Start your day with the smell of coffee and freshly baked pandesal. Pair it with your favorite cold cuts, peanut butter, or fruit jam and you’re in for a treat! Check out how easy it is to make in the comfort of your home. 🙂
I love breakfast. The smell of freshly baked bread and coffee completes my morning ritual. And pandesal is my favorite bread.
Back in the Philippines, you can find a panaderia ( bakery) on almost every corner where pandesal is available all throughout the day. Here in Southern California, I have to drive for miles to a Filipino community just to buy them. Needless to say, I need a more practical way of getting my favorite bread every morning.
Luckily my mother gave me her recipe. I tried it and I was amazed at how easy it is to make!
What is pandesal?
Pandesal is the most popular bread in the Philippines. Its Spanish name literally means “salt bread”. It has a crunchy and crumby crust and is soft and fluffy inside.
It was first introduced in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era in the 16th century and was widely accepted. Since then, it has become the staple bread on every Filipino breakfast table.
What goes well with it?
It goes well with fruit jams, peanut butter, or cold cuts. You can enjoy it with your favorite morning drink like coffee, hot chocolate, or tea.
For me, I like pandesal while it’s hot. Sometimes, I would even dunk it in my hot beverage like coffee or chocolate. And that sweet and salty taste goes really well with Spanish sardines. The spicier the better!
What ingredients do I need?
Get these ingredients ready for your first batch of pandesal:
- 1 packet (2 1/4 tsps) of yeast – I used fast-acting instant yeast
- 480 g (4 cups) of all-purpose flour
- 30 g (2 tbsps) of white sugar
- 325 ml (1 1/2 cups)whole milk
- 1 gm (1/4 tsp) of salt
- 40 gm (3 tbsps) of vegetable oil
How to make pandesal
First, mix all of the “dry” ingredients together in a bowl. Next, add in all the “wet” ingredients. Mix them thoroughly and make a dough.
Next, start kneading the dough until the consistency is smooth.
How to knead the dough
On a clean work surface, sprinkle some flour. This will prevent the dough from sticking to it.
Kneading is done in 4 steps:
- Using the bottom of your hands, push the dough down and away from you.
- Fold the dough in half towards you and press on it.
- Again, push the dough down and away from you.
- Rotate the dough a little and repeat the steps until the dough is smooth.
You will know if you’re done kneading by doing the windowpane test. Tear out a small piece of the dough about the size of a silver dollar and stretch it out. A well-kneaded dough will not break as you stretch it. If the dough breaks, you need to do a little more kneading.
How to proof the dough
Once the dough is ready, place it in a bowl that would accommodate twice its size. Next, cover the bowl with saran wrap or cloth. Allow it to rest for about 2 hours (if you’re making it in the US) or until it doubles in size.
Note: Room temperature plays a crucial part in the proofing process. The dough will rise faster in hotter climates like the Philippines.
Knead the dough for a few more minutes to remove the gas produced inside. Carbon dioxide is the side product of the reaction and is caught in small pockets in the dough.
Next, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each one into a ball and dredge with breadcrumbs.
Place them in a baking pan and cover with a cloth to allow them to rise again for half an hour or until they doubled in size.
Finally, bake the dough in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Pandesal
Ingredients
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour – (480 g)
- 2 tbsps White Sugar – (30 g)
- 1/4 tsp Salt – (1 g)
- 2 1/4 tsp Fast-Acting Instant Yeast – 1 packet
- 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk – (385 ml)
- 3 tbsps Vegetable Oil – (40 ml)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl mix all the dry ingredients: 4 cups of flour, 2 tbsps sugar, 1 packet of yeast, and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Mix them thoroughly.
- Now add in 1 1/2 cups of milk and 3 tbsps of vegetable oil.
- Mix them well until all the ingredients are clumped together to make the dough.
- On a clean surface, sprinkle some flour and knead the dough until it has a smooth consistency.
- Place the dough back into the bowl, put some vegetable oil on its surface, and cover it with saran wrap or cloth.
- Let the dough rise for about 2 hours or until it doubled its size.
- Knead the dough for a few more minutes to remove the air inside.
- Divide the dough into twelve equal portions.
- Roll each portion into a ball and dredge them with breadcrumbs.
- Place them in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. (3 rows and 4 columns, 1 inch apart)
- Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour or until it doubled its size.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
Leave a Reply