Sharifas West Indian Coco Bread

Sharifa's West Indian Coco Bread

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup warm (105-110*F) water
4 packages active dry yeast
8 cups all-purpose flour
3 sticks butter or margarine, at room temperature
4 large eggs, beaten
Grated meat of 1 coconut
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence or vanilla extract (try ethnicgrocer.com for essence)
2 teaspoons salt

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Add the yeast, mix, and set aside for a few minutes, until foamy. (If the yeast doesn't bubble up, discard the mixture and start again with fresh ingredients.) Stir 3 cups of the flour into the yeast mixture and mix until smooth. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, eggs, coconut, essence or extract, and salt until smooth. Add to the yeast and flour mixture and beat until the dough is smooth. One cup at a time, add the remaining 5 cups of flour, and mix until the dough is stiff and pulls away from the bowl. Begin kneading the dough in the bowl, then turn out onto a lightly floured board. Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth, 5 to 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a towel, and set aside to rise until double in size; 1 hour. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide in half. Shape into 2 loaf shapes. Cover the loaves with a towel and set aside to rise a bit, 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350*F. Place the loaves on a baking sheet or baking tiles and bake until golden brown, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.

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