Red curry and coconut bread - the most unusual bread I have ever made

Months ago I purchased a very interesting cookbook filled with recipes of bread and soups, two things I deeply love. I patiently and eagerly waited for the cold days of winter to show up around here, but unfortunately this year they were a handful only – it’s been hot for so long it feels like summer never ended.

For that reason, I postponed the plan of making the delicious soups I saw on the book and decided to focus on the bread instead: the recipes looked equally flavorsome.

I started with the one I found the most unusual bread, a loaf made with red curry paste and coconut – I had some paste in the fridge and could not wait to discover how it would flavor the bread. The loaf turned out very unusual, indeed, and I’ll admit it: it’s not everyone’s cup of tea – one has to like spicy food to enjoy the bread.

I thought it tasted great with a simple vegetable soup (the temperature dropped a day after I baked the bread, go figure), but I found that the killer way of having this bread was turning it into grilled cheese – it was delicious beyond words.

Red curry and coconut bread
slightly adapted from the delicious The Soup & Bread Cookbook: More Than 100 Seasonal Pairings for Simple, Satisfying Meals

scant ½ tablespoon dried yeast
½ tablespoon granulated sugar
100ml warm water
1/3 cup (80ml) unsweetened coconut milk
1 ½ tablespoons red curry paste
½ teaspoon table salt
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour

Place yeast, sugar and water in a large bowl and stir to combine. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, curry paste, salt and flour and mix until a dough starts to form. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

Knead for about 10 minutes (or 5 using an electric mixer) or until smooth and elastic. Place onto a large lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in volume.

Butter a 21.5x11.5cm (8.5x4.5in) loaf pan (6-cup capacity). Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 20x30cm (8x12in) rectangle. Roll it tight to form a cylinder, then place onto prepared pan. Cover and set aside again for 45 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

Bake the bread until golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, carefully unmold and transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf