Coconut Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Back in the day when One Perfect Bite was in its infancy, I featured a recipe for toasted coconut bread that was  loosely based on Bill Granger's famous loaf. In reality, the two breads are so different that it's nearly impossible to tell that his bread was the inspiration for the one I created. My Toasted Coconut bread can be found here.  I was going through the blog the other day and I realized that I had never posted his version of the loaf.  I'm going to take care of that today, but I have made one small change to his recipe that deserves an explanation. Just as the addition of vanilla changes frosting from white to cream, the addition of ground cinnamon will darken or muddy bread and cake mixes to which it is added. To avoid the color change, I use cinnamon oil whenever it is practical. The oil can be found in most supermarkets and it is also available from many baking or grocery  suppliers online. The oil is very strong, so it should never be substituted  on a one to one basis with ground cinnamon. I've found that a 1/4 teaspoon is perfect for this bread.  Granger's loaf is moist and dense and chewy, and coconut lovers rave about it.  If you enjoy coconut and have never tried this recipe, you might want to give it a try. Here is how the bread is made. The photos that follow the recipe are of my son and his beautiful baby daughter, our granddaughter, Tegan

Coconut Bread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bill Granger via TheNew York Times

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour, more for dusting pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon oil
1 cup superfine sugar
5 ounces flaked coconut (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8-1/2  x  4-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and if you are using it, cinnamon oil..
3) In a medium bowl, sift together 2-1/2 cups flour, baking powder and ground cinnamon, if you are using dry version of cinnamon.  Add sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in  center, and pour in egg mixture. Gradually mix with dry ingredients, until just combined. Add melted butter, and stir until smooth. Do not overmix.
4) Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 to 1-1/4 hours. Cool in pan 5 minutes, remove bread from pan, and finish cooling on a rack.
5) To serve, cut into 8 to 10 thick slices. If desired, toast lightly, spread with butter, and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

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