The Softest and Fluffiest Pani Popo
Pani Popo are soft and delicious Samoan coconut buns baked in a luxurious coconut sauce. Meet your dinner-rolls-on-steroid with golden brown top, fluffy cloud-like interior, swimming in a pool of creamy coconut sauce.
Servings: 12 buns
Equipment
- 9"x13" Baking Pan
- Thermometer
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream 180 g
- ¾ cup milk whole or 2%, 180 g
- 6 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cup all-purpose flour 390 g
- Additional flour for rolling
- Melted butter for baking dish
Coconut Sauce
- 1 can coconut milk or coconut cream, 13.5 oz
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar or brown sugar, 65 g
- A pinch of kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
Prepare the buns
- Add cream, milk and granulated sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the stand mixer bowl and allow the mixture to cool down to below 110°F, check with a thermometer.
- Sprinkle active dry yeast over the top of the milk mixture, stir and let it bloom for about 10 - 20 minutes. The mixture should visibly puff up.
- In another mixing bowl, sift the flour and stir in the salt. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and knead with the dough hook on low speed until everything is incorporated and a wet dough forms.
- Scrape the dough out onto a floured countertop and knead a few times to form a ball. Place the dough ball into an oiled large bowl, cover with plastic, and allow it to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush it all over your baking dish and set aside.
- When the dough is ready, dump it out onto a floured countertop and divide it into 12 equal portions. You can eyeball this step or use a scale to be exact, each buns is about 67 grams or about 2 ⅓ oz.
- Shape each portion into a round bun and place them into the buttered 9”x13” baking dish and allow them to rise for another hour until double in size.
Make the coconut sauce while the buns are rising
- Whisk the cornstarch with about ¼ cup of room temperature coconut milk until completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Add the remaining coconut milk to a small saucepan along with sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture starts to simmer.
- Drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the simmering coconut milk, stirring constantly. Continue to cook for another 2 - 3 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Take it off the heat and set it aside to cool a bit.
Bake the buns
- When the buns have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Drizzle at least 1 cup of coconut sauce over all of the buns and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Take the buns out of the oven, allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve with the remaining coconut sauce.
Notes
- The dough can be made without a stand mixer, just mix the flour into the liquid with a spatula or wooden spoon and knead by hand.
- This dough is very soft and sticky when it first comes out from the mixing bowl. Try not to add too much flour when handling it. After the first rise, it will be much less sticky and easier to handle.
- Be sure to use canned coconut milk for the sauce and not coconut milk in the carton.
Nutrition
Serving: 99g | Calories: 261kcal
