Yes, another bread recipe…I know my last post was bread as well, but I just can’t stop making it! It’s my favourite thing to bake (and eat…) and this is a really good one….the next few posts will be about different things…promise!
I was sent an EPICA digital probe thermometer
The Epica thermometer is very simple and straightforward to use, and can be switched between Celsius and Fahrenheit. The long, thin metal probe makes it easy to stick it right into the centre of whatever it is you need to measure, and I found it easy to insert it into the centre of the loaf without leaving any visible marks. It took about 8 seconds to give a temperature reading, which is relatively fast, and it seems to be perfectly accurate; it has a min/max setting – it will tell you the minimum and maximum temperatures recorded during a readout which would be especially handy for cooking meat. It also comes with a protective cover for the probe which clips into place easily, so you can put it in a drawer without worrying about stabbing yourself when you put your hand in there…
I checked the internal temperature of the bread after it had been baking for 35 minutes and looked done, (stick the thermometer into the middle of the loaf and wait for the temperature to stop climbing) it read 187°F – so not quite cooked (given that the thermometer came out with wet dough on it, definitely not cooked!), so I gave it another 10 minutes in the oven and checked again. This time the temperature registered as 200°F so I removed the bread from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before testing it, it was cooked perfectly – no raw dough but still soft, so clearly the readout was correct. I also tested it while making a batch of fudge and found it much easier and more accurate than the large, clunky, non-digital sugar thermometer I usually use. Overall I found it to be a very handy piece of kit, and it will certainly be getting a lot of use in my kitchen. It is available (for a very reasonable price) in the UK here
On to the bread itself. I fancied something fresh and summery (and had a lot of lemons…) so went for lemon and coconut pull apart bread (pull-apart bread is also one that I have had issues with getting the bake right in the past – so perfect for thermometer testing). There is coconut milk in the dough, which, along with the butter and egg, helps to make it wonderfully soft; and the filling is comprised of butter, sugar, grated lemon and orange zest and desiccated coconut. I topped it off with a zingy glaze made from icing sugar, lemon juice and coconut milk. The butter and sugar in the filling melt and make the bread go all crunchy and caramelised around the edges, and soft in the middle. It pulls apart into pieces easily, so is perfect for sharing (although once you start pulling pieces off it is very hard to stop…) and the smell while it is cooking is fantastic – fragrant lemon mixed with freshly baked bread and nutty coconut…Heavenly. Once I was done taking photographs, half of the loaf disappeared within seconds, it was that moreish…and although it is best eaten fresh, it was still soft and delicious the next day, warmed slightly in the microwave before serving.
Lemon Coconut Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 400 g (3 + 1/3 cups) strong white bread flour
- 7 g (2 tsp) fast action yeast
- 50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 50 g (scant 1/4 cup) butter
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk (or whole milk)
- 2 eggs
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Filling
- 40 g (3 tbsp) butter, melted
- 125 g (2/3 cup) sugar
- finely grated zest of 3 lemons and 1 orange
- 60 g (packed 1/4 cup) desiccated coconut
Glaze
- 150 g (1 + 1/2 cups) icing (powdered) sugar
- 2 tbsp coconut milk or whole milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
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Place the flour in a large bowl, add the yeast to one side and the sugar and salt to the other. Melt the butter in a small pan, remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Add the butter mixture to the flour along with the eggs and lemon zest.
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Mix until it forms a rough dough, turn out on to an un-floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic (use a stand mixer if you have one), the dough will be sticky at first but will become smooth after a few minutes of kneading.
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Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with greased clingfilm, either place in the fridge to rise overnight or in a warm place for an hour or so until doubled in size.
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If you let it rise in the fridge overnight, let it sit out at room temperature for half an hour to warm up before continuing.
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Line an approx. 22x11.5cm (9x4.5in) loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
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Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into an approx. 30x50cm (12x20in) rectangle. Brush the melted butter all over the dough. Mix together the sugar, zest and coconut and scatter it evenly over the dough, press it down gently.
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Slice the dough into 5 even strips (roughly 10x30 cm) (a pizza cutter is the ideal tool), lay the strips on top of each other then slice in to 4 pieces.
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Stack the dough pieces upright in the tin and loosen them slightly. Cover, and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes until puffy.
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Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.
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Bake for about 45 minutes until the temperature in the centre registers as 94C/200F, or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
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Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin on a wire rack.
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Meanwhile, make the glaze; sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and stir in the coconut milk and lemon juice. It should be pourable but not runny, add a little more lemon juice if it is too thick or a little more icing sugar if it is too thin.
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Turn the bread out onto a serving dish and pour over the glaze. Serve warm.
Disclosure. This post is a review of a product I was sent for free. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
I am sharing this with Totally Talented Tuesdays, Create Link Inspire, Fiesta Friday, Foodie Fridays and Foodie Friends Friday
This looks delicious and I love anything with lemons in it! The pictures are amazing and food thermometers are so useful, I have a thermapen and it’s great.
This is lovely…beautifully photographed and explained! I was in the market for a new thermometer so I am glad I had a chance to read this!
What a great looking bread recipe!! That thermometer sounds like a great tool, thank you for sharing 😀
This looks so pretty and I can imagine is really tasty, I love lemon in almost anything. I haven’t made pull-apart bread but might have to give this a try. Thanks for bringing to Fiesta Friday!
Oh yum! I just have to try this! There is nothing better than lemon and coconut together!!
How sensational! 😀
Beautiful flavors. I am loving it 🙂
oh wow – if all your baking is like this no matter that it’s always bread, we love it!
Wow! Lemon and coconut sound good together. This looks really delicious, Hannah. 🙂
Oh, that looks amazing! Fabulous combination of flavours! On my to-do list!
Just gorgeous! I’ve completely fallen out of the habit of baking bread and I’m really inspired to get started again now. Such a great flavour combination.
Lemon coconut bread sounds delightful and great for brightening up these gray winter days 🙂
This looks absolutely stunning – bet it would be fab for over Easter! I usually have a fail-safe lemon drizzle cake recipe I use but think I am going to give this a go for a change x
This looks and sounds divine. Stunning photography too. Making me want to make a cup of tea and get baking now!
That looks absolutely gorgeous! I love bread…but it doesn’t love me so much. The photos are gorgeous too!
I love how moist the sponge looks – and that lovely drizzled icing! Serious urge to bake this right now – is it wrong to eat a cake before 9am?!
Thank you! There is never a wrong time to eat cake!
Wow how beautiful does this look! I love coconut and citrus so this is right up my street – can’t wait to give it a go!
Thank you!
Wow. This looks incredible! I would love if you shared this at Totally Terrific Tuesday. Hope to see you there.
Sharon
Her Organized Chaos
Lemon is my favourite! And I think I need this thermometer. Sounds super handy. Found ya via Tasty Tuesdays 🙂
.:Marta:.
It is sooo useful! I don’t know how I managed without a thermometer till now!
Looks delicious! I love the lemon and coconut combo.
This looks incredible. Lemon and coconut together is amazing! Beautiful pics and styling as always. #tastytuesdays
Thank you! 🙂
This looks scrumptious! I love the combination of lemon and coconut! Yum!
Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Perfect combination – lemon & coconut. Your end result looks marvellous! a belated thanks for joining in with #Bakeoftheweek x
This combines my favourite EVERYTHING. How I want a slice right now… Beautiful photography as always – have shared on my Facebook. Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Thank you! 🙂 I think it was one of my favorite breads that I have made, truly delicious 🙂
You are just amazingly talented Hannah. Another beautiful recipe.
This looks so good. Amazing pictures, amazing recipe 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Oh my gosh this looks amazing, I want to lick my screen! :’D Love anything with lemon so I will definitely be making this! #tastytuesdays
I don’t have much time for prep in the morning. What do you think about assembling it the day before and refrigerating it in the pan, then baking in the morning? Thank you for the recipe.
I think that should work fine, I haven’t tried it myself but see no reason why it shouldn’t work. I’d give it half an hour or so to come up to room temperature before you put it in the oven though. Let me know how it goes! 🙂