One of the reasons I wanted to start this project is because I love to travel. With two school elementary school aged children, my yearly travels consist of trips to Disney. However, before I had children, I got to explore several different countries and I look forward to getting back out into the world once my children get older. Until then, I can explore the world through food. Samoa is a country I will never get to visit unless we win the lotto or come into a substantial amount of money.
When I looked up recipes for Samoan bread, I found one recipe, for Pani Popo, over and over. Further research showed me that breads are not such a staple in Samoan homes. Rather, the Samoan diet focuses on local tubers and coconut, along with pork and fish.
Pani Popo is an enriched dough cooked in a sweet coconut sauce. In Samoan, pani means bread and popo means coconut. Pani Popo is usually eaten as an after meal sweet or as a breakfast item. However, it can also be used with savory food. One such usage is the pani popo being split and stuffed with pork as a sandwich. Now, I don't eat pork, but I can imagine the mix of sweet and salty in a sandwich would be delicious.
I decided to use the King Arthur recipe for Pani Popo. I have had luck with their recipes and I am a big fan of their flours. This is a link to the recipe I used: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pani-popo-samoan-coconut-buns-recipe.
Ingredients
Sweet Yeast Dough
3 1/2 cups (418g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (28g) Baker's Special Dry Milk
2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
3/4 cup (170g) lukewarm water
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (57g) butter, softened
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coconut Sauce
1 cup (113g) coconut milk powder
1 1/4 cups (283g) water
1/2 cup (99g) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
Instructions
1. Mix and knead the dough ingredients together by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle until you've made a smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take 5 to 7 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom. In a bread machine (or by hand), it should form a soft, smooth ball.
2.Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, until it's nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Rising may take longer, especially if you've kneaded by hand. Give it enough time to become quite puffy.
3. While the dough is rising, grease a 9" x 13" pan.
4.Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into 12 pieces.
5.Shape each piece into a rough ball by pulling the dough into a very small knot at the bottom, then rolling it under the palm of your hand into a smooth ball.
6.Place the rolls in the pan, spacing them evenly; they won't touch one another. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and set aside to rise, about 45 to 60 minutes. About halfway though the rise, preheat the oven to 350°F.
7.During the last 20 minutes of rising, prepare the coconut sauce. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened slightly, about 5 to 7 minutes.
8.Pour the warm, thick sauce over the risen buns and bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 25 minutes, until the buns are golden brown on top and the internal temperature registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.
9.Serve the warm buns from the pan, scooping up the thick sauce with a spoon. The coconut milk will form a thin, chewy, intensely coconut skin on top of the buns. It's nearly as addicting as the crisp skin on a holiday turkey.
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