Making Coconut bread…

Niuean Coconut Bread…

I have decided to share one of my bread recipes. Its a traditional staple in Niue. Im half Niuean + a member of a Facebook group that is for Niueans, and/or anyone that is interested in Niuean culture, has ties to the island and people.

There was a Moroccan man who married a Niuean. He asked for a Coconut Bread recipe on this page. The responses were along the lines of “Ask your wife or her family!” “Google it” and similar. Because its assumed that if you are a Niuean, you can bake local recipes? Ummm…no, some people cant bake, or even cook. Traditionally in the islands, men are the cooks! My Dad was one such man, thankfully he passed on his knowledge of traditional Niuean recipes to me.

I decided to share my own bread recipe and added my comment to that Facebook thread as follows “Being Niuean doesnt mean you genetically inherit the knowledge of local food and how to make it. Or even cook at all, its just assumed. I can make both and was lucky enough to have my Dad to guide me”

Im often overlooked as Polynesian when amongst my Polynesian counterparts. I dont really look ‘Islander’ or seem to be very Polynesian (due to my pale skin and not being able to speak Niuean) in the way of being able to cook island food, baked or savoury. Regardless, I will give it a go and it turns out alright. I know this because its eaten with great gusto and Im always asked “Can you please give me the recipe, pics and/or do a video so I can see how its done?” As it turns out I have hundreds of short vids and images of my cooking efforts, that sit doing nothing on my phone. I will share a couple as Insta stories which people then save. This is my first official share with an accompanying semi ok video to go with. I guess I will do more and hopefully get better at it. So apologies in advance if its not quite right!

This is an Island style recipe with yeast, as opposed to a ‘Banana Bread’ which we have here in Australia. Its more of a cake than an actual bread. The bread recipe I use is Vegan friendly and you can top with dairy free butters and your fave toppings when its ready to eat!

Niue? What even is that?!

Niue is a single small island situated between Tonga and the Cook Islands in Polynesia, the South Pacific. It is a raised coral atoll measuring 100 square miles in size. To give you an idea of how small it is you can drive around the island in around 40 minutes. The population sits at 1600 ish right now.

I lived and went to school in Niue as a child. It was an enriching experience and I have traveled to and from Niue five times in my life, which is fortunate as some Niuean descendants havent had that opportunity. As such I have a grass roots understanding of Niuean life, from my own perspective of course.

Niue is usually serviced by two weekly flights from Auckland, New Zealand which takes 3 and a half hours. Right now there is border control in effect due to the current restrictions in place. So not tourists or unessential travel is permitted. Niue is Covid free. My father was born and lived there for 19 years until he emigrated to New Zealand, met my Mum then had me.

Niuean people have New Zealand passports, so they are New Zelanders. Niue sits under the New Zealand umbrella you could say.

The recipe…

Makes 2 Loaves of Coconut Bread

• 1 can coconut milk (not cream)

• 2 cups Desiccated Coconut

• 2 Tablespoons cold water (or more, depending on your mix)

• 4 cups plain or bread flour

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (in liquid form)

• 1/4 cup raw sugar (you can use white, I like raw)

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 2 packets of instant yeast, or teaspoons (I use Tandaco)

• Two greased bread/loaf tins lined with baking paper (I spray with coconut oil)

Heat coconut milk in med sized pot until hot (not boiled) turn off the heat and add the desiccated coconut and coconut oil, mix until melted then add sugar & salt. Mix it.

Add the cold water. Mix again.

Set aside.

Sift the flour into a large plastic bowl, add the yeast (you don’t need to pre dissolve in water as the mix is quite soft/sticky)

Mix the yeast into the flour, add the warm coconut slop from the pot (its literally sloppy!) and knead for about ten mins or until springy when pressed. Don’t feel like you need to add flour as the coconut will absorb it during proofing/rising.

Cover with cling wrap and let sit until doubled in size 90 mins – 2 hours (quicker if in a warm place)

When its doubled, knead it again, split mix into two roll each one into a long cylinder shape, slightly longer than your two loaf tins. Tuck/fold the cylinder under the loaf so it’s a loafy kind of shape (I skip this because, Im lazy. It just means the top is flat as opposed to having that loaf bump)

Plop these into their respective tins, cover and leave to rise for 30 ish mins. Preheat your oven after 15 mins.

Bake at 180C or 350F for 30-35ish mins until brown. More depending on your oven, mine is fan forced gas, so its pretty quick.

Cool for a bit and eat with butter or butter + jam. Nice with a cuppa 

Ps: This recipe is vegan friendly, minus the dairy butter to top with. You can use a dairy free alternative.

My daughter Talei sniffing the end result.

Handy tips…

• This is a solid dense bread, not really a ‘fluffy white’ supermarket type of loaf. So if you think it didnt turn out right because it isnt ‘fluffy’ thats ok.

• Its great with a hot cup of tea, coffee, hot choc, or Koko (the traditional Samoan drink)

• Store the bread in an airtight container to keep it fresh. I use a large sandwich bag.

• After a day or so it will only be good for toasting. Which is ok, its really yummy toasted! I have it with butter and jam.

• You can make your own alterations to the recipe with sugar and salt according to your preferences or dietary requirements.