A festive sweet yeast bread scented with fresh ginger and lime and speckled with toasted coconut and dried cherries.

Jamaican Cherry Ginger Bread

1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups bread flour, divided use
2/3 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger, or 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Put milk and butter in a medium saucepan; heat until warm (105 to 115°F / 40°C to 45°C). Pour milk mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add yeast; stir until dissolved. Add brown sugar, lime juice and salt; mix well. Add 2 cups bread flour. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until flour is moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups bread flour, coconut, cherries, lime peel and ginger; mix until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl.
   Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, adding more bread flour, if needed. Place dough in a greased mixing bowl; cover loosely with plastic wrap and a cloth. Let rise in a warm place (80 to 85°F) about 1 hour, or until double in size.
2. Punch down dough several times to remove all air bubbles. Let rest 15 minutes. Shape into a loaf. Place in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Cover; let rise in a warm place 45 to 60 minutes, or until double in size.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden and loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from pan immediately. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings.

Bread Machine Method:

• Place yeast in appropriate dispenser of bread machine. Add bread flour, ginger, lime peel and salt to the bread machine in the order suggested by manufacturer's manual. Combine milk, brown sugar, lime juice and melted butter; pour over dry ingredients. Set on correct cycle for machine.
• Add coconut and cherries at the end of the first kneading or when buzzer sounds. Serve at room temperature.

Tip: To toast coconut: Spread coconut in an ungreased pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until golden brown.

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute