Coconut Bread

2/3 cup coconut milk

2/3 cup lukewarm water

2 T shortening, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 T milk powder

4 t instant yeast

1 t salt

1 egg, beaten

2 T coconut, finely chopped

4 cups bread flour

In a large bowl, add water, egg, coconut milk, shortening, sugar, instant yeast, salt, milk powder and coconut. Mix until well combined. Add in half the flour and continue mixing until smooth. Start adding more flour slowly. When it becomes hard to mix, pour out onto a hard surface. Continue to add more flour and begin to knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. After kneading, add a little oil to a bowl and add the dough. Flip a few times to make sure th dough is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest until dough has doubled. Cut dough into 32 equal pieces. Layer eight pieces in the bottom of one 4 1/2" by 8" greased loaf pan. Place eight more pieces on top of the first eight. Repeat with a second loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest until dough reaches about 1 inch from the top of the pan.

Topping

1 egg white

1 T water

3 T flour

2 T sugar

2 butter, softened

2 T coconut, finely chopped

Combine flour, sugar, butter and coconut into a bowl. Using your fingers, mix till the mixture becomes a crumble. In a separate bowl, combine the egg white and water. Whisk until foamy. Brush the tops of the loaves with the foam and then add the crumble topping. Place into a 350 deg F preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool on wire rack.

Notes: I didn't really make any changes to this recipe. I liked it the way it is. The only thing was that I didn't have any fresh coconut, so I used the frozen sweetened coconut instead. This bread isn't insanely sweet. It has a bread taste with a hint of coconut (from the coconut milk).