Pani Popo Samoan Coconut Buns

I love getting newsletters from the King Arthur Flour Company, especially when they come with bread recipes.

The online recipe for Pani Popo could probably use a bit more details, but the blog version has some helpful illustrations.

Here are some modifications I made:

1. 1 cup of warmed whole milk was used instead of water and dry milk. First I dissolved the instant yeast in a small amount (~3 tbs) of warm water and added to warm milk. Then I added the yeast mixture to the rest of the dough ingredients.
2. I am not sure if I used 3.5 cups of flour or 4 cups. Somehow I had trouble counting to 7 (with 1/2 cup each). The batter was very wet after kneading, so I added another 1/2 cup of flour assuming that I didn't count right to begin with.
3. Melted butter was left out from the dough... saw the butter in the microwave hours later. Ooops!
4. Coconut milk was used instead of water and coconut milk powder.
5. The buns were baked for approximately 24 minutes.

I must have had lots on my mind to have so many mess ups, but the end result was pretty and tasty. Having left out that 4 tablespoons of butter, I convinced myself that it was ok to eat another bun right before bedtime.

This coconut bun would be a fabulous breakfast or brunch item if some rising steps can be done overnight. More experiments on the way, with butter included.