coco bread
{{Short description|Caribbean bread made with coconut milk}}
{{Distinguish|Pan de coco}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Coco bread
| image = Coco bread wrapped beef patty.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Coco bread stuffed with a Jamaican patty.
| alternate_name =
| region = Caribbean
| creator =
| course =
| type = Bread
| served = Hot or room temperature
| main_ingredient = Flour, dairy milk or coconut milk, baker's yeast, sugar, butter or oil
| variations =
| calories =
| other =
| place_of_origin = Jamaica
}}
Coco bread is a Jamaican bread eaten on the island and in other areas of the Caribbean. The bread contains coconut milk and is soft and slightly sweet in taste.
It is made to be split in half, and is often stuffed with a Jamaican patty or other fillings to form a sandwich. It is usually found in school cafeterias and bakeries.
History
Coco bread originated in Jamaica, however its exact roots are unclear. It is believed to have been born out of scarcity. However, it is likely to have been developed during the colonial era, by enslaved Africans and indentured labourers from China and India, who worked on sugar plantations.{{Cite web |last=Washington |first=Brigid Ransome |title=Coco Bread Is the Taste of Freedom |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/bread-dough/bread-making/how-to-make-jamaican-coco-bread-history |access-date=2022-02-10 |website=Food & Wine |language=en}} Coco bread is a variation of Jamaican hard dough bread, and it bears similarities to other sweet breads and soft dough breads introduced to the island by Chinese indentured labourers,{{cite book | last=Higman | first=B.W. | title=Jamaican Food: History, Biology, Culture | publisher=University of the West Indies Press | year=2008 | isbn=978-976-640-205-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdeBAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=January 15, 2025}} and European colonizers.
Since then, it has been popular within Caribbean communities throughout the region, and in areas where Jamaican immigrants have settled.{{cite book |last=Houston |first=L.M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZEeyKrytcwC&pg=PA64 |title=Food Culture in the Caribbean |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-313-32764-3 |series=Food culture around the world |page=64 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}{{Cite web |title=Coco Bread Recipe |url=https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017775-coco-bread |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=NYT Cooking |language=en-US}}
Preparation
Ingredients include flour, butter or oil, yeast, sugar, and milk or coconut milk, which are combined to form a soft dough. After rising, the dough is separated into portions which are rolled out, coated with butter or oil, and folded into half-moon shaped buns (to make an easy-to-split cleft), before baking.{{Cite web |last=Rousseau |first=Michelle |last2=Rousseau |first2=Suzanne |date=28 August 2020 |title=How to Make Buttery Jamaican Coco Bread |url=https://www.seriouseats.com/coco-bread |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Serious Eats |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Vartanian |first=Talin |date=2022-08-19 |title=What Makes Jamaican Coco Bread Unique? |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/973183/what-makes-jamaican-coco-bread-unique/ |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Tasting Table |language=en-US}} Coco bread is dense, moist and soft in consistency, and slightly sweet in taste.
Usage
The bread has been a standard offering in school cafeterias as an inexpensive and filling lunch item. In Jamaica, coco bread is usually paired with patties or other fillings to form sandwiches. It is commonly served to-go in bakeries and pastry shops across the island, and is eaten by all social classes. It may be served for dipping or as part of a bread basket.
Variations and similar breads
Jamaican coconut bread which is small, round and soft is a variation of coco bread. Hard dough bread from which coco bread is derived, and other dense, soft and slightly sweet breads like Jamaican cornbread are also similar. In coastal Central America, which experienced Antillean migration, especially from Jamaica, between the 17th and 20th centuries, variations of coco bread can be found— like Honduran pan de coco, also made in coastal Guatemala, Nicaragua and San Andrés (not to be confused with Filipino pan de coco), and Creole bread made in Belize. Also, Japanese milk bread, French brioche and Chinese mantou share similarities with coco bread.
See also
{{portal|Food}}
{{Commons category|Coco bread}}