Braided Coconut Sweet Bread Buns: Soft, Golden and Sprinkled Like Fresh Snow

The smell gets there first.

Warm butter, sweet dough, toasted coconut. It drifts out of the oven and down the hallway, and before you know it, someone is standing in the kitchen doorway asking, "Are those ready yet?"

Why These Braided Coconut Buns Are So Loved

In Brazil and Portugal, bakeries and grandmothers alike make a soft sweet bread called rosca or trança, braided into long loaves and finished with a sweet glaze and shredded coconut. It is the bread of Sunday mornings, afternoon coffee and church bake sales. These buns are a smaller, homestyle version of that classic.

The dough is enriched with milk, eggs and butter, which makes it incredibly soft and tender, almost like a brioche. Each piece is braided by hand into a little loaf, so every bun has those beautiful golden ridges. While they are still warm, they get a brush of simple syrup and a generous sprinkle of coconut that sticks like fresh snow.

Do not let the braiding scare you. If you can braid hair, you can braid these. And even a slightly crooked braid bakes up looking lovely.

They are wonderful with a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk, and they make a beautiful homemade gift wrapped in a clean towel. Bake a batch, and you may also find you have made a few new friends.

Here is what you will need.