These pandesal rooll recipe are hot straight out of the oven and pack a delicious combination of buttery and sweet flavors. Every bite is divine because of its fluffy center and crisp outer layer.
It’s a Filipino staple breakfast, like Filipino garlic rice. You’ll want this pandesal recipe to be a part of every meal.
Background
Many Filipinos in the Philippines, as well as around the globe, enjoy pandesal. It is translated as “salt bread” by Spanish but it has a sweet, not salty taste. Because the original recipe included salt, the Spaniards gave it the name pan de sal.
It was derived from an older version of bread, “pan de suelo”, during Spanish colonization. This was when Spaniards attempted to recreate a French baguette. They used a cheaper type of wheat flour to make bread that was lighter and more palatable.
Pandesal variations
You can now find this breakfast classic in many forms, including ube pandesal and Baliwag pandesal. It is also available stuffed with various braised meats, cheese, and even eggs. Although I was blessed to have had aunts and uncles who made Filipino Bread Rolls from scratch growing up, I needed to find other options after I moved out. Goldilocks is my favorite place to buy pandesal.
Pandesal brings me back to Cebu, where I visited my grandma when I was a child. Her habit of getting up at a reasonable hour to get fresh Filipino Bread Rolls from the bakery was a tradition.
A few times, I was able to join her as she pulled new batches of bread out of the ovens. She also helped me place a dozen hot pandesal into a paper bag. Because there was always hot chocolate or rich tsokolate to dip my Filipino Bread Rolls into, I was always excited to return to the family compound.
After many years of trying different pandesals, I finally found the perfect one: a mixture of soft and crispy outer layers. This recipe is rich in sweetness, yet has a buttery texture that makes egg sandwiches even better. It’s even better because it can be reheated in the toaster the next day. Fresh pandesal can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Tips for making pandesal
- To achieve the perfect pandesal ratio, you should use equal amounts of bread flour and all-purpose flour. This will ensure that your pandesal recipe has soft and tender centers and crispy crusts. You can make a softer loaf by adding more bread flour to the recipe. A scale is a reliable tool to accurately weigh the ingredients.
- Save time by using instant active dry yeast. All you need to do is to add the yeast directly to the flour mixture.
- To check that the gluten has formed, use the windowpane test. Once you’re done kneading, you can take a piece of the dough and use the windowpane to verify. After about eight to ten minutes of kneading, take a portion of the dough and stretch it out with your fingers. You are done kneading when the dough becomes translucent in its center and does not break (like a windowpane).
- Add the butter to the dough while you shape it. Don’t add the butter too soon as it can interfere with gluten formation. After the gluten has formed, knead in the softened butter until the dough texture is smooth. This will preserve the rich flavor of the butter without reducing the gluten. This part of the kneading is messy. DO NOT add flour. Continue to knead the dough for five minutes. The butter will eventually be absorbed and the dough will become smooth.
- Room temperature matters during proofing. The ideal room temperature should be 75 degrees F. Proofing at temperatures higher than 90 degrees F can cause the gluten structure to break down. At 50 degrees, the yeast will go dormant. If your room temperature is not safe, you can place the dough in an oven that’s turned off.
- Make sure to remove any air from your dough. This is one mistake I have made before. My dough had too many air bubbles that left me with large holes. After you finish proofing your dough, be sure to put it in the bowl.
- Before adding your pandesal, add breadcrumbs to the skillet. This gives you extra texture, and helps to remove it from the oven.
- Do not crowd the pandesal. The Filipino Bread Rolls should be placed at least 2 inches apart to ensure that they don’t get too big during the second proof. They will also expand in the oven.
How do you serve?
Pandesal tastes best when it is hot and still warm. As I mentioned, I love to dip it in rich tsokolate and even in coffee in the morning. My mom used to make me pandesal eggs sandwiches for lunch, and I still enjoy them as a light snack or late-night meal.
Pandesal recipe can be made with Filipino BBQ skewers. Filipino Bread Rolls can be stored in an airtight container. The crust can then be re-crisped the next day. It will keep for approximately a week in the refrigerator
You can make a Japanese-style milk bread roll by making Japanese Hokkaido butter bread, or Shokupan. My airfryer cookie recipe will help you make bread quickly.
Why is it so difficult to make Filipino Bread Rolls?
If your pandesal becomes hard after it has been removed from the oven, and not burned, the yeast may not have proofed sufficiently. The gluten might not have developed properly. To make sure your yeast isn’t expired, you can test it by heating it in warm milk before adding it to your flour.
It is called pandesal because it has many benefits.
Pandesal was named after the Spaniards’ addition of salt to bread.
Is pandesal Spanish or Filipino?
Filipino Bread Roll was created during Spanish colonization. It is a sweet bread that can be translated to salt bread.
Pandesal Recipe (Soft & Fluffy Filipino Bread Rolls)
Ingredients
- 7.3g (2 1/4 tsp instant active yeast) or active dry yeast (see instruction below).
- All-purpose flour 260g (2 c).
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour for kneading
- 2 c bread flour 260g
- 100g (1/2 c.) white sugar
- 6 g (2 teaspoons) salt
- 8 oz warm milk about 110 degF
- 6 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 56.7g (4 tbsp butter) softened at room temperature
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- If you are using active yeast first bloom it. Add the active dry yeast to the warm milk. Wait 10 minutes before it blooms. You don't need to bloom if you are using instant activate yeast.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl or stand-up mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment.
- Mix the milk, eggs and water together in a large bowl.
- Stand mixers should be placed on the lowest setting (mine is 2) until the dough has been incorporated. Scrape the sides as necessary (about 3 minutes).
- Transfer to a floured surface. Knead by hand. You don't need to add much flour as this is very sticky and buttery. During the kneading process, I add about 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. I knead for approximately 8-10 minutes.TIP: To verify that the gluten has formed, perform the windowpane test. Carefully stretch a piece of dough to form a rectangle, or square shape. The dough should become translucent and stretch without cracking. This indicates that the gluten is formed sufficiently.
- Slowly incorporate the softened butter into your dough. During this time, do not add flour. Continue hand kneading until butter is fully incorporated and dough texture has been smoothened. Although it may seem difficult to incorporate the butter at first, it only took five minutes of kneading.
- After incorporating butter into the dough, this is what it looks like.
- Place the dough in a bowl. The dough should be proofed for at least 1 hour, or until it doubles in size. For an example of what the dough looks like after proofing, see this picture.
- To remove any gas, punch the dough into the bowl.
- Divide the dough in half, and keep one portion aside. Use one half of the dough to form a log 8 inches in diameter. Then, using your hands, cut the log into eight equal pieces with a knife or pastry cutter. Continue with the second half of the dough. End up with 16 pieces.
- Sprinkle about 2 to 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs on the bottom of a baking pan.
- Use one piece of dough to form a ball. To get a more round shape, I like to use my hands to form a claw-like shape with my hands. Place the dough ball onto the sheet pan. Continue with remaining pieces of the dough.
- Add more breadcrumbs to the pandesal balls.
- Cover the pandesal with a towel, and let them proof for an additional hour, or until they have doubled in size. After proofing, here's how it looks after being re-proofed.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy.
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