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Pandesal ( Filipino Bread Rolls)

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.

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Try these pandesal recipe, Filipino version of bread rolls that are slightly sweet, soft and dusted lightly with bread crumbs and then baked to perfect golden brown.

Try these pandesal recipe, Filipino version of bread rolls that are slightly sweet, soft and dusted lightly with bread crumbs and then baked to perfect golden brown.

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.

You will fall in love with this Filipino version of dinner rolls, the pandesal. These are slightly sweet, slightly salty rolls that are lightly dusted with breadcrumbs.

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.

Try these pandesal recipe, Filipino version of bread rolls that are slightly sweet, soft and dusted lightly with bread crumbs and then baked to perfect golden brown.

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.

Try these pandesal recipe, Filipino version of bread rolls that are slightly sweet, soft and dusted lightly with bread crumbs and then baked to perfect golden brown.

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:

Try these pandesal recipe, Filipino version of bread rolls that are slightly sweet, soft and dusted lightly with bread crumbs and then baked to perfect golden brown.
4.94 from 15 votes
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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.

Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 30 pieces
Calories 114 kcal
Author sanna

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

Nutrition Facts
Pandesal
Amount Per Serving (1 piece)
Calories 114 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 5%
Cholesterol 11mg 4%
Sodium 86mg 4%
Potassium 39mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 18g 6%
Sugars 3g
Protein 2g 4%
Vitamin A 0.6%
Calcium 1.6%
Iron 5.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. 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!

    Reply

  4. 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.

    Reply

  7. 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!

    Reply

  9. 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.

    Reply

  10. 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.

    Reply

  11. 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!

    Reply

  12. 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!

    Reply

      • 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

        Reply

      • 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!!!

        Reply

  13. 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

    Reply

  16. 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!

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  17. 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.

    Reply

  19. 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.)

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  22. 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.

    Reply

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