This perfectly VEGAN Coconut Milk Bread is unbelievably soft & simple to make. But be warned: it can get addictive!
And when I say addictive, I mean addictive people! I’ve made this loaf thrice in a week, and I’m still not tired of it! It all started when I baked these soft-as-a-pillow slider buns… You guys know I’m trying to go fully vegan this year, right? So I’ve been converting my favorite dairy recipes into non-dairy, to carry with me into my after-life. Because nothing gets you relapsing, faster than cravings and regrets.
And that’s how this Coconut Milk Bread came to be. I swapped milk with coconut milk and instead of fashioning mini slider buns, I baked it into a full loaf and voila! Soft as a sponge, gorgeous rich crust, and creamy tasting bread that brings new meaning to ‘I could live on bread and bread alone’.
The dough is a little sticky, understandably because of the coconut milk, but don’t worry. Knead for about 5 minutes, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and you should be able to shape it into a ball. After the first rise, the stickiness reduces drastically. Again, nothing a little sprinkle of flour won’t fix.
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After the first rise, punch out all the air and transfer the dough into a well-greased loaf tin. If you really want to emphasize the coconut flavor, coconut oil would be a good choice. But I was going for a more subtle, closer to regular milk bread here, so olive oil worked just fine.
Once in the tin, use your knuckles to ‘punch’ the dough to fit the shape of the loaf tin. And make it as evenly flat as possible, so the loaf rises evenly and not lopsided.
Then we let the dough rise a second time, until it peeks just over the lip of the loaf tin. Brush with some more coconut milk for some gorgeous browning on the top.
Quick Vegan Tip: Coconut milk works just as well as an egg-wash! Neat, huh? Yaay!
Would you look at that crust? *sigh* And you’ll have to take my word on how incredibly soft it was. One of these days, I’m just going to accidentally use it as a pillow.
NOTES:
Substitute with Active Dry Yeast
I’ve used instant yeast here, but if you want to use Active Dry Yeast instead, substitute the same amount given in the recipe. But activate it first. Dissolve the sugar in the coconut milk + water and heat till lukewarm. Stir in the active dry yeast and let sit until frothy and bubbly. Then add this to the remaining ingredients and follow the recipe instructions.
When you make these (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!
Coconut Milk Bread
Ingredients
Method
- Combine flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl. If using active dry yeast, you'll need to activate it first. (Instructions in post above).
- Heat the coconut milk + water till lukewarm.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mix. Pour in the lukewarm liquids + olive oil. Knead into a soft, elastic dough. This is a sticky dough, so don't worry too much about getting it fluffy and bouncy at this stage.
- Dust a work surface lightly with flour and roll the dough into it and shape it into a ball. Return back to the bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel and place in a warm spot for an hour to rise.
- Once the dough is risen and doubled in size, transfer the dough to a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Knead for a minute until the dough is soft and bouncy.
- Generously grease a 9x4 inch loaf tin with olive oil. Place the dough into the loaf tin and punch it to spread it around evenly.
- Cover with a damp kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise again.
- Once the dough is risen till the lip of the loaf tin, remove and brush some coconut milk on the top.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the loaf around halfway through baking.
- Remove from the oven, and let the loaf cool slightly in the tin. Run a sharp knife around the edges and remove the loaf from the tin. If it doesn't want to come out, cool some more.
- Cool completely on a wire rack and wrap in foil or parchment paper and store at room temperature for 3 days. Best eaten on the day of baking.
Yasmin says
Can I add coconut shreds?
Tina Dawson says
I don’t see why not! That sounds delicious!!!! I would recommend adding the coconut shreds during the final rise process if using freshly grated coconut. If using dessicated coconut, you can add it during the initial rise.
Amber says
I have done this but split it into rolls as I was afraid that the dough would be too dense. I don’t know, I’m just much more use to the roll style. We will see.
Dee says
Hi! Can we get measurements in cups/tbsp/tsp? Please and thank you!
Tina Dawson says
Hi Dee, this Pumpkin Rolls uses the same recipe, but instead of shaping them into rolls, just put them in a small loaf tin. You can also try using this converter tool.
Darlene Johnson says
If recipes don’t show that translation, how are we supposed to learn Metric?
Mj says
Just made this. Came out perfectly!! Thank you!!!
Tina Dawson says
Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know! I’m so glad!
Akhila says
Can atta (wheat flour) be used in this recipe as a substitute for maida
Tina Dawson says
Atta is a lot more dense than maida (because of the extra fiber) and might not result in as soft a bread as with all maida. I’ve never tried it myself, but I would recommend that you start with 50:50 maida:atta first. You might also want to add just a tad more yeast to the bread to help in the extra rise. Good luck!
Yusuf says
just Waaw
Yusuf says
i took most of my time going through your recipes and procedure to bake, i hope to derive a new experience, Mentor ?
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Yusuf!
Jax says
Trying this recipe with gluten free flour *fingers crossed *
Tina Dawson says
I’ve never worked with gluten-free flours, but my understanding is that the water-flour ratio is different. Let me know how it turns out!
Jerlyn says
Hi! Can i replace coconut milk with oat milk?:)
Tina Dawson says
yes you can. Soy/almond will also work.
Tina Dawson says
Yes you can!
Pooja says
Loaf looks beautiful..What’s the loaf tin size u hv used.?
Tina Dawson says
9×4 inch loaf tin – I’ve listed it in the recipe Pooja 🙂
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says
Beautiful looking bread this one is! Would love to try this for sure… Pinned it up… Was introduced to your blog by Rini who said you were her childhood mate… your photography is amazing… 🙂
Tina Dawson says
Yes Rafeeda, Rini and I were in school together! And thanks so much for stopping by! <3 <3 <3 Love!
Sarenya says
This looks lovely! I don’t have bread flour, Can I substitute bread flour with apf?
Tina Dawson says
Yes you can Sarenya. I think I’ll update the recipe with that note. A lot of people have been asking me.
Beth @ Binky's Culinary Carnival says
This bread looks like it has the perfect texture! I substitute ‘nut milks’ a lot because I am lactose intolerant I love them!
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Beth! I need to start using other nut ‘milks’ in baking too!
Patty says
Oh my! There’s rarely a day without bread in my house and I’m always looking for new recipes, pinning your scrumptious recipe for later!
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Patty! I hope you like it as much as I did!
Mary // chattavore says
That is one gorgeous loaf of bread! The crumb looks amazing. I will have to give this a try!
Tina Dawson says
Yes you do! Thanks Mary!
Janette@CulinaryGinger.com says
I can see why this bread is addicting, it looks perfect.
Tina Dawson says
Perfection, it was! Thanks Janette!
Molly Kumar says
WoW, the bread is so fluffy and moist.I’m so loving the flavors here and it’s so easy to make too. I always have coconut milk cans at home and will try this soon.
Tina Dawson says
Thanks Molly! I know you’ll love these!