Gluten Free ‘Ohana Pineapple Bread–A Disney Copycat Recipe

Filled with the tropical flavors of pineapple AND coconut, this gluten free ‘Ohana pineapple bread is out of this world! One bite and you’ll feel like you’re sitting right there at ‘Ohana looking out at Cinderella’s castle!

We’ve been going to Disney World for a long time, not long after they first opened back in 1971. I’m really showing my age now, but age is just a number. Because every time I go back to Disney I’m a kid again, taken away from reality if only for a short time.

In fact, by the time you see this I will have already eaten breakfast at ‘Ohana this morning, albeit minus this wonderful bread! You see, even though Disney does wonderful things for those of us with allergies/illnesses, this bread isn’t one they’ve tackled yet.

Lucky for me, I had the pleasure of enjoying ‘Ohana’s pineapple bread years ago before my Celiac diagnosis. I even made the original recipe many times and everyone loved it (Disney releases some of their recipes quite often).

Since I already knew how to make the original recipe, it was only a matter of time before I made it gluten free. And I’m here to tell ya, you will NEVER KNOW it’s gluten free! If you were lucky enough like I was to try the original, yay!! If you weren’t, don’t worry because this bread is easy and it’s JUST LIKE what I remember it to be. So let’s get started!!

What is ‘Ohana?

‘Ohana is a restaurant at the Polynesian Village Resort in Disney World. It’s one of my absolute favorite restaurants on all of Disney property and we’ve been eating there for years.

I was very nervous about what I’d be able to eat when I first went to Disney after being diagnosed. But the chef came out and talked to me and by the end of the meal I was in tears (of joy). I couldn’t believe how well they treated me (like a queen) and how wonderful the food was! On the way out, my mom stopped and told the chef that he made me cry (in a good way). He was honored.

‘Ohana means family (if you’ve never seen Lilo & Stitch). All of their meals are served family style. When you have an allergy, though, you’re given your very own platter to avoid cross contamination! It’s filled with gluten free Mickey waffles, scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, and sausage and ham. Characters are only at ‘Ohana breakfast. Mickey himself, Goofy I think, Lilo, and Stitch will all come to your table and sign autographs and take pictures!

For dinner, they keep the food a-comin’ and it’s all extraordinary! There are shrimp, chicken, pork, and beef skewers that don’t stop until you say so! We’ll be eating dinner at ‘Ohana, too, so I’ll share all the deets when I get back 🙂

Making the Dough for Gluten Free ‘Ohana Pineapple Bread

Drumroll, please. The dough for this bread is my one and only gluten free sweet dough! Tada!! Lol! All joking aside, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve used this dough in recipes so far. I know I’ve only just begun to crack the surface on what it’s capable of.

If you haven’t made this dough yet, you’re gonna LOVE it!! It’s so supple and smooth (nothing at all like your typical gf dough), and when baked it has the most perfect texture of all gluten free breads, in my humble opinion.

Mixing the Pineapple Coconut Filling

The filling is the best part of this bread and only contains a few ingredients:

• Crushed pineapple in juice
• Unsweetened finely shredded flake coconut — Bob’s Red Mill makes a really great finely shredded coconut and you can find it here.
• Granulated sugar
• Cornstarch

Stir the ingredients together in a medium bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Putting the Dough and Filling Together

‘Ohana’s original instructions for their bread are kind of hard to understand. When I first made it, it came out looking NOTHING like what I remembered. It tasted great, though, and isn’t that what ultimately matters? I eventually came up with my own interpretation.

The first part that’s incomprehensible is “fold the dough into itself.” What the heck does that mean?? I took it to mean “fold it over onto itself” after the filling has been added, kind of like you’d fold over a calzone. So that’s what I did.

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Cutting the Dough into Pieces

The recipe says to “cut dough into pieces with a pizza cutter and spread out cut pieces evenly in cake pan.” With no picture as to show you what they mean, I again decided to make it my way.

Looking at a picture of the bread that comes to the table, I noticed it was cobblestone-like. This reminded me of my gluten free apple fritters, so I used the same technique. It’s very messy, so if you just accept that fact and move on, the outcome will be so rewarding (I promise!).

Take a pizza cutter or pastry wheel and cut strips of the dough down the length of the folded over dough. Filling will probably squeeze out, but that’s okay. Next, go the opposite way with the pastry wheel and cut the dough into smaller squares. Messy, messy, messy.

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Now pick up handfuls of the dough and the filling that’s already seeped out and drop them into the prepared greased pan.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free area for about one hour, or until doubled in size. It could take longer, depending on the temperature of your rising area.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Finishing Your Gluten Free ‘Ohana Pineapple Bread

Even though the original recipe doesn’t mention anything about a glaze, there is clearly a glaze on the pieces they bring to the table. Therefore, I made a simple powdered sugar glaze consisting of powdered sugar, milk, and a little bit of vanilla extract.

Drizzle the glaze over the somewhat warm bread and serve.

I’d say my family goes for the rides or the ambiance or the family or whatever. And all of those are great and we love them. But I’d be telling a BIG.FAT.LIE. if I said our most favorite thing about Disney isn’t the FOOD!!!!

Whether you’re a Disney fan or just a bread lover, you’ll really enjoy this gluten free ‘Ohana pineapple bread for breakfast, brunch, or even with dinner!

Adapted from Allears.Net’s WDW recipes for Pineapple Bread