These Portuguese coconut buns use an easy milk bread dough that bakes into extra light and fluffy buns. Topped with a sweet coconut mixture, you'll fall in love with this flavorful Pão De Deus recipe! I love that while kneading this dough you can smell the amazing aromas and the freshly baked coconut bread has an enticing scent with a sweet and slightly nutty taste that will fill your entire home!
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You're gonna really love this sweet bun recipe, and here's why. First, it's super soft and melts in your mouth, much like brioche and other sweet rolls. The dough is the secret ingredient, with yummy flavors like zesty lemon, a bit of rum, and a touch of vanilla, making it fun to work with. The best part? Making these buns is easy - no need for a fancy mixer or anything.
These coconut buns have a sweet, tropical taste that combines the rich, creamy coconut with soft, fluffy bread. What's cool is that you can enjoy them as a snack, for dessert, or even at breakfast. These bread rolls are a tasty treat that's perfect any time of day, and everyone's gonna love them!
What are Pão De Deus?
"Pão de Deus" basically means "Bread of God." These yummy rolls are a staple in Portugal all year round, but they really steal the show during All Saints Day.
On November 1st, All Saints' Day in Portugal, children go out into the street and gather in groups to ask for Bread for God. Much like Halloween, the children will recite songs or poems to receive candy and sweet breads.
Where did sweet coconut buns come from?
A lot of countries have their own version of coconut buns! Who wouldn’t want to combine bread and coconut? Especially in regions where coconuts grow abundantly and are an ingredient in most dishes. This specific recipe comes from Portugal, but there are coconut bun versions from Samoa, Guyana, and China just to name a few.
Pão De Deus Video
Other Coconut Recipes:
Pão De Deus Ingredients
For the dough:
- Warm milk
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Dry yeast
- Eggs
- Dark rum
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon zest
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter
- Salt
For coconut crust:
- Grated coconut
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Icing sugar (for dusting)
How to make coconut bread
Coconut Bread dough:
- In a large bowl, add milk, sugar, water, and dry yeast. Mix and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Add eggs, rum, vanilla, the rest of the sugar, and lemon zest.
- Next, whisk the liquid mixture for 3 minutes with one cup of flour.
- Add the rest of the flour and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Place the dough on a flat surface and start kneading.
- Add the butter and continue kneading until dough becomes the less sticky. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover with a cloth and let rest for 1 hour.
Coconut Crust:
- While the dough is resting, in a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the coconut crust, and mix until it resembles a paste. Set aside.
Assembling:
- Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and form buns.
- Place them on a greased baking sheet and let it rise for another 30 to 45 minutes or until double in size.
Baking:
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.
- Brush each bun with beaten egg. After brushing, add the leftover egg to the coconut crust mixture, and mix well.
- With the help of a spoon, spread evenly amounts of coconut paste to each bun, being careful not to flatten them!
- Bake until golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before sprinkling with icing sugar.
How to store sweet coconut buns
These little buns are best eaten while they're fresh!
They can be kept for 1 or 2 days in an airtight container to prevent them from getting stale.
Sweet Coconut Roll FAQs
Like any sweet dessert, these should be enjoyed in moderation.
There could be a number of reasons. Is your yeast "fresh"? Did you use the right flour? Did you knead the dough for long enough, but not too long?
Kneading causes the gluten strands to get stronger and longer. However, if too much gluten is formed then the bread dough does not stretch so easily. This will cause the bread to become tough and chewy. Relaxing or resting the dough reduces the elasticity of the dough making it easier to roll out.
All flours contain different amounts of gluten and protein which could alter the results of your buns. I recommended staying with the flour in the recipe card for the best results.
More Baked Dessert Recipes on Chipa by the Dozen:
If you like this easy Pão de Deus recipe, try some of these other great recipes from around the world. Many of these are quick recipes that can also be made without using any fancy equipment!
If you liked the recipe above, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below! and share your picture on Instagram with the hashtag #chipabythedozen
Recipe
Portuguese Coconut Buns (Pão De Deus)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ½ cup warm milk (120g)
- ⅓ cup water at room temperature (80g)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25g)
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast (7g)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 3 -½ cups all-purpose flour (450g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (40 g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
For coconut crust
- 1 cup grated coconut, unsweeted (93g)
- ¼ cup sugar (50g)
- 3 eggs
Additional:
- 1 beaten egg for brushing
- icing sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, water, and dry yeast. Mix and let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, rum, vanilla, the rest of the sugar ¼ cup, and lemon zest to this.
- Wisk the liquid mixture for 3 minutes with one cup of flour. Add the rest of the flour and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon.
- Place the dough on a flat surface and start kneading.
- Add the butter and continue kneading. The dough will be very sticky, but the more you knead it, the less sticky it becomes. Knead for 10 minutes.
- Place the dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with a cloth and let rest for 1 hour (in a warm place in the summer) or 1 hour and 45 minutes (in the winter).
- Coconut Crust:
- While the dough is resting, in a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the coconut crust, and mix until it resembles a paste. Set aside.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal portions, about 90 g each, and form buns. Place them on a greased baking sheet and let it rise for 30 to 45 minutes, or until double in size.
- 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.
- Brush each bun with beaten egg. After brushing, add the leftover egg to the coconut crust mixture, and mix well.
- With the help of a spoon, spread evenly amounts of coconut paste to each bun, being careful not to flatten them.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow to cool completely before sprinkling with icing sugar.
Notes
- It's a very sticky dough, but after 10 minutes it becomes very soft and less sticky. If you find it difficult to knead, add a little more flour, about 2 tablespoons.
- If you know your oven, you have an idea of how long it takes to reach the temperature you need. Thinking about that, turn on your oven ahead of time.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
New recipes
The recipe is adapted from El Gato Goloso.
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Andrea
The coconut crust was not a paste. Am I supposed to keep mixing until it turns into a paste? It seemed very runny.
They are in the oven now. Hopefully, they turn out OK. The dough looked nice!
Lizet
Oh, I'm sorry. I think is runny becuase the eggs you used were a little larger than the one I used for this recipe. If you make it another time, you can add more coconut or start with two egg whites.
Jan
I used extra large eggs, but otherwise made the dough as directed. I only used one X-Large egg for the coconut topping, adding the leftover egg wash to the coconut topping. Deemed a do-over by my taste-testers. I made two batches, 8 buns from the first batch in a 9x13 pan, 12 buns from the second batch, using two 9x9 pans. I was very happy with the second batch of 12. I think that 1 X-Large egg was sufficient for the topping.
Lizet
I'm glad your family liked them.
Dogu
Hey, I wonder that can I use whole wheat flour for this?
Lizet
Hi, I know whole wheat flour is different in every country. Are you in the US? if you are, I think this recipe will work just fine with that flour.
Lidija
The coconut crust is too dry and there is too much of it for only 10 buns. I think you should add less coconut & sugar and maybe even 2 eggs (I was doing it in grams).
Otherwise the dough for the buns is perfect.
Danica
This bread was so delicious and dessert like- it definitely felt like a sweet indulgence. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Lizet
I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Madeline
I'm not sure if I've ever made bread successfully, so that it looked like the picture. This one did! The instructions were detailed and I had no trouble following it. All of the ingredients I already had in my house. When they were done, the coconut topping was crispy while the inside was light and airy while being perfectly baked. The bread itself was a little sweet but not extremely so. It's the topping that really makes the flavor. You can't stop eating them! I declare this the best homemade bun!
Lizet
That makes me so happy 🙂 This is one of my favorites. The textures are amazing.
Sean Dixon
Great recipe. Thank you. I enjoyed making these. I added a touch of lemon zest to the topping. Perfect to eat while watching the Portuguese F1 Grand Prix
Lizet
I saw your picture, they looked amazing! I'm glad you liked them.
Valerie
Loved these, they were easy to make and so delicious! Thank you!
Lizet
I'm so happy you liked them, Valerie!
Chantel Oliveira
Do you use sweetened coconut or unsweetened
Lizet
I used unsweetened coconut.
Tara
Did you use dry active yeast or instant yeast?
Lizet
I used dry active yeast.
Tamara
Holaa, una pregunta, para la costra, pusiste 2 tazas de coco= 150 gr de coco. Pero una taza suele ser 250 gr, Entonces pues son 2 tazas o 150 gr de coco?
Lizet
Hola. Yo seguí y copié la receta de mi amiga. Las instruciones estaban como puse: 2 tazas de coco rallado (150 gramos). Para hacer la receta usé 2 tazas (muy pocas veces uso en gramos) y no me di cuenta de la diferencia. Mirando en otros sitios, 1 taza de medida americana de coco rallado es igual a 93 gramos. Entonces 2 tazas de coco rallado es igual a 186 gramos.
Espero que te sirva!
Este es el sitio (en inglés) que uso para convertir de tazas americanas a gramos: https://www.traditionaloven.com/foods/exchange/cup-shredded/g-gram/nuts-coconut-meat-dried-desiccated-sweet-shredded.html
Nicole
What kind of rum do you use? Dark or white rum? Any brand in particular?
Lizet
I used dark rum for this recipe. I don't remember the brand I used. I just remember it's a popular brand in Paraguay.
Clara
Made a double batch of these & they are so much better than the ones from the local Portuguese bakery. Thank you for publishing this recipe; easy to follow. Kneading was not an issue once butter was added. .
Lizet
So happy you found it easy to follow, and I'm glad you liked the buns 😊
Angharad
Hello,
I made these recently and the flavour was delicious however, I didn't seem to get a light airy texture. They were very dense and stodgy. Do you have any insight as to why that might have been? I added more flour while I was kneading as I found it impossible to knead as the dough was so sticky (and didn't seem to improve even after 10 minutes). Is it possible I added too much flour?
Thank you!
Lizet
Hi Angharad. I'm sorry your bread was dense and not light and airy. Adding too much flour and then not kneading it long enough, can make the bread dense. Do you remember how much flour you added? was it just enough so it wasn't sticking to your hands? I find that I don't add as much flour to the dough when I just flour my hands and then knead it. And the more you knead it, the less sticky it gets.
I hope it turns out better next time.
Sharon
The recipe was super easy to follow, but they turned out hard as a brick! I kneaded the dough for a long time and it seemed the dough was just fine. Not too sticky. I used the exact amount of flour notes in the recipe. No more no less. What should I do differently next time? I was so looking forward to these like I remembered from the bakery in Lisbon!
Lizet
I'm so sorry! It's awful to spend so much time and have that happen.
It can be because of the flour, too much kneading, oven too low and baked too long.
I hope you give it another try.
You can text me through IG. @chipabythedozen
Maybe I can help you next time you make it.
Heidy McCallum
I love the idea of your recipe challenges and this recipe looks wonderful. I'm excited to try it as I have never had it before.
Lizet
Yeah, I love challenges like that, it helps me try new recipes 🙂
Sue
So excited to see this recipe, we used to get it on Cape Cod in the summer when I was growing up ~ I can't wait to make it in my own kitchen 🙂
Lizet
I'm glad you found the recipe, Sue!
Rebecca
this bread is so good! thanks for sharing your great recipe
Lizet
I'm glad you liked it Rebecca!
Angela
I love the crunchy coconut topping! So delicious!
Lizet
😊
Veena Azmanov
I can just snack on it. Such a cool and delicious option of the topping. I love the crust.
Lizet
I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Lucy Vasconcelos
I have been looking for a similar recipe that is a pastry with coconut in the centre. This recipe is a great substitute. It was delicious and very easy to make.
Lizet Flores de Bowen
I'm so glad you liked it! thanks for coming and letting us know 🙂
Katie
You didn’t instruct how to include the sugar in the dough. I had it all mixed before I realized the ingredient wasn’t incorporated into the directions.
Lizet Flores de Bowen
You are right Katie. I'm very sorry for this mistake. I just fixed the recipe card. I think the dough will rise without a problem. But it will be missing the sweetness. Sorry again and thanks for letting me know.
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder
These look so good! I do love sweet yeasty dough rolls as that's something I grew up eating in Poland, however never with a coconut crust which looks and sounds delicious! Pinned! 🙂
Lizet Flores de Bowen
I grew up eating something similar to these rolls too. They were covered in a flour/butter sugary crust. So delicious! I'll look up Polish sweet bread soon. I love trying new recipes. Thanks for stopping by Jo Allison!
FrugalHausfrau
Oh yes yes yes please!! I am drooling over this!! Thanks for sharing with us at Fiesta Friday!!
Mollie
Lizet Flores de Bowen
Thanks for coming by!
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook
I don’t think it’s a good idea to check my open before having breakfast! And now, I want these so bad to go with my morning coffee! I hope there is a ‘download food’ button.😅 Thanks for sharing! Happy Fiesta Friday!
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook
See? Typo error there - I meant ‘to check my phone’ Hahaha
Lizet Flores de Bowen
Oh! I so understand 🙂