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I have always been a lover of anything coconut, but this takes the cake!!  Its a guyanese baked good named salara.  The best description would be a deliciously, fragrant,  sweetened coconut mixture rolled in a soft  sweet bread.   I’ve never made this before and for some reason have always been afraid.  I think it’s because it involves making bread.  For some reason whenever a recipe has bread anywhere in it I automatically think it’s time consuming and an aerobic workout.  Today was different, my love for all things coconut drove me to take on this task and I must say I’m pleased.  I’m currently scarfing down a piece as I write…trust me, it was worth it!!  I found this recipe on www.guyanaoutpost.com they have great guyanese recipes.

Coconut Salara

1 tbsp dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
¼ cup sugar
1 cup milk
¼ cup shortening
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp butter
1 egg white

Filling

1 cup shredded coconut
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla essence
Red food coloring

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon  of sugar. Mix and let stand.Warm the milk, set aside.  Combine the shortening, salt and sugar and  flour.    Add milk, egg and yeast to dry ingredients.   Knead to make a moderately stiff dough.   Shape into a ball.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover; let rise to double in size for about 1 hour.

Combine all the filling ingredients and set aside.  Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll each half into an 12 inch x 8 inch rectangle, and brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle half of the filling mixture on each rectangle of dough. Roll up lengthwise and seal the edges.  Cover and let rise until double in bulk.  Mix 1 egg white with water and brush the dough.  Bake at 325 for 25 mins until golden brown.  Allow to cool before cutting.

 

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