Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is heating up, fluff the flour with a fork, whisk or scoop before you measure it out for the recipe. This aerates the flour and helps give you a lighter result.

2. Measure out your dry ingredients, omitting the yeast from the recipe. Level the measuring cup to be sure that you’re measuring the exact amount needed. Instead, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for every cup of flour used in your recipe.

3. Add wet ingredients to a separate mixing bowl. Traditional coco bread recipes call for a combination of warm milk, warm water, softened butter and coconut oil. (Ref 1) Because you’re using baking soda as a leavener, you need to add an acid into the mix to activate baking soda’s leavening power. Skip the milk and use 1/2 cup of buttermilk for every ¼ teaspoon of baking soda that you’re using. The baking soda and buttermilk will neutralize each other during the baking process, creating the carbon dioxide that will give your coco bread the lift and rise that you need in place of the yeast.

4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, using a stand mixer with a hook attachment to combine the ingredients. Let the dough mix for about five minutes, until it forms a ball.

5. Turn the coco bread dough out onto a lightly flour surface and cut it into 10 pieces of equal size.

6. Roll each small piece into a ball and roll it out until it has a diameter of roughly 7 inches and it's 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.

7. Fold the coco bread dough in half and brush melted butter over the top before folding it in half again.

8. Place the roll on a greased baking sheet. Repeat the process until all of the rolls are shaped.

9. Bake the coco bread for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the rolls are browned.