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
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.
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.
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.
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 Video
Recipe Notes
Hi, Sanna! Thank you for sharing this recipe! The whole family loved it. The pandesal came out soft. I just had a bit of a problem with the bottom part of the pandesal (the side sticking to the pan.) They came out a bit overdone (really toasted) but the top part is perfect. Can you share any tips for me to avoid this? Would appreciate it so much. 🙂 Thanks again and I’m looking forward to trying out your other recipes. 🙂
Hi Ron! I am so glad you loved the recipe. To avoid too much browning of the bottom, it helps to use a pan that is lighter in color, and also to line the pan with a double layer of parchment paper 🙂 I hope that helps .
Hi Sanna! I am really looking forward to trying this recipe and was wondering if a non-dairy milk, like almond milk, can be substituted? I tried looking in the comments to see if anyone else has done this but there were lots to go through, thank you in advance 🙂
Hi Amanda! Unfortunately, I have not tried non dairy milk with this recipe :(. I cannot say for sure how will the substitution. Sorry.
Hello,
First of all, this recipe is a HIT! I made it for my family and friends! They love it and want more. I wanted to use this recipe to make ube pandesal. I have ube powder, ube jam and ube extract in hand. I wanted to know how to incorporate the ube flavor into your recipe. Like how much ube powder to use. Do I need less flour?
Hi Apple! Thanks and I am glad you loved the recipe. For the Ube pandesal, I have ube pandesal recipe published on Kawaling Pinoy site, but it uses real ube. If you want to use ube extract, you can add uonto 1 tbsp tho the dough, along with the other liquids . You maybhave tonadd extra flour as you knead too.Let me know how it goes.
I love your stories! The part about having to stand there with a note pad while she cooked and explained things, writing down things for the recipe is exactly how my aunt was finally able to share her pancit recipe with us. I remember getting frustrated when no one knew the measurements of anything because they would eyeball everything! Watching and taking notes and then just doing it yourself really is best!
Now you got me wanting to make this too! I love pandesal!! Used to have it all the time as a kid. Salamat po!
Hi Jan! Them aunts are the best, cooking by heart 🙂 I hope you make a vegan version of pandesal if you have not already!
Fantastic recipe! I️ have made it several times with different seasonings. Always a hit with my family. Thanks