Bajan Sweet Bread or Coconut Bread

Another delicacy of Barbados, good ole Bajan Sweet Bread or Coconut Bread as it is sometimes referred to, situates itself somewhere between rock cakes, which are of British origin, lead pipes and cassava pone.

A rock cake is a raisin filled, cookie-like treat with a hard exterior and yes it does resemble a rock.

Lead pipes, which are about six (6) inches in length, thin, freshly baked, hard on the outside but with a nice soft interior and cassava pone is a nice delicacy consisting of coconut, sugar, spices, salt and cassava flour. It is often time described as two small squares of heaven, all best served hot but the crème de la resistance is the Bajan Sweet Bread.

Comprising of flour, salt, sugar, yeast and coconut, it can be presented with or without raisins and the popular but optional cherries. Of course there is always the plain option for those who prefer to taste warm coconut goodness with no fruity interruptions, but what makes the Coconut Bread so special compared to other pastries here in the lovely, friendly island of Barbados?

Served warm, in slices revealing a cluster of coconut nestled in the center, is topped with a crispy rugged crust. The crust is not tough, quite the opposite, it crumbles and breaks in your mouth leaving only flavor to fill the senses. Taking a bite into this delicacy would combine a soft crispy crust with raisins (if you opted to have them) and warm soft sprinkles of sugary coconut. This traditional treat is worth the wait on a warm day with friends or at a family picnic on the lovely beaches of Barbados.

This oven baked bread is usually seen throughout the year. It was a popular option for Sweet bread to be baked before holidays but more regularly on Christmas. Sweet bread should be served warm, sliced and accompanied by a tall glass of iced Mauby drink (a local beverage made from mauby bark) or for the Christmas holiday Mauby can be substituted with a glass of iced Sorrel drink. This beverage is a red syrup made from a hibiscus found in the Caribbean. The flavor of this beverage may resemble cranberry juice. Sweet bread can be found in bakeries, somesupermarkets and almost at every cake sale in Barbados.

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