There are not enough words to describe how good this bread is, it’s sweet but not too sweet, soft but with a sweet crunchy crust and the best taste you can think off.
This is really traditional in Brazil, you can basically find it everywhere. We call it Rosca de Coco and you can make it plain or with different fillings. When I was a child I used to spend a week holiday with my grandparents in Taquaritinga (a small town in the state of Sao Paulo) and my granny used to buy it fresh almost every day for me to eat. I’ve been meaning to try and veganize it for quite a long time and the results was even better than expected, the minute I had the first bite it brought back memories of this lovely lady that has been a huge influence in my life and my cooking.
Truth be told, we had Neni to thanks for this incredible and delicious bread, as I’ve only put the ingredients together and he has done the hard work. I really hope you enjoy it as much as we did and would love to read your comments about it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup vanilla soya milk
- 1 tbsp grounded flaxseed
- 3 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp light brown sugar
- 4 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 30g biological yeast
- 2 tbsp vegan margarine
- 4 cups strong bread white flour
- 1 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vegan margarine melted
Method
- Mix the water and flaxseed and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Mix 1 tbsp sugar and the biological yeast, stir for a few minutes until it gets liquid and let it set for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix flour, milk, light brown sugar, coconut, margarine and salt.
- Mix the flaxssed mixture and biological yeast with the rest of the ingredients and bring into a dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough back to the bowl, cover it and let it rest for 1 hour on a warm place.
- Once risen, place the dough onto a floured surface. Knock the dough back by folding it in on itself repeatedly. Do this until all the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth.
- Divide the dough in half and each half in three. Roll it into 6 equal size balls.
- For a three braid challah, roll each ball of dough into a strand and place the three strands parallel to each other on a flour surface. Pinch the ends together and braid like you would a hair braid.
- Transfer the bread to a baking tray, cover it and let it prove for 1 hours.
- Pre-heat the oven at 200C
- Brush the top of each bread with melted margarine and bake it for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool.
- Mix three tbsp of sugar with the lemon juice and brush the top of each bread while still hot.
Enjoy!
- Nut free