Carters - Island Fever Bread

Drawing by Vince Long © 2025

January 17, 2025

Carters Brewing is in the heart of downtown Billings' historic district, located right along the railroad tracks which rumbles the building as the train goes by.  Along with several other breweries in the city, Carters is another supporter of the Yellowstone Rim Runners' Run Turkey Run, keeping the participants hydrated after their jaunt through the city on Thanksgiving morning.

The range beers at Carters is impressive and Mike is fearless when it comes to the recipes he designs and he is not afraid to add the hops and to brew the higher gravities.  I've sampled many over the years and on a recent visit I went back to his "Island Fever" coconut porter and it was better than I'd remembered.  This had to be the one to base a bread recipe on.  Just thinking about the possibilities took me back to my youth, growing up for a time in Honolulu, Hawaii, that left me with a continual hankering for the tastes of those tropics.

The bread I made turned up quite well.  While I used the porter, I did not go in the direction of a dark bread but kept things light, like a tropical breeze.  The addition of mango, coconut, and macadamia nuts is pure Hawaiian and the finished bread straddles the line between sweet and savory.  It is decidedly great toasted and eaten plain but works well with a coating of honey or a slice of strong cheese.  Let's get into the making...

Carters - Island Fever Bread

2-1/2 cups (583 grams) Carters "Island Fever" coconut Porter

6-1/2 cups (36.6 ounce) (1,039 grams) Wheat Montana bread flour

2 cups (6 ounces) (167 grams) coconut * see notes

1-1/2 cup (7.6 ounces) (211 grams) mango, chopped * see notes

1-1/2 cups (7.6 ounces) (215 grams) macadamia nuts * see notes

2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoon instant yeast

Yield: 2 loaves

Notes:

The Coconut - I used shredded coconut but what I could find had sugar on it so I placed it in a colander and gave it a good rinse.  I shook out the water and then spread it on my large bread board and let it dry for a while.

The Mango - I used dried mango, the type that is just mango, without sugar.  I wanted it a bit softer so I placed it in a bowl, covered with water, and microwaved it for a few minutes.  I drained the water and the mango had reconstituted nicely.  I could have used fresh mango but was concerned that the flesh might be too soft to survive the kneading process.

The Macadamia Nuts - The ones I found were not chopped and mostly halves with a few whole ones but they were salted.  I rinsed them in a colander and then dried them on a towel.  I thought about chopping them but decided to see how they worked this way and I think they were fine.

The Process

I generally followed my standard procedure outlined on the first page.  I warmed the Porter to lukewarm and placed it in the bowl of my stand mixer.  I added the coconut, salt, yeast, and a few cups of the flour.  I mixed this at a medium speed for a few minutes before slowing it down and adding the rest of the flour.  When it was all combined, I let it stand for 15 minutes and then switched to my dough hook and let it knead for  5 minutes.  I then added the mango and the nuts, letting it knead a bit more until they were evenly distributed.

Once kneading was completed, I gave the dough a short spray of oil, covered the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside to rise. I let it go for about 2-1/2 hours.

Instead of loaf pans, I decided to make rounds so I shaped half of the dough, placed it on parchment, spayed with oil, and covered with plastic wrap.  This will be baked in my Dutch oven and since I only have one of those, the second loaf will be about 45 minutes behind the first so I wait that amount of time before shaping and proofing the second loaf.

At baking time, I had preheated my convection oven to 400°F with the Dutch oven inside.  I placed the first loaf in the Dutch oven, put the lid on, and baked it for 18 minutes.  At that time I removed the lid and baked for another 18 minutes.  I repeated this with the second loaf.

The bread is left to cool on a wire rake before slicing.

Illustrations

The dried mango.

The mango after rehydrating.

The coconut getting rinsed in a colander.

Drying the coconut.

The mango chopped are ready to add.

The macadamia nuts ready to add.

The dough after kneading.

The first loaf dropped into the preheated Dutch oven.

The finished bread.