Pandesal Recipe - Jeanelleats Food and Travel Blog (2024)

FAQs

What is the reason why pandesal is hard? ›

Pandesal usually ends up hard and dense because it's underproofed. Make sure you give your dough time to rise, I'll be giving time cues in this recipe, but fermentation can vary greatly depending on the activity of your starter and the temperature in your kitchen.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to rise at warm room temperature (75°F/24°C) until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Alternatively, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight until puffy and soft, between 10 and 12 hours).

Pandesal is the most popular local bread in the Philippines. It is the Spanish term for “salt bread,” since the name originated during the 16th century Spanish colonial era. Most bakeries all over the country, from small backyard establishments to industrial bakeries, produce and sell this bread.

Contrary to its name, pandesal tastes slightly sweet rather than salty. Most bakeries produce pandesal in the morning for breakfast consumption, though some bake pandesal the whole day.

Add more yeast, blend in the starter, or knead in more flour to help initiate rising. Dough that has expired yeast, too much salt, all-purpose or cake flour, or antifungal spices like cinnamon might have trouble rising.

Store airtight with the two cut halves facing each other and pressed together. Wrapping bread to retain moisture keeps it soft, though it robs crusty artisan bread of its crispy crust. Wrapping in plastic (or foil) rather than cloth keeps bread soft longer.

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

Milk powder.

Instant milk powder makes bread dough super soft and fluffy and also helps to give it a good rise. It also contributes to the dough staying nice and soft after baking for a little longer than a recipe that does not use milk powder.

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

The log of dough is then sliced into individual pieces known as singkit — which translates to "narrow eyes." This is a reflection of how the dough looks, says Layug — oval with a "noticeable cut ridge." Unlike other bread rolls, there is no shaping of the individual pieces when making pandesal (the rolls are not scored ...

Who invented pandesal? ›

Pandesal traces its history to the arrival of the Spanish colonists, who brought wheat flour to the islands and baked bread in wood-fired pugon ovens (from fogon, a now archaic Spanish term for a clay stove), which gave this bread and its cousins distinct flavors and textures.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF PAN DE SAL: Pan de sal has 4 grams of protein, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, and 3 grams of fat. Pandesal also has iron, which is necessary for developing hemoglobin, for carrying oxygen in the blood. This is helpful for people with anemia and pregnant women.

When Filipinos aren't using pandesals to make sandwiches, they enjoy it with either cheese, condensed milk, or butter. We promise our pandesal recipe will have you reaching for more!

A freshly baked pandesal is great on its own, but Filipinos most commonly eat it dipped in coffee or hot chocolate, filled with breakfast staples like Spam and eggs, or topped with rich spreads like peanut butter, coconut jam, or kesong puti (fresh farmer's cheese).

Pandesal is best when served hot and freshly baked from the oven. Many enjoy eating pandesal dipped into hot coffee in the morning for breakfast. It can also be enjoyed with butter, cheese, jam, or as a sandwich, and enjoyed as a snack any time of the day.

Why is my pandesal so hard? If your pandesal is hard out of the oven (and not burnt), it might not have proofed enough and the gluten did not develop properly. Try to test your yeast to make sure it's not expired by blooming it in warm milk before adding into your flour.

One important mechanism is the migration of moisture from the starch granules into the interstitial spaces, degelatinizing the starch; stale bread's leathery, hard texture results from the starch amylose and amylopectin molecules realigning themselves causing recrystallisation.

While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed. Instead, the overworked dough will result in a hard loaf that will likely not be eaten. It's important not to overwork your dough and continually check for overworking throughout the kneading process.

Wrap the bread in a damp (not soaking) towel, place on a baking sheet, and pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes. In the microwave: Wrap the bread in a damp (not soaking) towel, place it on a microwave-safe dish, and microwave on high for 10 seconds. Check and repeat if necessary.