Bite into the slightly toasted top and into the soft and light insides of these pandesal and you will see why it is the most loved bread in the Philippines.
My nanay made her own version of pandesal. She yielded amazing results. Amazing. And I was amazed not only because the pandesal were so good, but because my nanay is more of a cook than a baker, yet she nailed it the first time.
I remembered seeing her in the process like she had no clue what she was doing. I’d be honest, I did not think that the pandesal will turn out okay, as she was adding flour here and there, adding oil, then adding flour again. But man, they turned out so good and beyond better than what I expected.
So I said to myself, Wow. I have to share this recipe on the blog.
But then there was the problem: There was no recipe. I mean there is, in a little piece of an index card but there were strikethroughs in the ingredients, and adjustments that have not been written down.
In short, part of the recipe was eyeballed.
So I gathered my hope and tried the recipe. And I failed. Twice.
Then my Nanay made pandesal again and they were just as amazing the first time. Then she made them again, and again. And again. They were still amazing.
I knew then I had to sit face to face with her with a pen and paper. Or maybe watch her closely in the process. Turns out she already has the recipe mastered by heart. She was not even using measuring cups, she was using a coffee mug to measure out the flour!
But lo and behold, we have them. We managed to put the recipe into writing and with correct measurements.
These pandesal have a nice, crusty top and the inside is light, soft and airy. It is exactly the way I want them to be. Eat them plain or with a pat of butter. Or better yet, dip them in your hot cup of coffee then straight to your mouth.
Pointers for Making Pandesal
- The milk should not exceed the temperature of 110F. Hotter than that and you risk killing the yeast.
- If the yeast did not turn foamy after 10 minutes. Discard the mixture and start again.
- The recipe calls for 4 and 1/2 cups of flour. 4 cups are added initially to the dough. The remaining 1/2 cup will be added one tablespoon at a time just until the dough gathers into the center of the bowl. You may not have to use all of the 1/2 cup of flour.
p.s. These will be so good with this Sweet and Spicy Squid or this Filipino Style Pancit Canton.
More Bread Recipes:
- Mamon Recipe
- The Best Ensaymada
- Cassava Cake
- Ube Cheesecake
- Chocolate Mamon
- Yema Rolls
- Coconut Buns with Milky Sweet Filling
- Japanese Milk Buns
- Spanish Bread
- Hawaiian Rolls
- Sweet Cheese Rolls
- Sweet Beehive Buns
- Milk and Sugar Mini Buns
- Pineapple Buns
Pandesal
Pandesal is a Filipino version of dinner rolls that are enjoyed any time of day. It is soft, slightly sweet and perfect for pairing with hot chocolate or coffee.
Ingredients
- 1 packet active dry yeast 2 and 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 and 1/4 cup milk heated to 110 F
- 4 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour divided
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- bread crumbs for dusting the pandesal dough
Instructions
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm milk, yeast and about a tablespoon of the sugar. Let this mixture stand until it is foamy. In another bowl, combine 4 cups of flour and salt.
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Once the yeast mixture is foamy, add in the eggs, sugar and oil to the bowl of stand mixer. Gradually add the flour mixture, about a cup at a time while stirring with a wooden spatula or spoon. Briefly mix everything together until a shaggy dough forms.
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Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and run the mixer on medium speed to start kneading the dough. After ten minutes of mixing, gradually sprinkle little amounts of flour to the dough ( about a tablespoon at a time) to help in the kneading process. Continue to knead until the dough gathers in the center and is cleaning the sides and bottom of the bowl. This should take about 20 minutes or so and you should only have used up to 1/2 cup of flour. Gather the dough into a ball. Place it inside a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let stand in room temperature to rise for an hour, or until size is doubled. Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Gently deflate the dough. Divide it into 30 equal sized portions. Smooth and shape each portion into an imperfect ball, about 2 and 1/2 to 3 inches in size. Roll each portion of dough in the bread crumbs and place in the baking sheet. Allow little spaces in between portions. Cover the rolls with kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the pandesal for 20-25 minutes or until the top is lightly golden. Serve warm. Store leftovers in a tightly closed container at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
These look incredible! The texture looks absolutely perfect.
Hello! Thank you so much!
Nalito ako sa instruction paki clarify please. I loss my perfect recipe for pandesal after that i try mga ibang recipe pero did not came out right. Hopefully ito na yung maging kapalit ng pandesal recipe ko na nawala.Everyone loves my pandesal dHil airy sya n light.
Ayan yung question ko na nalito ako sa instruction
1 packet active dry yeast 2 and 1/4 teaspoon. Ayan yung nalito ako gagamitan ko ba ng dalawang packet ng yeast. Or correct me if im wrong sa pag intindi ko
It means ba 1 packet ng yeast then 2 tsp and 1/4 tsp ng yeast pa rin…
Thanks sana yung sagot pakisagot sa email ko
Hello! Sorry for the confusion. Bale 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast lang. 1 packet or 2 and 1/4 tsp. Good luck and I hope magustuhan mo ito 🙂
1 packet of yeast usually contains 2 and 1/4 tsp.
This is perfect recipe for Pandesal it’s soft fluffy airy and yummy !
Thank you so much, Maria! I am glad you like them!
Hi! I hope you would reply ASAP! I would like to ask, if i can make this ahead? and store it overnight? please reply! thank you!
Hello Samita! Yes, you can shape the dough ahead and store it in the fridge overnight. Just let it double in size the next morning and then bake. 🙂
I made these for a church dinner. I don’t think 30 was enough lol they loved them!
Aaaaw! Thank you so much! I am happy they enjoyed these pandesal.
OMG! I hope I can do bake as beautiful as these, Sana! I have been google-ing how to make soft pandesal, and I have tried 2 or 3 recipes but the result was not to what I expected 🙁 I will definitely try yours and will definitely come back for feedback!
Hi Leah! You definitely can! I am excited for you. Let me know how it goes:)
The amount on the yeast, is it 1 packet + 2 1/4 teaspoons or are you saying that 1 packet equates to 2 1/4 teaspoons? Hope you can clarify for me. Thanks.
Hi Jean. Yes, I meant to say 1 packet or 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast. Sorry for the confusion 🙂 Good luck and happy baking!
You are a God send. Thank you so much Sanna. 🙂
I am glad! Thank you too, Jean!
Hi,
I made pandesal from the past but it was a little bet dense, i used 1 cup of bread flour and 3 cups of all purpose flour. I tried your recipe today, and they turned out delicious, light and fluffy like pandesal from back home. Thanks for sharing!
Yay! Thanks, Dean. I am very happy that you liked them.
Lovely recipe,our whole family enjoy it,thanks for sharing
Thank you so much, Debbie! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi, is the bread flour okay to use instead of all purpose?
Hello Giselle! Yes, bread flour is fine 🙂
I just made this pandesal and it turned out perfectly well, it was delicious and moist! My husband who doesn’t eat bread often loved it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. More power to you!
Thanks a lot, rose! I am so happy that you guys liked it!
Perfect recipe
Thank you, Mary!
Hi, I’m so happy to have chosen this recipe to try for my first time. But I changed it a little bit. I used 2 cups bread flour and 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour. And it came out great. My family enjoyed the pandesal very much. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
Thank you so much! I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks also for sharing your modifications. I appreciate it!
Hello! This is my first time making this pandesal and it was a success! I was always intimidated on making this and finally decides to make it today. I will definitely use your recipe to make this pandesal. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thank you, Tin! I am so glad you liked the recipe for pandesal. Happy Baking!
Hi there! How do you warm your milk? Do you use a microwave or do you heat it in a pan and use a thermometer to check temp? I’m so excited to try your recipe – I’ve tried a couple of recipes I found online but the results were disappointing. Hopefully this works!
I do hope you will like them. They are delicious 🙂
Hi there! How do you warm the milk? Do you use a microwave or heat it up in a pan and use a thermometer to check temp? So excited to try this recipe!
Hello Pier! I use the microwave to warm the milk, then check the temperature using a thermometer. Good luck and happy baking!
I tried your pandesal recipe and it’s easy to follow anc it came out good, I also did pork asado filling like a sandwich and it’s good
Thank you, Grace. I am happy you liked them. Yum, the asado filling sounds so good!!
Hi Sana! Like the others here I have tried some other recipes and although they tasted like pandesal, the leftovers were hard as rock the next day even if I stored in tight container. Hopefully this batch doesnt do that.
What kind of milk do you use? Thank you!!!
Hi Len! These stays wonderful for days. 🙂 I used cow’s milk 2%. Basically, the cow’s milk from the carton is fine. Good luck!
This was very simple. I tweaked it out with the Aka touch. Used panko crumbs .. crushed them withstand spoon added a touch of confection powder stirred and continued. Imagine that.
Thanks for the knowledge
Hi! Can I use plain flour?
Hello! Yes. I used all-purpose flour/ plain flour 🙂
Hello, how do you make bread crumbs for Pandesal?
Hello, Garett! I use store-bought breadcrumbs. Just regular ones, not the panko or seasoned ones.
Hi! Thank you for this recipe. This is the best pandesal recipe I have tried 🙂 they were really good and came out light and fluffy, just the way I like them 🙂 question for you: have you tried substituting melted butter in place of oil? Do you think this would change the texture of the pandesal? Thanks again for a great recipe!
Hi Monique! I have tried a combination of butter and oil and have seen recipes made with butter too. I do believe its fine to replace the oil with butter. It might alter the texture a bit but it will enhance the flavor. Thanks and keep me posted!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. Just made it and it is now
My fav pandesal recipe. My only regret is that
I didn’t make it thick enough like you said.
Thank you, Hannah! I am just so glad that you liked it. 🙂
For how long you need to wait for the yeast and milk to get foamy?
Hello, Aloi! About 5-10 minutes is the normal time for the mixture to become creamy and foam up. 🙂
I got put in charge of bringing the pandesal for our most recent family gathering. We usually get it from a bakery but that bakery closed over the past couple years and we haven’t been able to find good pandesal since. I found your recipe and made a practice batch; my aunt happened to come by that afternoon and said it tasted perfect! I ended up making three additional batches for the family, and it was a HUGE hit! I have a feeling I’ll be making it for many more family gatherings. I did not expect that such perfect pandesal could come out of my kitchen! Thank you for this wonderful recipe and for keeping our family tradition alive! (Question from my aunt: have you ever tried freezing the dough? Does that work? I’ve had great luck over the past week freezing the pandesal after it’s baked but we’re curious about how the dough would hold up after a freezing.)
Hello, Alicia! Wow, thank you too! It makes me so happy when baked goods are enjoyed and cherished as a part of a family gathering/tradition. So thank you very much!
About freezing the dough, I have not tried freezing this pandesal dough exactly but usually, when I freeze other bread dough ( like brioche dough), I freeze them after the first rise. So after the first rise, gently deflate it and wrap it really good in a floured plastic wrap, then in foil. Once you are ready to bake, thaw it in room temperature, shape it into balls and let them rise for about 2 hours or more until they are doubled in size.
Alternately, instead of freezing, you can refrigerate the dough once they are shaped into rolls. So once they are shaped and ready in the pan, you can refrigerate them overnight. In the morning, take them out, let them rise for about 2 hours and bake. Voila! Hot pandesal for breakfasts!
Hi..do i need a mixer or can I hand do everthing?
Hello! You can definitely do this by hand. Just be sure to knead the dough until it is smooth and can stretch thinly. You can look at How to Knead Bread Dough post as a guide. Happy Baking!
Hi can i use vegetable oil?
Hello Raquel! Yes, you can use vegetable oil as long as it is mild tasting. Happy baking 🙂
Omg I’ve been wanting to make my own pan de sal and these came out perfect! I’m glad I chose this recipe 😀 It was a perfect accompaniment for our pancit.
Thank you Kim! I am so happy that you liked this!
I’m excited to make this!
Can I use this recipe in breadmachine?
Can I use butter instead of canola oil?
Hello Maria! While I have not tried the bread machine yet, you can definitely adapt this recipe to be made in the bread machine.
You can use butter in place of the canola oil, though the texture of the pandesal may be altered. I hope you like this recipe.
Happy baking!
Hi..i used your recipe in making my pandesal and its perfect
My only issue is it gets burnt at the bottom of it,my 2nd time to baked pandesal using your recipe and same issue,any suggestions or remedy for this..it really taste good,my son and nephew loves it so much..thank you for sharing your recipe
Hi Chona! Thank you so much for trying the recipe! 🙂 If the bottoms get burnt quickly, you can layer the bottom of your baking pan with two parchment paper.
Also, dark pans tend to cook faster. Sometimes the bottom darkens faster than when using lighter colored pans. I hope these tips help. Please keep me posted. Thank you!
Wowwww!!!a big WOW and thanks… make it today, for breakfast tomorrow…but then, its gone in 15mins… even its little dark brown and the first batch is kinda burned…
I just adjust the temp for the sexond batch, make it to 305F for 20mins… i think my oven is different from yours.
Again, thanks alot… my kids and hubby love it!!!
Looking forward to bake next week…
This is the best ever pandesal i made… i tried so many recipes, but this is the one that im looking for…
Thanks a lot, Amina! I am really happy that you liked it! Thanks for your feedback!
Hi po! I have a question. Is your Pandesal recipe stays soft until the next couple of days? Because I have tried some Pandesal recipes and they were hard the next daythank you!
Hello Ann, the pandesal will stay soft for the next 2-3 days. Just store them in a covered container at room temperature. 🙂
Got it. Thank you so much
I am sooo excited! Will try to bake them tomorrow. I tried several recipes and all came out very hard. Huhu, hopefully I will be able to do justice to your recipe.
Hi Aira! I am so excited for you! You will love these pandesal. It is one of my favorites:) Good luck amd keep me posted!
I tried your recipe and all i can say is the Best pandesal recipe ever!
Wow! Thanks, Karen! I am so happy you liked it! Happy baking always!
I just stumbled upon this recipe and am super excited to try! But I do have a quick question…if I were to replace the white flour with whole wheat is it possible to do equal substitution? Or should I split it half white/half whole what?
Hello KC! Direct substitution of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat will alter the texture greatly and will yield a very sticky dough. You can start with half / half ratio like you said and work your way from there in the next tries. Thank you and keep me posted.
Can I replace 1/3 canola oil with 1/3 butter?
Hello, Ris! That is fine. It will alter the texture slightly but yes , you can 🙂
I used more than 4 and 1/2 cups of flour.. coz it’s too sticky
Hello Faye! The moisture in the dough and how much flour you are going to need depends on the humidity where you are so it may vary from time to time. Thank you!
Hi Sanna, from one of your new Canadian subscribers… love your website. Tried your pandesal recipe with a couple of tweaks, a third egg yoke only added, butter instead of oil, and your guidelines are awesome. Tried it a couple of times and the third time it was perfect. Thank you very much. Will be trying more of your recipes and will be bringing you more subs.. : )
Hello Manuel! Thank you so much for trying the pandesal recipe and for your feedback as well. I appreciate your tips on substitutions so that others who want to try it will know 🙂 Thank you very much!
How to warm the milk to 110 degrees F
if I don’t have theremometer?
Hello Myra, the water should be warmer than your regular body temperature. It should be a bit warmer than lukewarm water but it should not be too hot that you cannot dip your fingers for even just 5 seconds.
Hi, if I use instant yeast instead of dry active yeast, do i need to adjust the amount to put in the mixture?
Thanks
Hi Rhina! You can put the same amount 🙂 Good luck!
Hi sis! I just want to ask if I can bake this at night(not too done or brown) then rebake in the morning?thanks
Hi Kristina! Bake them until they are done. Then bake (re-heat them) in the oven again so they are more toasted on top. MAke sure they are fully done in the first baking though 🙂 good luck!