Coco bread (Immaculate Bites version)
Jamaican-style folded rolls made from sweet coconut-milk yeast dough and brushed with butter.
Modern method
Hard dough bread
hardo bread
Jamaican hard dough bread is a firm, close-crumbed yeasted wheat loaf with a thicker crust and a soft, chewy interior. Roll the dough tightly and bake it in a loaf tin.
A firm Jamaican loaf
Edward Bottone describes Jamaican hard dough bread as an everyday loaf with a close crumb and thicker crust, while remaining soft and chewy inside. His measured home recipe adapts a formula from Enid Donaldson's Real Taste of Jamaica. It uses all-purpose wheat flour, yeast, a small amount of butter or shortening, and one rise before shaping followed by a shorter rise in the pan.
The dough is firmer than a high-hydration rustic loaf. Knead until smooth, roll it tightly, and tuck the ends beneath the loaf so it fits the tin. The source also gives an alternative roll shape, but this batch follows its one-loaf method. No first attestation, precise birthplace, or storage duration is established by the inspected material.
Sources for this section
History
Edward Bottone's contemporary recipe calls Jamaican hard dough bread an everyday bread in Jamaica and says his method adapts Enid Donaldson's Real Taste of Jamaica. It does not establish an earliest date.
Ingredients
Yield 1 loaf · Scaling: source batch only
454 g
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
Vegetable shortening or butterChill before cutting into the flour; use either fat. Use additional fat to grease the loaf pan.
45 mL
3 tablespoons237 mL
or replace half with whole milk or buttermilkWhole milk or creamBrush over the loaf before baking.
amount not specified
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour
Uncooked flour can carry germs, and this dough is handled before baking.
Hazard sourceDo not taste the raw dough. Bake it according to the recipe, then wash hands, bowls, utensils, and work surfaces after handling flour or dough.
Control sourceThe source provides approximate proofing and baking times; use the stated dough-temperature and loaf-doneness cues, and avoid eating the dough before it is baked.
Use care around the hot oven and pan.
- Sift together the flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Cut the chilled shortening or butter into the dry ingredients. Rub it in with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until small pea-sized pieces remain.
- Add the warm water, or the source's half-water and half-whole-milk-or-buttermilk option. Mix until the flour is incorporated, then knead by hand or with a dough hook until the dough forms a firm, smooth ball.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl. Grease the surface of the dough, cover with a damp cloth, and leave it in a warm place for about 1 hour. The source gives an approximate dough temperature of 25°C (77°F).
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll it into a rectangle. Roll it into a tight log and tuck the ends under so it fits a greased 23 × 13 cm (9 × 5 inch) loaf pan. Place seam-side down.
- Cover the pan and let the loaf rise for about 50 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Brush the loaf top with whole milk or cream.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Remove the loaf from the pan and cool it on a wire rack before slicing.
Conditions
Yield1 loaf
Fermentation1 h
Temperature25°C
Temperature controlAmbient, monitored
Places
Jamaica
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe source describes Jamaican hard dough as an everyday bread in Jamaica; no more precise regional origin is claimed.
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Sources
The Cook's CookMethod · Geography · History
Jamaican Hard Dough BreadThe source describes hard dough bread as everyday bread in Jamaica, with a close crumb and thicker crust while still soft and chewy.
It credits the recipe as adapted from Enid Donaldson's Real Taste of Jamaica and supplies a complete measured loaf formula, two rises, tight pan shaping, an oven setting, and visual and sound doneness cues.
Cited in: A firm Jamaican loaf
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour may carry germs; do not eat raw dough; bake it following the recipe and wash hands and surfaces after handling flour and dough.