milk in place of dairy milk and vegan butter such as Flora Plant Butter, in place of dairy butter.
How to eat coco bread
Coco bread is incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed in many ways. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Classic Jamaican: Pair it with a savory Jamaican patty for a satisfying lunch or snack.
- Breakfast Treat: Warm it up and slather it with butter and jam for a delicious start to your day. Or stuff it with bacon, eggs and cheese.
- Sandwich Base: The soft interior and slightly sweet flavor make coco bread perfect for a variety of sandwiches. Get creative with fillings like roasted vegetables and goat cheese, avocado and smoked salmon, or your favorite cold cuts with mayo and mustard.
For a taste of the Caribbean, check out the recipe card notes for my jerk mayo and grilled fish sandwich filling!
Here's the Jamaican Coco Bread recipe. You can also watch how to make it in our video below. If you make this, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I'd love to know what you think!
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Jamaican Coco Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 rolls 1x
Description
(See video below) Coco bread is Jamaica's version of sweet, fluffy, buttery yeast rolls with a unique folded construction that makes them perfect for sandwiches. The folds can be opened to hold your favorite sandwich filling. Coco bread is also just plain delicious any way you serve it.
Recipe adapted from Rockhouse Hotel chef Warren Rowe's recipe.
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 whole milk, warmed (not more than 120º F)
- ¼ cup water, warmed (not more than 120ºF)
- 2 tablespoons softened butter (at room temp or melted) plus more for brushing
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC and arrange an oven rack in the center position. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with butter or cooking spray.
- Add dry ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer with the hook attachment and mix. Add wet ingredients and mix at low speed for 5 minutes or until dough forms a ball that can be removed from the bowl.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Form into a log, cut into 10 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Allow balls to sit for 10 minutes, for a short rise.
- Place a pastry brush and a small bowl of softened or melted butter (about 3 tablespoons) on your work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll a dough ball flat (about 7 inches diameter and about ¼ inch thick). Brush with a thin layer of softened butter and fold in half. Brush top surface with butter and fold in half again. Place on prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.
- When all the balls are rolled, buttered, shaped and on the pan, let them sit for 10 minutes to rise. Then, with your fingertips, press down to make four light impressions in each triangle of dough. This step keeps the dough from puffing up too much in the oven.
- Bake for 15-20 mins, until puffed up and lightly browned. Remove from oven and brush 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 the Jerk fish sandwich recipe.
Notes
- How to make vegan coco bread: To make this recipe vegan, substitute an equal amount of full-fat canned coconut milk for dairy milk and the same amount of vegan butter for dairy butter.
- Make Jerk Fish Sandwiches on Coco Bread (serves 5): Mix ½ 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 red snapper, gray 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 surfaces. Add a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice and a piece of grilled fish. Fold the coco bread back over the fish and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: jamaican
This recipe was first published on Panning The Globe on October 10, 2013. The recipe and post have been refreshed and updated with more pertinent information and a few new photos. The recipe has been improved with clearer directions and a recipe video has been added so you can watch how to make this.
Samantha Berman
Just made these for the first time- easy and fun and absolutely DELICIOUS! Thanks Lisa xxx Sammy and Ben
Lisa
Hi Sammy! I'm so glad you and Ben like the coco bread! It is a fun recipe - I agree! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment. xoxoxo
Indira Jairam
I made this for the 1st time yesterday and it came out so soft and fluffy, will definitely be making it again.
mel
Great recipe just tried it yesterday because I've always wanted to try using active dry yeast. I noticed it was very soft in the beginning so i added more flour to it and it was perfect. I baked it longer than the recipe called for since i didn't bake it in a jelly roll pan i baked mine in a rectangular deep dish cake pan but it turned out amazing. I wonder if i can substitute regular milk with coconut milk? Other than this I'm definitely sticking to this recipe because it was a hit in my house. I wish i could post a picture so you all could see how cool they looked.
Jill
I 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
Could the coconut oil be substituted with coconut milk?
Lisa
I 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
I don't have coconut oil what can i use í have coconut milk
Lisa
You can use an equal amount of butter as a substitute for the coconut oil.
Andrew
Delicious bread. I used coconut milk (added the yeast to that first) and both butter and coconut oil. Thank you for the recipe.
Kym
I 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
Also, 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
Heidi, 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
This is the only recipe I've seen for coco bread that doesn't contain eggs,,,
Lenie
My 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
Lenie, 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!
Lisa E
You should pinch down the fold of the bread just a bit. Usually we have to pry that end open to put our meat patty inside. 🙂
adam
We have been to the rockhouse twice in the last 6 months. So glad I found this recipe thanks for posting.
Lisa Goldfinger
Twice 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
What type of flour? All purpose or Bread flour?
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Cynthia, yes - all Purpose flour. Thanks for asking - I'll go back and specify that in the recipe.
Cynthia Spencer
Thank you! I will be using coconut milk too hope that is okay.
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Cynthia, I've never tried it with coconut milk. I bet it will be good! Let me know.
Ashley's Naturals
This 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
So glad you enjoyed it Ashley!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
Recently 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
So beautiful and looks so delicious. I can't wait to try it--thank you for sharing.