Easy Pan de Coco Recipe

What is Pan de Coco?

Pan de Coco is a soft bread roll filled with grated sweetened coconut. Since I can relate to non bakers and nostalgic eaters. I created this easier than “from scratch” bread recipe for those craving panaderia bread.

My new stint as a culinary student has me focusing on baking/pastry arts.  I’m still new to the craft of baking, and switching from being an Occupational Therapist to taking culinary arts seriously has been a major adjustment.  

Since I began, I’ve learned how to bake breads, cakes, and pastries from scratch but I still find it fun to create easy recipes.  Particularly, Filipino baked goods.

Prepping bread from scratch can take hours. The yeast needs to be activated, the dough needs to proof, to be kneaded, left to rise, then finally baked.  The clean up of a floured surface and all the tools used also takes time.  Not really inspiring for those who are new to baking, the simple home cook, and the family member/relative who craves panaderia bread or wants to share a piece of Filipino Food with their loved ones.

This had me thinking, why not use store bought bread dough? 

I scoured the frozen bread section at our nearby grocery store and found what I was looking for.  The instructions called for thawing the rolls for 1 hour and letting the dough rise for 2-3 hours.  It might sound like a lot but for the hours thawing plus dough rising, one can check off other tasks on their “to do list”.

The total time to complete this Easy Pan de Coco is a lot less than making it from scratch.

What you’ll need:

• A floured surface – I used a cookie sheet lined with parchment
• Coconut flakes
• Sugar
• Water
• Store bought frozen soft roll dough
• Eggwash (optional)

Notes on how to make Easy Pan de Coco

• Use a floured surface to prevent dough from sticking
• Add sugar to coconut filling according to taste

That’s it!  You only need five to six things to make this recipe. Soon, you’ll be sitting on the couch with a cup of hot coffee and a plate of warm out-of-the-oven Pan de Coco at your fingertips or yelling over the din of a loud gathering saying “Kain na”! (Let’s eat!)

Craving for more Filipino sweets? Here’s a link for Easy Ube Cake or Purple Yam Cake!

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Want more Pan de Coco? You’ll love this recipe plus the drool worthy pics by The Not so Creative Chef!