Yes, it’s Christmas time and I am making gifts for friends and neighbors. I enjoy giving “perishable” gifts: Baked goods, relishes and jams and jellies that use produce from my gardens. And best of all, everyone is happy to receive them!
I started making chocolate-covered coconut bread bites for the Virginia Renaissance Faire. These were so popular I then had to make gluten-free chocolate covered coconut bread bites. These bite-sized (well, maybe two bites) goodies are popular any time of the year!
See also: Chocolate-Covered Coconut Bread Bites
The Inside Scoop
When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of sugar is 192 grams. By volume, this measure will be less than 1 cup.
A stand mixer is a gluten-free baker’s best friend.
Let butter soften to room temperature. To soften quickly, place the stick of wrapped butter in a microwave and microwave on low heat until very soft but not melted. Leaving the butter in the original paper helps it soften evenly.
Be sure eggs are at room temperature. Warm eggs hold more air than cold eggs, which means a lighter bread. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature before cracking, place eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 10 minutes.
Crack eggs into a small bowl before adding to the batter. That way, it is easy to remove any bits of eggshell or bloody eggs.
Do not use organic, unsweetened coconut flakes; the flavor is too strong.
Place the sweetened shredded coconut in the bowl of a small food processor and pulse to form smaller, finer flakes. This helps to reduce crumbling when the coconut bread is sliced and dipped into the chocolate.
If baking within 6 hours of mixing, combine the gluten-free flour mix, gluten-free sweetened shredded coconut (check the package to ensure that the coconut is gluten-free), Xanthan gum, psyllium husk, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl; mix until
Since gluten free flours do not contain gluten, extended mixing times are important to help the flours absorb moisture. Refrigeration time is essential to allow flours to absorb moisture and eliminate the gritty “gluten free” texture and taste. Although the “grittiness” can be mostly eliminated after 15 minutes of refrigeration, I find longer refrigeration times continue to improve the texture, taste and rise of gluten-free baked goods.
For extended refrigeration time, e.g., overnight (my preference), do not add leaveners until just before baking; rather label your batter and note what still needs to be added.
Once you are ready to bake the coconut bread, remove the batter from the refrigerator and place in the bowl of a stand mixer; the batter will be very thick. Mix on a medium slow speed for 2 minutes to incorporate air; batter will lighten in color as air is mixed in. If you have not added the baking powder, do so at this time; beat on the lowest speed until baking powder is mixed in, then continue beating for an additional two minutes so that the baking powder is distributed evenly throughout the bread.
Line a rimmed baking sheet or baking pan with parchment paper. After baking, the coconut bread needs to be sliced into bite-size pieces and frozen so that it doesn’t crumble and fall apart when it is dipped in chocolate. The parchment paper is needed to lift the frozen pieces of coconut bread out of the pan.
For smaller bites, such as those pictured in this recipe, use a rimmed 9″ x 13″ baking sheet. For larger bites, as in the original Chocolate-Covered Coconut Bread Bites, use a baking pan that measures 8″ x 12″ on the bottom.
After baking, let the coconut bread cool to room temperature and then cut into approximately 1″ cubes. Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours.
If you are skilled at tempering chocolate, do so at this time. If you are not, use light or dark chocolate melts. (Wilton’s melting caps are available in most areas.) Place approximately 1 1/2 pounds (2 12-oz. packages) of melting caps in the bowl of a crock-pot and set to the LOWEST temperature. Put the cover on and let the chocolate melt for approximately 15 minutes or until the chocolate just begins to melt. Remove the cover and stir; if the chocolate becomes smooth upon stirring, turn the crock pot off. If lumps of chocolate remain, continue heating for a few minutes at a time. Do not let the chocolate overheat- it will become hard and can burn. If the chocolate cools and begins to set, turn the crock-pot on again until the chocolate becomes smooth again. You will need to heat and cool the chocolate several times while dipping batches of coconut bread.
Melt small batches of chocolate at a time. Bread bite crumbs will fall into the chocolate. Working with small batches of chocolate means that you will only have a few bites with crumbs in the chocolate.
Once the coconut bread is frozen and the chocolate or chocolate melts are ready, line a small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to catch chocolate that drips off. Place a cooling rack on top of the parchment paper. Use a candy dipping tine to dip the coconut bread into the chocolate. Unlike fruit, which is typically dipped in all the way, do not dip the bottom of the coconut bread bite into the chocolate; the chocolate will break off when the dipping tine is removed. And chocolate will stick to the cooling rack. Once the top and most of the sides of the coconut bread bite have been dipped, remove the bite from the tine and place, undipped-side down, on the cooling rack while you dip the other pieces.
The chocolate will set almost instantly. Once you have filled the cooling rack wtih bread bites that have been dipped on the top and sides, decide if the bread bites are still mostly frozen; if they are now at room temperature, return to the freezer until frozen. If bread bites are still mostly frozen, use a spatula to “paint” the chocolate onto the undipped side and place back onto the cooling rack. Oh, and be sure to wear food-safe gloves.
Once all the bread bites have been dipped for the second time, place the baking sheet with the chocolate-covered coconut bread bites in the refrigerator to set.
Once the chocolate is set, place the chocolate-covered coconut bread bites into airtight containers and seal. Store at room temperature for a week or in the freezer. DO NOT REFRIGERATE. Chocolate will dry out in the refrigerator.
A delicious coconut bread, cut into bite-sized pieces and dipped in chocolate. Just a little bit of heaven on earth. In a medium bowl, combine the gluten-free flour mix, sweetened shredded gluten-free coconut, cinnamon, xanthan gum, psyllium husk and salt. Add the baking powder if the bread will be baked within 6 hours of mixing. Mix thoroughly; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter; mix well. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients; mix for at least 2 minutes. Place the batter in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 – 12 hours. After at least 2 hours when you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the batter from the refrigerator and place in the bowl of a stand mixer. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of the desired size baking sheet (see The Inside Scoop for a discussion) with parchment paper. On medium speed, mix the batter to incorporate air; batter will lighten in color. If baking powder has not already been added, sprinkle baking powder on top of the batter. Beat slowly to incorporate; then beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes to distribute baking powder evenly throughout the batter. Pour the batter evenly into the parchment-lined baking sheet or pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 23 minutes until an instant read thermometer registers 210 degrees. Remove from the oven; cool. Cut coconut bread into 1” cubes, cover with plastic wrap and place in a freezer for at least 2 hours, until frozen. After 2 hours, either: temper dipping chocolate or place 2 packages of chocolate candy melts into the bowl of a crock pot, cover with the lid. On the lowest heat setting, heat the chocolate until it starts to melt; remove the cover and stir. If there are unmelted pieces of chocolate, continue heating until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Turn off the crock-pot. While chocolate candy melts are melting, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top. Remove the coconut bread from the freezer; loosen several rows. Place one cube of coconut bread on the tines of a candy dipping fork and dip the top and sides of the bread bite into the chocolate. Place the undipped side on the cooling rack and continue with enough pieces to fill the cooling rack. If dipped coconut bread has warmed to room temperature, cover and return to the freezer. Cover and place the undipped bread bites in the freezer. Once partially-dipped bread bites have refrozen, use a rubber spatula to “paint” the chocolate onto the undipped side; place on the cooling rack. After all of the pieces have been completely covered with chocolate, place the baking sheet with the chocolate bites in the refrigerator to set. Once set, remove the bread bites from the refrigerator and place into sealable containers. Continue melting chocolate and dipping coconut bread until all of the bread bites have been covered in chocolate. Store at room temperature for a week or in the freezer. Enjoy! Gluten-Free Chocolate Covered Coconut Bread Bites
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Instructions
My Gluten Free Flour Mix:
70 g./ 7 T. White Rice Flour
35 g./ 3 1/2 T. Brown Rice Flour
24 g./ 2 T. Potato Starch
15 g./ 2 T. Millet
11 g./ 1 1/2 T. Tapioca Flour
This equals 155 g. per 1 cup.
To make a large batch at once, I multiplied the above amounts by 8:
560 g./ 56 T. White Rice Flour
280 g./ 28 T. Brown Rice Flour
192 g./ 16 T. Potato Starch
120 g./ 16 T. Millet Flour
88 g./ 12 T. Tapioca
This makes 1240 g./ 8 cups of Gluten Free Flour Mix
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