Pandesal (Filipino Bread Rolls): Step By Step Guide To Perfectly Fluffy Rolls
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. More Filipino classics? Check out Ube Hopia, Cassava Cake and Suman Malagkit.
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.
Amazingly perfect, so soft and tasty better than pandesal selling in the market here in ksa. Thank you..
Yey! Thank you so much, Joe!
hi!! I’ve always wanted to make pandesal, but never did until I saw your recipe on a group page. 🙂 I accidentally added 1 1/2 cups of milk instead of 1 1/4 cups. oops LOL I compensated by adding a scant 1/4 cup of flour so the dough wasn’t too sticky. but it still turned out awesome! thanks for sharing!
I am so glad you loved it Jen!!! Thank you!
Hi! Just a question. Any alternatives if you don’t have parchment paper or wax paper or any of those kind? Thank you! 🙂
You can place it directly on the pan, but I suggest the light colored pans and not the dark ones. The bottom of the pandesal may brown a but quickly though.
Hello. Thanks for posting the recipe. At what point can I store in the fridge? After the first rise or the second rise? Any additional instructions needed after refrigeration? Thanks in advance!
Hi Rho! You can place them overnight in the fridge after you have shaped them. Bake them the following morning.
Your pandesal recipe is absolutely incredible. I made twice now and next time I will try it with gluten free flour since my husband is a gluten intolerant. We’ll see how it end up. Anyways thank you so much for sharing it.
Thanks a lot! I am glad you loved it. I hope you keep me posted on the gf version.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! I tried doing it today but my dough is sticky and not smooth after mixing it for 20 minutes. I’ve also finished 1/2 cup of the flour per the instruction. Just waiting for the dough to rise now. Wondering what did I miss..
Hello! I hope it turned out well for you!
This is sooooo good! I just baked it.. Instead of kneading it with my Electronic Mixer for 20mins. It turned out well in just 10 mins.. You really need to do the process step by step.. Thank you for this..
Hi Donna! I am glad you liked it! Thank you so much!
Hello! Thank you so much for this recipe, although it doesn’t quite taste like the ones that I’ve bought from back home, everybody says they enjoyed it ☺️ Just a few questions though-
What should I do differently if the dough has not risen after rolling them into balls and adding breadcrumbs?
How does replacing milk with water affect the dough?
How can I become a talented baker like you!?
Hope I can hear from you soon!!
Hi Meisha! I am glad your family enjoyed it. To answer your questions:
*The dough may need more time if it doesn’t double up in size in 1 and 1 half-hour. Probably, it is cold where it is rising. Or if you want, turn the oven to 200F, once it reaches that temp, turn it off. Place the shaped dough inside and let rise for 35-50 minutes or until it is puffy and doubled in size.
*Replacing milk with water will alter the flavor of the dough, taking away that subtle richness. And the golden crust will be hard to achieve if the milk will be replaced with water.
* Thank you but I am not really a talented baker believe me 🙂 I just looooove to bake, but I do make a lot of mess too!
Can I use vegetable oil instead of canola oil?
Yes you can 🙂 Good luck!
Great recipe. The bread is still soft even when it’s already cold. Although I used Bread flour instead of all purpose.
Thank you Joseph and thank you for the tip!
Hi wanted to ask if it would make a difference if I use bread flour vs AP flour? Would it be okay or is it better to stick to AP flour?
Hello! I have always used ap flour with this and it turns out great. However, you can also use bread is what you have 😉
Hi!first time Baker due to forced stay at home. If I use instant yeast do I have to let the dough rise for 2h? And would it still be 2 and 1/4 tsp? Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Eleonora! For instant yeast, use the same amount and same instructions. Good luck and happy baking!
Hi Miss Sanna Same instruction Po meaning , yung instant yeast , ilalagay mo pa din siya sa milk right? And let it be foamy for 5 to 10 minutes tama Po ba? Instant dry yeast Po siya? Hope you answer po .
Yes that’s correct:) happy baking!
Could use buttermilk to replace the milk?
Hello Monica! Unfortunately, I am not sure if that will work.
Hello miss Sanna! I am so eager to try your recipe and i was wondering if could put cheese inside the bread (when forming the bread), hence it’ll become cheese pandesal? If possible, do i need to adjust something in order to incorporate the cheese?
Hello Marny mae. Yes you can add cheese and you don’t have to adjust anything in the recipe. Maybe just make a bit bigger pandesal to accommodate the filling 🙂 I suggest eden cheese 🙂
Hi!
First of all, Huge Thank you and your mom for sharing your Perfect homemade Pandesal recipe!
Im the type of person that research endlessly until I find a recipe that hits the most important thing for when when it comes to baking.
THE TASTE OF HOME- TASTE OF PINAS
It just brings me back memories of waking up super early to get a fresh batch of pandesal from the bakery. Call me weird but I love the smell of freshly baked bread and wow! Our house smelt like a panaderia! ❤️❤️
After making the pandesal, I have nothing but positive feedback for taste, texture and appearance!
The taste was so very fresh and light.
Texture was soft and fluffy. I even pushed it down with my finger and it came bouncing back to shape.
Appearance was nostalgic, if only CoVid wasn’t happening id book my next flight back home.
Maybe only thing ill try to do next time is divide them smaller, kasi PISO ISA! Haha I made them the size of 2 peso pandesal.
Thank you for the previous reviews!
This has been Bookmarked and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hello Nelle! Nothing beats the smell of bread baking in the oven:) Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and I am really glad you loved them. I appreciate all your kind words. Happy baking always. Take care!
Hi! Can I use unsweetened almond milk for this recipe?
Hi Ish! I am sorry I have not tried that so I cannot guarantee the result 🙂