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Pandesal
Soft bread rolls
Soft Filipino breakfast rolls rolled in breadcrumbs
Pandesal is the bread of the Filipino morning: small, soft, slightly sweet rolls with a fine breadcrumb coating, bought hot at dawn in brown paper bags from the neighbourhood panaderia (bakery) and eaten before school or work. They are torn open and filled with butter, cheese or peanut butter, or dunked straight into a cup of coffee, and at night the leftovers are toasted. Despite the name ('salt bread'), they are gently sweet, with a pillowy crumb and a thin crust. Home-made ones are best eaten within hours of baking. Chef's tip: the classic shape comes from rolling the dough into a log, coating it in crumbs and cutting slices, which bake into those familiar oval rolls with cut sides up.
- Total time
- 148 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flourplus a little for dusting
- ¼ oz instant dried yeast
- 2 ⅛ oz sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup milklukewarm
- 1 egg
- 1 ¾ oz buttersoftened
- 1 tsp vegetable oilfor the bowl
- 2 ⅛ oz fine dry breadcrumbsfor coating
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz instant dried yeast, 2 ⅛ oz sugar and 1 ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Add 1 cup milk and 1 egg and stir into a shaggy dough.
Step 2: Knead on the worktop for 5 minutes, then work in 1 ¾ oz butter a piece at a time. Keep kneading for 8–10 minutes more, until the dough is smooth, soft and springs back when poked.
15 minStep 3: Put it in a bowl greased with 1 tsp vegetable oil, cover and leave somewhere warm for 60–75 minutes, until doubled in size.
75 minStep 4: Divide the dough in two. Roll each half into a log about 40 cm long and 4 cm thick. Roll the logs in 2 ⅛ oz fine dry breadcrumbs until coated.
Step 5: Cut each log on a slight diagonal into 10 pieces with a dough scraper. Lay them cut side up, 3 cm apart, on two lined baking trays and press lightly to flatten. Sprinkle a few more crumbs on top.
Step 6: Cover loosely and let rise for 30–40 minutes, until puffy and nearly doubled. Heat the oven to 375°F (fan 350°F). Overproofing is the common mistake: the rolls spread, collapse in the oven and turn dense.
40 minStep 7: Bake for 15–18 minutes, until lightly golden on top and pale gold underneath; they should sound hollow when tapped. Don't let them get dark or the crust goes hard.
18 minStep 8: Cool for 10 minutes on a rack and eat warm, split open with butter or cheese.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pandesal take?
- About 148 minutes in total: 130 minutes to prepare and 18 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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