Pan de Coco was one of my absolute favorites growing up in the Philippines. The Pan de Coco I can buy where I live are usually a little too sweet, so this is my own, sweetness-perfected recipe.
Back in 2016, Doug and I visited the Philippines which included a short trip to the island of Bohol. While there, we happened to come across a small bakery off the one lane highway. I saw they had Pan de Coco and just HAD to try it! I hadn’t tasted it in such a long time, memories of my childhood in the Philippines came to me the moment I bit into the soft bread.
My friend Haven Everly recently visited and asked me to show her how to make Pan de Coco as it also brings her back to her childhood. You can watch our video together below:
What is Pan de Coco?
While there are many breads from around the world that share the name, this Pan de Coco recipe is for the Filipino version from my childhood. Filipino Pan de Coco is a simple milk bread filled with a sweet coconut.
In this Pan de Coco recipe, I use my basic Pandesal Recipe for the dough and stuff it with a shredded coconut filling. Adding sugar is an important part of the filling to make the bread a treat.
What Is Pan de Coco Filling Made Of?
The classic Pan de Coco filling is made of shredded coconut, oil (also coconut), and sugar with a dash of salt. You can follow just the Pan de Coco filling recipe if you want to use it in a different dough. However, the filling recipe is rather oily so it may require some adjustment of your other dough recipe.
Also, take care while filling your dough. The oil of the filling will prevent dough from bonding. If you let the oil coat the entire side of the dough ball, your bun won’t be able to close!
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast, OR 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/4 cup (285 g) whole milk, warmed to 100-105 degrees F
- 4 1/2 cup (585 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (43 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (70 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
For the filling:
- 1 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Note: You can use dried, desiccated coconut if you wish. Just be sure to let it hydrate for some time.
How to make Pan de Coco
Full recipe with detailed instructions are at the bottom of this page.
Make the basic milk bread dough by mixing then kneading. Set it aside to proof until it doubles in size.
To make the filling, just heat and mix the ingredients.
Once the dough is finished proofing, its time to assemble!
Let the dough balls rise again for a little bit but make sure its covered so it doesn’t dry out!
Lastly poke and wash with an egg and then bake!
Try your best to let them cool before eating. I know its hard!
Recipe
Pan de Coco
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast OR 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 ¼ cup (285 g) whole milk warmed to 100-105 degrees F
- 4 ½ cups (585 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons (43 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs lightly whisked
Filling
- 1 ½ cup freshly grated coconut
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- You can use dried, desiccated coconut if you wish. Just be sure to let it hydrate for some time.
Instructions
Dough
- In a stand mixer, combine all-purpose flour, yeast, salt (make sure the salt doesn’t make direct contact with the yeast), and sugar. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Add the eggs and milk. Add just enough milk to pick up all the flour at the bottom of the bowl, then add a splash more (I like my pandesal dough to be a bit wet and sticky!)
- Add the butter, then put your stand mixer on medium speed. Knead for about 5-7 minutes, or until it passes the windowpane test. Make sure you don’t over-knead your dough!
- Once it’s kneaded, scrape the sides of the bowl to combine the dough into one ball. Cover the dough, and let it proof until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Filling
- In a medium bowl, quickly mix together the coconut, brown sugar, and salt.
- Melt the coconut oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Once its fully liquid form, add the combined dry ingredients. Simmer this while stirring occasionally until the coconut is aromatic and becomes slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Set this aside and let it cool.
Assembly
- Once the dough is done proofing, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal parts. I recommend using a scale.
- Use a rolling pin to roll each small dough ball into a flat circle but keeping the middle a little bit thicker than the edges.
- Add a small spoonful of filling to each dough ball and pinch closed. Be careful not to add too much filling because it will make pinching and sealing the dough difficult.
- Once all buns are filled and shaped, place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover and let these proof for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Scramble the egg and brush a little bit on top of each bun for a nice egg wash. Also use a fork to poke each bun once so there is a bit a pressure relief while baking.
- Bake for 25 minutes or more until the tops are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool before serving!