Learn how to make the perfect Pandesal, a popular Filipino bread roll, with this step by step guide. Fluffy and delicious, these rolls are a staple in Filipino cuisine. Love Filipino breads? Check out my Spanish Bread recipe.
Oh, pandesal in the sweet hours of the morning! Nothing beats a warm tray of these freshly baked Filipino-style dinner rolls with the morning cup of tea or coffee.
Pan de Sal in Spanish mean salt bread. And despite the name, many pandesal recipes have evolved from salty to being slightly sweet with just a touch of salt.
Pandesal is one of the most raved-about recipes here on the blog. If you would like a bread machine version, check out Bread Machine Pandesal!
How to Enjoy Pandesal?
- Pandesal is probably the Philippines’ favorite bread. There is something about these golden dinner rolls that are dusted with breadcrumbs that make them so out of the ordinary. A bread that is delicious on its own, or dipped in coffee.
- For a filling version, we slice the bun in half and fill it with sliced hotdogs, fried egg, and even sauteed corned beef. Sweet tooth? Try peanut butter or coconut jam. Oh, the little things that bring us so much joy!
- If you love pandesal, you need to check out my other pandesal creations like Ube Cheese Pandesal , Red Velvet Pandesal and Chocolate Pandesal with Nutella Filling!
The Perfect Pandesal Recipe
- These pandesal are lightly toasted on the outside. The nice golden exterior has a nice tender-crisp texture, and it renders a nice toasty flavor. Just the way I like it.
- The inside is soft and light. It is not dense and tight-knit, but not too airy either. Just pure crumb perfection.
- They are pillowy soft out of the over AND remain soft the days after.
- Eat them plain, dip them in coffee, slather Nutella, slather butter. You decide how to enjoy it. Lately, we slather it with non-hydrogenated margarine. I think it’s the only way to enjoy it now, and nothing else 🙂
The Process
Proof the Yeast and Mix in the Dough Ingredients
In a bowl of a stand mixer, pour the milk and then sprinkle the yeast. Sprinkle approximately 1-2 teaspoons of the sugar in there as well. Let this mixture sit for 7-12 minutes until it looks thick and creamy.
Add the eggs, the remaining sugar, and the oil. Stir to combine. In a bowl, combine 4 cups of flour and 1 tsp of salt. Gradually add this mixture to the mixing bowl, about 1 cup at a time, stirring well after adding.
Knead the Dough in the Stand Mixer
Now attach the dough hook to the mixer, and on medium speed, mix the dough for 10 minutes. During this period the dough will start to take form, gathering slowly in the center.
After ten minutes of mixing, slowly add more flour with the mixer still running, about 1-2 tbsp at a time. As you add, the dough will gather more and more and it will start to clean the sides of the bowl.
The Dough Gathers in the Center of the Bowl
Continue the mixing and adding, until the dough gathers in the center of the bowl and cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl entirely.
You will also hear the slapping sounds that the dough makes against the bowl. This should take around 10 minutes more, for a total of 20 minutes or so in the mixer.
To test if the dough is adequately kneaded, you can do the windowpane test found in my How to Knead Bread Dough post.
Finish Kneading and Allow the Dough to Rise
You may also need to increase the mixer speed for the dough to release at the bottom of the bowl. You may need less of the 1/2 cup reserved flour, but not more.
Shape the dough into a ball, and let the dough rise in a bowl, Allow it to rise for 1 hour and a half, covered with a clean towel.
Shape the Dough and Dust with Bread Crumbs
After rising, gently deflate the dough. Shape it into a log and divide it into 25-28 pieces.
Roll each piece into a plate of bread crumbs, then arrange the balls in a parchment-lined, light-colored baking pan.
Allow the Shaped Dough to Rise Again, then Bake!
Allow these to rise once more, for 30-40 minutes, covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Bake the pandesal for 23-25 minutes, or until golden on top.
Let them cool slightly before serving.
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.
- Use a light-colored baking pan to avoid too much browning of the bottom of the pandesal.
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
- Whole Wheat Potato Dinner Rolls
- Crescent Butter Rolls
Pandesal
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 and 1/4 cup warm milk heated to 105-115 F
- 4 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup of 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 the size is doubled. Meanwhile, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Gently deflate the dough. Divide it into 25-28 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 a kitchen towel and let rise for 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the pandesal for 23-25 minutes or until the top is lightly golden. Serve warm. Store leftovers in a tightly closed container at room temperature.
Ana says
I’m new to baking bread, so I wasn’t too sure about it at first. But after mustering up the courage, I finally gave it a shot. and guess what pandesal bread was a breeze to make! I’m so thrilled with how it turned out that I can’t wait to try out the other bread recipes on your site.
sanna says
Hi Ana! I am so glad that you loved this! Enjoy baking!
Judy Miron says
Your recipes are amazing. I am a serious fan…have now made and shared your Spanish Bread, Ensaymada, and now these pandesal rolls. My son has shared them with some Philipino students who are going to college here in Northern Ontario and they said it brought back wonderful memories of home .
sanna says
Hi Judy! I am so happy you loved them. Thank you very much! I am happy to be a part of your baking!
Jeehive Store says
I love bread from child!
Teemun Store says
Hi Sanna,
Do you have the recipe for bread crumbs? I want it so much, Please email it to me will you? Appreciates and thank you.
sanna says
Hi there! I just used store-bought bread crumbs. Just regular ones (not panko).
Christina Morris says
I LOVE Pandesol! I am not Filipino, but I had a friend who was, and years ago when she was living here, she made my family an exquisite Filipino dinner, which included these rolls. The recipe made a lot, but we ate most of them in that one sitting!
She gave me the recipe and I made them with my bread machine. I am constantly asked to bring them to events of all kinds and we cannot have Thanksgiving without them! Sometimes I’m sure I’m only invited to some dinners for these rolls because I get a text or email asking if I would bring ‘those rolls’ to a party I didn’t know about…I don’t mind. They are that good!
She taught me one different way of preparing them which I think might be the secret to their popularity: After shaping then into balls, I brush each roll with beaten egg and then roll them in Panko, before the final rise. I often have volunteers who love to help me with this part so it goes quickly. And there you have it. Unfortunately, we rarely have leftovers since guests will ask to take some home with them!
sanna says
Pandesal is a family favorite too! It is versatile and we eat them anytime of the day! Thank for the eggwash and panko crumbs tip 🙂
Joy Panem says
Hi Sanna,
Do you have the recipe for bread crumbs? Please email it to me will you? Appreciates and thank you.
Joy says
Hi!
I’ve been making pandesal and this is my third trial so far, all have been successful but I was wondering how can I prevent the bottom of my roll from turning brown? All the ingredients are the same and I even changed my time from 20mins to 18mins but it still came out brown on the bottom. Any tips and tricks would be great
sanna says
Hi Joy! Were you using a dark pan? My best solution to avoid over-browning of the bottom is to use light-colored pans instead of dark ones. I hope that helps. Thank you so much and let me know how it goes 🙂
Cristina says
So I started prepping my dough today and while waiting for the yeast mixture to bubble I measured out 4 cups of flour to mix with salt but there was no salt listed in the ingredients so I had to google for another recipe to get an idea of how much salt is needed in this recipe and went for 1-1/2 tsp of salt, hopefully it wasn’t too much I will find out once it baked. I was telling my husband “how can my favorite food blogger left me hanging like this?!” Anyways, hoping this batch will come out okay cause I haven’t baked some for a while and am craving for it, I love dipping it in my coffee
sanna says
Oh no, I am sorry! Yes, 1/2 to 1 tsp is perfect. I am so sorry! I will add that now and thank you for telling me
Bing says
Just did this recipe and so happy – my first successful attempt to make pandesal. I replaced the canola oil with olive oil 🙂
sanna says
So happy to know that, Bing! Thank you!
Liza says
Hi!
Can the dough be left to proof in the fridge so I can have fresh pandesal when I wake up in the morning? If so, at which stage do I refrigerate the dough?
sanna says
Hi Liza! Oh yes, you can either knead it and shaoe it into a ball, and allow it to rise overnight in the fridge, rhen go on with the recipe in the morning. OR shape the oandesal, arrange themnin a tray and let it rise overnight in the fridge. Make sure to ocver the dough, both ways. If yiu use the shaped method, make sure to let it come to room temp first, and allow it to rise some more before baking.
Karen says
Thank u very much for this wonderful recipe. I’ve been living in the US 20 years and though there are Filipino stores around, they never had this small, delicious, crumbly on the outside, super soft inside sweet-salty goodness of your Nanay’s recipe that I was craving for n could only taste on my rare visits home. My Mom n I made it and shared it with another Filipino family in the neighborhood.
sanna says
Yey! I am so glad you liked it Karen!
dee says
amazing! can it be done without eggs for next time i make it?
sanna says
Thanks, Dee! Sorry, I have not done this without eggs. 🙁
Kenny says
Thank you for the awesome recipe! My daughter loved it so much!
sanna says
SO glad to know that, Kenny!