Pani Popo (Samoan Coconut Bread Rolls)

Date:April 10, 2025 2:23 pm

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Samoan Coconut Bread Rolls (Pani Popo) are decadent sweet dinner rolls. Light, airy, and baked in a delicious coconut sauce, these melt-in-your-mouth bread rolls are insanely soft.

A freshly baked batch of pani popo (Samoan coconut bread rolls)

My immense love of everything coconut, coupled with my constant urge to look forward to my weekend mornings, has led me to the fabulous Samoan coconut bread rolls. When I saw this recipe, I knew it was heading into the danger zone, but did I heed the warning? Of course not!

They’re every bit as tender, pillowy, and crusty as my favorite sweet bread rolls. The biggest difference between the two is mainly the coconut milk. It adds a unique tropical flavor and is amazingly soft and light.

What Is Pani Popo?

Samoan coconut bread rolls, or pani popo, are straightforward and delicious. This soft, slightly sweet dinner roll baked in a mouthwatering coconut sauce has a rich, gooey bottom. Kinda like a sticky bun with coconut instead of cinnamon.

Most of the recipes I perused had milk. It deepens the flavor and produces a beautiful golden and crusty outer layer. I only added as much coconut milk as the bread could absorb. If you prefer a soggy bottom, add more coconut milk (about a ¼ cup more).

I loved every bite of this bread. You can certainly eat more than five in one sitting!

How to Make Pani Popo

Activate Yeast – Combine three tablespoons of lukewarm water and the yeast in a standing mixer. Let it sit until the yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. (Photo 1)
Wet Ingredients – Meanwhile, microwave one cup of coconut milk with the butter, sugar, and salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl for about a minute. Stir until everything melts. (Photo 2)
Egg – Lightly whisk the egg and powdered milk into the butter mixture. (Photo 3-4)
Combine – Dump the coconut butter and egg mixtures into the yeast mixture. Mix for two minutes at medium speed or by hand.

Flour – Add 3½ cups of flour and continue mixing the dough. Add flour as needed to make a soft bread dough. (Photos 5-6)
Knead – Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-12 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it once to coat it with oil. (Photos 7-8)
Rise – Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for an hour or two or until doubled.

Rolls – After the dough doubles, punch it down and divide it into 12 equal pieces – a little over 2 ounces apiece. Form round balls, tucking the edges underneath the dough, then rolling it against the board or between your palms until it’s round. (Photos 9-11)
Bake – Arrange the shaped balls in a buttered baking dish. Bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped (20-25 minutes, depending on your oven). (Photo 12)

Recipe Tips & Notes

The soft dough will firm up as it rises the first time, so avoid adding too much flour.
The dough needs to double in size to make fluffy bread. So, be patient. Rising time depends on the weather, humidity, and altitude.
Try turning on the oven to warm for 10 minutes, then turn it off and let the dough rise in the oven to speed it up.

Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions

Samoan coconut bread rolls are best right out of the oven. But they’re almost as good reheated in the oven or toaster oven. A few seconds (not more than 10 seconds) in the microwave can also bring back that fresh melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Allow leftover bread to cool completely, then store it in a bread-worthy container. It doesn’t need to be airtight, but you want your bread to stay moist. If it’s still hot, the steam will make it soggy and mold faster.

Freezing. They freeze well for 4-6 months. Thaw them in the fridge and reheat them in the oven for a few minutes.

What to Enjoy With Pani Popo

This recipe goes great with any Micronesian, Polynesian, or Asian food. For example, Hawaiian grilled chicken thighs and Caribbean-style fried rice would be perfect. A steaming hot cup of coffee and a plateful of pani popo for an afternoon pick-me-up always make me a happy camper.

More Easy Bread Recipes to Try

By Imma

Watch How to Make It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”1agyDoFu” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 20:37:44 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Samoan Coconut Bread Rolls (Pani Popo)” description=”Samoan Coconut Bread Rolls aka Pani Popo. Decadent Sweet Dinner Rolls baked in coconut milk . Light, Airy and Fluffy . Unbelievably good!!”]

This blog post was first published in November 2016 and has been updated with additional tips and a video

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Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total: 2 hours 10 minutes

Polynesian

In a stand mixer, combine 3 tablespoons of lukewarm water and yeast. Let it set until dissolved and starting to foam (about 5 minutes).
Meanwhile, combine 1 cup of coconut milk, the butter pieces, sugar, and salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for about a minute, stirring occasionally until everything melts but doesn't boil.
Lightly whisk the egg and powdered milk into the butter mixture (if the mixture is too hot, let it cool to lukewarm to prevent the eggs from curdling).
Dump the liquid ingredients into the yeast mixture. Mix for two minutes at medium speed or by hand.
Add about 3½ cups of flour and continue mixing the dough. Add additional flour as needed to make a soft dough.
Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-12 minutes (longer if you want airy bread).
Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the dough with oil. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1-2 hours or until doubled.
Punch the dough down. At this point, choose what shape you want. You can shape the dough into a loaf and put it in a greased loaf pan, seam side down. Or you can divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, shape them into balls, and place them in a greased 12-inch round pan. You can refrigerate the uncooked bread for up to 24 hours.
If making rolls, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces – a little over 2 ounces apiece. Form round balls, tucking the edges underneath the dough, then rolling it against the board or between your palms until it's round. Arrange the shaped balls in a buttered baking dish. Let it rise until doubled in size.
While the bread rises, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Pour the remaining coconut milk into the baking dish. Brush the top of the rolls with coconut milk and sprinkle with optional sugar.
Bake until the crust is golden brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped (20-25 minutes, depending on your oven).
If making a loaf, place it in a greased loaf pan, pour the remaining coconut milk over it, sprinkle with sugar, and let it rise while the oven preheats. Bake it for 30-35 minutes (how long depends on your oven) until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Remove from the baking pan and let them cool. I like to eat mine when they're still hot.

Make sure the water isn’t too hot so it doesn’t kill the yeast. It should be lukewarm and feel like body temperature.
Divide the coconut milk into half: 1 cup for the dough and the other for baking.
A soft dough will firm up as it rises the first time, so try not to add too much flour. It’s better to err on the side of too little flour because you can always add more, but you can’t remove it.
For fluffy bread, it has to double in size, so be patient. These took about 3 hours to truly double in size. Depending on the weather, it can take longer.
If your bread doesn’t start rising in an hour, try turning the oven on to warm for 10 minutes. Then, turn it off and put the dough in the oven to rise.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used.

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Polynesian

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