Pain Hlose
Mar 14th, 2010 by SteveB
Having made the commitment at the beginning of this year to eat only foods that are fresh, unprocessed and nutritious, I know what it feels like to give up foods that one has become accustomed to and has enjoyed over the years. It was therefore with a great sense of empathy that I learned that Hlose, the 10 year old daughter of my good friend Flo (author of the wonderful food blog Makanai), was recently instructed by her physician that she needs to exclude all dairy products from her diet. A French young lady who can no longer eat ice cream, butter or cheese? Quelle horreur! And that’s not to mention the prohibition on all the butter-enriched sweet breads and pastries for which the French have become famous. This is a situation which must be rectified!
Most sweet breads use butter and milk as ingredients to get the soft, tender crumb characteristic of these types of breads. But who’s to say that the fat and milk need to be of animal origin? An ideal, non-dairy source for these ingredients is the coconut. Coconut milk, while being dairy-free, is still a good source of calcium and coconut oil adds that rich coconut aroma that pairs perfectly with any sweet bread. Agave nectar, instead of the usual cane sugar, rounds out the eclectic ingredient list. The aroma of this bread while it is baking is indescribable. And the crumb has that close, feathery texture found in the finest brioche. Hlose, ce pain est fait pour vous!
Final Dough
- 500 g King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
- 205 g Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- 70 g (1 large) Egg
- 10 g Osmotolerant Instant Dried Yeast
- 5 g Salt
- 120 g Light Agave Nectar
- 55 g Virgin Unrefined Coconut Oil
- 4 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- Egg wash, as needed
Into the bowl of a stand mixer is placed the flour, yeast and salt. In a separate bowl is placed the egg, agave nectar, vanilla extract and coconut milk. The liquid mixture is then beat with a whisk until smooth. This liquid is then added to the flour mixture and the combined ingredients are mixed using the stand mixer on speed 2 until all the ingredients are incorporated, about 2 minutes. The mixer speed is then increased to speed 3 and the dough is given an intensive mix until a smooth windowpane can be drawn, about 10 minutes. The mixer speed is then reduced to speed 2 and the coconut oil is added. The mixing is continued until all the coconut oil has been incorporated into the dough, about 10 minutes. During this time, it may be necessary to stop the mixing and fold the dough over a few times by hand to facilitate the coconut oil incorporation.
The dough is then placed in a lightly coconut oil-greased container, covered and allowed to ferment at 76F for 1 hour. The dough is then divided into 4 pieces, each piece pre-shaped into short logs and the pieces then allowed to rest at room temperature, covered, for 10 minutes. The dough pieces are then shaped into 10 inch long strands. Two strands are twisted around each other and then placed in a lightly coconut oil-greased 8”x4” bread pan, as shown:
The second two dough strands are treated in the same way. Both pans are then covered with Saran QuickCovers and allowed a second fermentation of 1 hour at 76F. The pans are then uncovered, the loaves brushed with egg wash, and the pans loaded into a 375F oven. The loaves are allowed to bake for 30 minutes until mahogany brown, the first 10 minutes being under steam. When the loaves have finished baking, they are immediately removed from their pans and allowed to cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Un GRAND MERCI de la part d’Hlose, cher Steve! I have everything but :
1/ the coconut milk in my pantry. Be sure I’ll stop tomorrow, on my way back home from work, to buy that missing ingredient.
2/ the Osmotolerant Instant Dried Yeast : I just have Active Dry Yeast. May I use it just the same?
Hlose is so happy and proud to have HER bread, it’s a pleasure for all of us, because, being a huge cheese lover, she’s not happy with her dairy-free diet…
Merci encore Steve, et bientt pour des nouvelles du pain made in France 🙂
Beautiful looking bread! If Hlose’s problem is lactose intolerance, then every person I’ve known with it has been able to eat goat and sheep cheeses without any problem. And there are some wonderful ones out there, especially some of the well-aged sheep cheeses from Spain.
1) Flo, please let Hlose know that it was a pleasure formulating and dedicating this bread to her. I hope she enjoys it. I see no problem in using active dry yeast instead of the osmotolerant instant dried yeast. To get approximately the same proofing times, though, you may have to significantly increase the amount of active dried yeast used.
2) Tom, your compliment is very much appreciated. Thank you for suggesting goat and sheep cheeses for Hlose but, unfortunately, lactose intolerance is not the issue and she must steer clear of dairy products from all animal sources.
This is one healthy bread! I’m also lactose-intolerant, but not an acute case, so I can eat pastries. But I try to avoid sugar, so anything with agave nectar is a winner for me!
Wow!!! GORGEOUS!!!! I know another young lady (Hlne) and a young boy (Sean) that can’t eat sugar or milk products that is going to love this bread. I have all the ingredients, so I think I’ll have to make it NOW.
Great Thinking.
This is my first time reading your blog.
I bake (yet, for ill people) only sourdough, organic, fresh milled, whole grain bread.
I loved the replace of milk, sugar & butter.
thank you for the idea
Hello, I am so happy to read news, Im still learning English, sorry if you cant understad. Is a beautiful bread. I like to know how many grams do i have to use for each bread, before to use the oven. Thanks
1) שלום אבי
Welcome to Bread cetera. I hope you enjoy baking this bread.
2) Gaby, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Each bread uses about 480 g of dough.
Fantastic recipe! I love learning healthy bread recipes, thank you for sharing this.
Steve, what a pleasure to find your blog–and come across another baking obsessed person. I’ll be sure to try this recipe too … as well as your curious and innovative double-flour addition. I get decent aveoli from hand kneading/folding and generally don’t like to wash another item (like a mixer) but will try it just to see what it yields. Best, Sam
Hi Sam, welcome to Bread cetera. When mixing relatively small quantities of dough, as one does in the home kitchen, there is no doubt in my mind that hand mixing is the preferred way to go. But for those of us who perhaps don’t have the manual dexterity that we once had and are therefore left to using a small planetary stand mixer to mix our doughs, the double flour addition technique works well to duplicate the air incorporation obtained by proper hand mixing.
Hi Steve,
Just found your blog and breads and all I can say is.wonderful! I also thought this post was wonderful as well given the consideration you’ve made for your friend’s daughter’s dietary restrictions. I am going to make this bread this week.
I did want to just comment that it goes to show that a common perception that people have of dairy-free meaning deprivation is simply not true, at least in terms of taste, texture and pleasure. Moving past our cultural stories around our food can be a bit more challenging since food connects us so deeply to our history, communities and families but with delicious and healthy recipes like this one, it makes the transition and people’s acceptance of new stories around food quite a bit easier.
Hi Leslie,
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed visiting Bread cetera.
Your comment regarding the equating, by some, of dietary restrictions with ‘deprivation’ is spot on. In my own case, I’ve found that once I began limiting my intake of sweets, I no longer had the urge to consume them. I don’t feel deprived of sweets but rather just don’t have the desire for them anymore.
Hi SteveB,
I am grateful for your site. I am a novice bread baker and your generosity does not go unnoticed throughout the postings.
Thanks for the wonderful idea of coconut milk. My son (3 + 4 months) cannot consume either egg (very bad!) nor dairy (less bad, but still, !). I have been using a funky concoction of flax meal and clabbered soy milk for most of my ‘sweet’ or enriched breads.
I am kind of getting the hang of the issues: Needs more kneading (or working, or what have you), needs lots of oxygenation in the ferment. But the mixture I have can be a bit mealy when attempting a ‘clear’ flavored (cake?) bread such as this one (although I recommend it highly for whole-wheat or vienna bread! Where you already have aged dough and other complimentary flavors).
I will try this one (I am now trying your 2xH20 ciabatta) and then I want to find a way to adapt it for Hawaiian bread. Any thoughts on the latter (or indeed anything)? Certainly the egg-wash is out.
Hi Frank,
Thanks for your kind words.
Although I’ve never tried it, I’m aware that some people have used store-bought egg substitute in those breads that require egg as an ingredient (e.g., Hawaiian bread, challah, etc.). For a final glaze, one can always use a corn starch slurry in lieu of egg wash.
I recently tried to make a ‘dutch crunch’ slurry (which includes a little yeast and sugar) and that is not quite right, but it tastes and feels good directly from the oven. Storage for this kind of thing is not recommended, as it takes on moisture from the loaf (it is usually on bread baked to 195F – 200F after all). I lately used it on loaves, but I suspect it works best on a roll/pistolet.
As for starchy slurry, I will have to continue to work on that. It is difficult to get the correct feel for it as it blends. I tend to put too much liquid into the mix. I shy away from what probably must be a pasty concoction.
any chances Steve of making this without egg?
my daughter has allergies to milk, egg, fish, nuts, banana since birth, and now to peas, some beans and intolerance to maize and soya….so baking is a problem other than the usual plain bread stuff.
Azlia,
Please see my answer to Frank above.
thanks Steve unfortunately egg replacers tend to derive from milk protein or soya!
after I posted on here I did a google and found one or two that don’t have soya or milk portein…so going to check out my local health food shop see if they’ve changed their stock.
This looks fantastic! Quick question – can the coconut milk be the “lite” version or does it need to be full fat? (I generally opt for the lite both for calorie concerns and I also find its consistency easier to work with.)
Hi Dee,
Considering the recipe calls for coconut oil as an ingredient, I’m not sure how many calories you’d be saving by using a ‘lite’ coconut milk. Be that as it may, I see no reason why lite coconut milk could not be used.
I just couldn’t go away your site before suggesting that I extremely enjoyed the standard info an individual supply for your guests? Is gonna be back ceaselessly to check out new posts.
I am just trying to get the hang of bread making. Grew up on homemade bread and it was great right out of the oven….”but” never liked it once it got a day or two old. Mom’s bread would develop a much more course crumb, and had no elasticity. Store bought bread was a real treat “LOL”. Your example above looks like something sent from heaven. I’ll probably flub up a dozen times before I get the hang of it … but I’ll keep flubbing till I get it right. Thank you so much Sir.
Coming from a Vietnamese family, we love our pandan and coconut. I knew I had to try this! I baked it nanterre-shaped and it was very fragrant-just the right amount of coconut fragrance. I think I’ll knead it less next time to make it more tender.
Thank you for the great recipe.
Kevin B
C’est un genre de brioche presque?
Very nice Steve! Should I get some foix gras
Not nearly as rich as brioche, Peter, but just as flavorful.
Hi Steve,
Somehow I found your site, a bit late in the game, via TFL. This loaf caught my eye and now is one of my favorite sandwich type loaves to bake due to the texture of the dough. For my latest rendition I found coconut nectar at my grocery store and used it instead of the agave. Tis a pricey addition but I just couldn’t resist having all the enrichments being coconut.
I am glad you thought of this loaf up and that you posted the formula here.
Thanks,
Janet
Hi Janet,
I’m glad you’re enjoying baking (and hopefully eating!) Pain Hlose. Your use of coconut nectar in lieu of agave nectar is a great idea!