Hawaiian Bubble Bread

Julesong's Note:

This recipe came from Cooking Light’s 20th Anniversary issue, and was voted by staff as the Best Yeast Bread in the magazine in its 20 year history. “This irresistible sweet yeast bread is a staff favorite. Dough is shaped into balls – ‘bubbles’ – and layered into a tube pan.” Because it’s a yeast bread this recipe takes a bit of time, but it’s well worth it! Prep time includes time allowed for dough rising.

• Total Time: 4 hrs
• Prep Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 18

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 (2 ¼ teaspoon) package fast rising yeast
• 1 cup warm water (temp from 100-110 degrees F)
• 1 cup sliced ripe banana
• ½ cup pineapple-orange-banana juice , concentrate undiluted
• ½ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons butter , melted
• 5 cups bread flour , divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• cooking spray
• ¼ cup coconut cream (cream of coconut)
• 2 tablespoons pineapple-orange-banana juice , concentrate undiluted
• ½ cup sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In 1 cup of warm water, dissolve the sugar and yeast and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a blender, combine the banana, 1/2 cup of the pineapple-orange-banana juice concentrate, honey, and butter, and blend until smooth. Set aside.
3. Get dry measuring cups and lightly spoon 2 cups bread flour into them, then level with a knife. In a large bowl, stir together the measured flour and the salt, then add the yeast mixture and the blended banana mixture and stir well to combine. Measure out another level 2 1/4 cups bread flour into the measuring cups and stir it into the mixture to form a soft dough.
4. Lightly flour a counter or board and turn out the dough onto it. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Add, 1 tablespoon at a time, enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands while kneading.
5. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray and place the kneaded dough in it, turning the dough to coat the top with the spray. Cover bowl with a light cloth and let dough rise in a warm place (about 85 degrees F and free from drafts) for about 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
6. When it has doubled, punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and let it rest for 5 minutes.
7. Coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray.
8. Pull away pieces of dough and form them into balls about 1 1/2 inches in size, which will make about 30 balls. Layer the dough balls in the prepared tube pan and set aside.
9. In a bowl combine the coconut cream (cream of coconut) and 2 tablespoons of pineapple-orange-banana juice concentrate, stirring well. Pour 3 tablespoons of the mixture over the dough in the tube pan, and set aside the remaining amount of juice mixture.
10. Cover dough in tube pan with a light cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
12. Remove cloth from dough and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap it.
13. Remove pan from oven and let the bread cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove bread (which should still be somewhat warm) from pan and place on a wire rack.
14. Stir the powdered sugar into the remaining juice mixture and drizzle it over the top of the warm bread.
15. Makes 18 servings. Cut the bread into slices or let folks pull apart the bubbles. :).

Reviews

[Gandeida]

OMG!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I made this recipe in my early twenties, and I could never remember in which magazine it had been printed. I have wanted to make it again over the years, and now I finally can :-) I now know what old magazines to look through for the original recipe as well (yes, I do hoard magazines...*grins*)

[Stinger]

Warning, this bread is addictive! More than half the "bubbles" were eaten before I could drizzle it with the icing. You expect good flavor in a bread that contains all those tropical flavors but the texture is really what makes this bread so darned good. The heart of the bread is moist without being doughy. It is surrounded by a slightly sweet crust that flakes in your mouth. This is real comfort food. I found I needed 6 cups of flour to get the dough to behave. Once you have tried it, try adding the zest of one orange to the icing for a whole new taste.

[moko7]

This is a fantastic recipe. I omitted the coconut milk and only added additional juice concentrate when making the glaze. I needed closer to 6 cups of flour.