coconut buns [df]

My father is a man of few words. In the 21 years I've been on this earth, I've learned my father rarely has an opinion on anything apolitical. For instance, he has no favorite color and no favorite music. Which is why, on the rare occasion that he does start a sentence with "I like...", I perk up and latch onto every word that follows. Imagine a rabbit listening for predators. Yup.

The other day, my father said three magical words. "I like coconut." And since I'm always open for requests a.k.a. excuses to bake, he then asked me to make something with coconut.

I found this seriously fantastic coconut buns recipe by Sarah from The Woks of Life and made some adjustments to make them friendlier to my digestive system (dairy-free) as well as amp up the coconut flavor (using coconut oil). I also made a few buns using homemade strawberry jam, per my mother's special request. *It was more difficult to fill the buns with jam because of how wet they are, so if you do try it with jam, I suggest using 1-1 1/2 tsp at most.

These coconut buns have a fairly simple recipe with simple ingredients that happen to be dairy free and absolutely delicious - especially when fresh and warm out of the oven. Both my parents really enjoyed these, and my father said he would buy them in a store. Huzzah! Success! So if you're a coconut lover and/or nostalgic for some asian bakery bread, I highly recommend giving this recipe a go. :)

Sesame seed stripe = strawberry jam; sesame seed center = coconut flakes.

Homemade strawberry jam & coconut flake filling

coconut buns [df] (adapted from The Woks of Life)
bun dough
1 1/2 cup dairy free milk, at room temperature or lukewarm (I used cashew milk)
1 egg
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
~4 cup all-purpose flour, more or less as needed
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs coconut oil

coconut filling
5 Tbs coconut oil
3 Tbs confectioners/icing sugar
3 Tbs all purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

topping
(for egg wash) 1 egg, beaten
(for decoration) sesame seeds

1. In a bowl, combine milk, egg, sugar, flour, yeast, salt and coconut oil.
2. Combine -either by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook - into a soft and smooth dough, adding more flour or water as needed.
3. When the dough is formed, let the dough rest, in a covered and oiled bowl, for 1 hour.
4. While waiting for the dough to rest, combine all the filling ingredients.
5. After 1 hour, punch the dough down and knead to get the air bubbles out.
6. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. If you want to be precise, you can use a food scale.
7. Roll each piece out into a rectangle; smooth on the filling; roll it up; pinch and smooth the edges until a smooth bun forms. Check out Sarah's awesome photos for reference.
8. Let the buns rest for 45 minutes.
9. Brush with egg wash, and decorate with sesame seeds.
10. Bake at 350 F for 16-18 minutes. Serve fresh! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.