Spanish Bread- A Filipino Bakery Favorite
Spanish Bread brings back memories of hot afternoon snacks back home with these soft bread coming out of brown paper bags, warm and fresh from the bakery. The sweet, buttery paste filling is my favorite. Love Filipino breads? Also try Pandesal and Ensaymada.
Around the time when the Holidays were approaching, a reader asked if I have a Spanish Bread recipe on the blog.
And that was a very nice inquiry because I stopped and asked myself “Why I have not made this delicious bread, the Filipino Spanish bread which is also another bakery classic back home?”
You guys are my hero. You remind me of delicious things that I would not have not thought of by myself. So here we are, let’s make this Filipino bakery favorite and enjoy a typical pinoy merienda.
What I love about Spanish Bread?
- They are meaty in the bread department. They are fat rolls of bread dusted with breadcrumbs all over.
- The texture from the breadcrumbs makes them a delight to eat.
- The chunky filling that is sweet and buttery is a nice contrast to the soft bread surrounding it.
Let’s Make Them!
Start by proofing the yeast. So in a large mixing bowl, combine the warm milk and yeast and let sit stand for about 5 minutes.
Note: The milk should be between 105-115 F. As you can see in the photo above, the mixture will turn foamy or creamy.
Add the sugar, eggs, salt and oil to the bowl and stir everything with a wooden spoon.
Then, add 4 cups of flour but only one cup at a time. Stir after each addition. The mixture will turn into a shaggy dough. Sprinkle just enough of the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and keep stirring until the dough gathers in the center.
Knead the Dough. Flour a board and dust your hands with flour as well. Turn the dough over onto the board and start kneading. Use the remaining flour to dust your board and your hands to help with the stickiness as you knead.
You may need up to 1/8 cup more of flour as you continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. New to kneading? Check out my simple guide How to Knead Bread Dough ( with video).
First Rise. Shape the kneaded dough into a ball and place it in a bowl. Cover and let it rise for 1 and 1/2 hour, until the size is doubled.
Shape the Dough. Once the dough has risen, gently punch it down and divide it into 18-20 almost equal sized portions.
Flatten each portion with your palms or use a rolling pin. You need an oval-shaped dough that is about the size of your hands.
Spoon about a tablespoon of the filling and spread it across the dough. Roll the dough into a log. Repeat with the rest of the portions.
Place them in a greased baking tray or line the tray with parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, brush evaporated milk all over the logs, then dip them in breadcrumbs, making sure the log is all coated.
Second Rise. Line them up again in the baking tray. Cover the logs loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for about an hour, or until they are puffy and doubled in size.
Bake. Preheat oven to 350 F. Once the temperature is reached, bake the Spanish bread for 15-20 minutes, or until they are lightly golden.
Once they are done, be patient. The filling is hot. I know it smells nice and heavenly but that delicious filling needs more time before you take that bite.
Then grab what you need. A cup of coffee or tea maybe? Hot chocolate is super, too. Wind down and have a snack of warm bread, fresh from the oven. A typical Filipino afternoon snack. Oh, some of the good things in life!
More Delicious Bread
- Japanese Condensed Milk Bread
- Yema Rolls
- Milk Bread
- Japanese Milk Buns
- Coconut Bread with Milky Sweet Filling
- Sweet Beehive Buns
- Honey Buns with Honey Cream Filling
- Chelsea Buns
- Milk and Sugar Mini Buns
- Soft and Buttery Sugar Buns
- Choco-Yema Cupcakes
- Pan de Siosa
- Ube Morning Buns
- Easy and Tasty Bibingka
- Puto Pao
- Tasty ( Asian Style White Loaf Bread)
- Whole Wheat Buttermilk Loaf Bread
Spanish Bread
Ingredients
For the Bread Dough
- 1 and 1/4 cups warm milk 105-115 F
- 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 4 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided + up to 1/8 cup extra for kneading
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs for coating the bread
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
For the Spanish Bread Filling
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup` bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk
Instructions
Make the Bread Dough
- In a mixing bowl, combine milk and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy. Add the eggs, sugar, oil and salt. Stir everything with a wooden spoon. Add 4 cups of flour, one cup at a time while stirring. The mixture will turn into a shaggy dough.
- Sprinkle just enough of the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and keep stirring until the dough gathers in the center. Turn the dough over on a floured board and knead it until it is smooth and elastic, about 6-10 minutes. As you knead, dust your hands and your board as needed to help with the stickiness. You may need to use up to 1/8 cup of additional flour.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it a bowl. Cover and let rise for 1 and 1/2 hours, or until the size is doubled. You can make the filling at this point.
- Gently punch the dough down and divide it into 18-20 portions. Using a small rolling pin or your hands, flatten each portion into an oval that is about the size of your hands. Spread about a tablespoon of the filling across the surface of the dough and roll it into a log. Repeat with all the other portions. Arrange the rolls in a large baking tray that is greased or lined with parchment paper. Brush evaporated milk on each of the rolls and dip them in breadcrumbs. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the Spanish bread for 15-20 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly golden.
Spanish Bread Filling
- Heat the butter in a small saucepan until it is bubbly. Add the flour and the breadcrumbs and stir the mixture vigorously with a wire whisk for a few seconds. This is a grainy mixture at this point. Immediately add the milk and keep stirring until the mixture loosens up a bit. Stir for 30 seconds more and turn off heat. Stir in the sugar well until it is incorporated. Set aside to cool. This mixture is a chunky paste.
Thank you sooo much for posting this recipe! It was easy to follow and turned out amazing! The only thing I did different on accident was brush the evaporated milk and sprinkle after the second proof but it still turned out fine 🙂
Hello Karen! I am so happy you liked it! Happy Baking always!
Hi! Sanna, Thank you to the recipes my hubby loved the Spanish bread, now I have to figure out what my son loves he like chocolate guess my next move is making regular mamon and chocolate mamon.
Thank you again have a great day God Bless.
Christine
Hello Christine! I am glad you loved them! You will love the Mamon too!
Hi. Is it ok to use unbleached wheat flour? Also what kind of milk I use for the “warm milk”? Thank you.
Hello Lyn! I have not tried using unbleached ap flour for this, and I am guessing that if you do, you may need to adjust a bit in the flour amount to achieve the perfect dough consistency before kneading.
For the milk, use liquid type cow’s milk. Thank you!
I made these and they were the best! The bread is so soft and chewy. Just the way i like it. I doubled the filling recipe coz i made more smaller rolls. I was able to make almost 30 pieces and its the right size for us. I also added about 2 Tbsp honey to the dough. It has been 4 days since i made these and they are still so soft and chewy and yummy up to this day! They didnt dry at all. This is my go-to bread recipe from now on. Even for pandesal and cinnamon buns! Thank you very much!
Hello there! I am so happy that you liked this! Thank you for sharing your variation of adding honey to the dough 🙂 Happy baking!
Thankyou for the recipe! I used bread machine to make the dough. The bread taste good and turns out super soft until day 2. Will use your recipe again to make ube cheese pandesal.
Hello Mary! Ube cheese pandesal sounds so yummy! I am so happy you enjoyed this 🙂
These are so good. The only change I made was not to put breadcrumbs on the outside of the buns. Instead I brushed the buns with butter prior to baking and then again right after they came out of the oven and then rolled them in cinnamon sugar. I took them to work and they disappeared. Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you
Hello Christine, your variation of adding cinnamon sugar sounds so yummy! I am so glad you enjoyed this!
Hi sanna pls help so i follow all the instruction but my bread became so big or rise so big when i baked it. What did i do wrong
Hi Jane! How big did they turn out? These spanish bread have quite a nice size, about as big as an average clenched hand. Maybe they rose for too long?
Hello Sanna!
I love this spanish bread recipe. It came out soooo good and so soft. My hubby and kids loved it! I will definitely make again using your recipe.. Thank you!
Hi Myles! I am so happy to know that!
Hi Elvie, tried your Spanish bread recipe and the taste turned out really good… thanks! The only thing I noticed was after cooling it down the next day it gets harder. I thought perhaps I haven’t knead it as required so may just use a mixer next time I bake them. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hello Brian! I am so happy that you liked Spanish Bread. 🙂
Hello Sanna, thank you so much for your recipes. I bought my mixer a couple Of years ago but only last week I used it for baking bread. I already tried your Pandesal, Ube Bread Roll and I just finished baking the Spanish Bread. I feel like a pro because they all came out perfect and tasted really yummy and its all due to your awesome recipes. I used my stand mixer for all three breads because I have problem kneading with my fingers. I sure will try all your bread recipes.
Hi Elvie! I am so happy that you are loving the recipes you tried. Thank you so much and I appreciate your feedback. Keep baking and let me know if you have ay questions. Thank you!
Hi, Would like to ask if the dough can be made overnight the bake in the morning?
Hello Ires! You can prepare the dough up to the kneading part. Shape it into a ball and place it in a bowl. Refrigerate overnight. Then continue with the recipe the next morning.
Also, you can prepare up to the shaping part ( minus the milk wash and coating of bread crumbs), then refrigerate shaped rolls overnight. Continue with the recipe the next morning.
Hello Ms. Sanna
Thanksa for sharing your recipe and im excited to try it for my sister who really loves Spanish bread.
Hello Marivi! I hope you loved these Spanish bread 🙂 Thank you so much!
I was wondering if you could do this in a stand mixer. I would love to try these. Spanish bread was my favorite when we were stationed in the Philippines.
Hello, Melissa! Yes, you can do this on a stand mixer, too! If you look at the pandesal recipe on the blog, it will have the procedure for using the stand mixer.
I don’t have canola oil and I can’t find this kind of oil in Greece can I use sunflower oil instead?
Hello Anastasia! Sunflower oil should be ok to use:)
Hi there!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I can’t wait to try it! I just have one silly question. For the bread dough, the ingredients call for warm milk and evaporated milk? I don’t know if I missed it somewhere (I probably did), but when did you add the evaporated milk in the dough mixture? Or did you do use the warm milk + evaporated milk to bloom the yeast for step 1? Thank you! Hope to hear from you soon!
Hi there Lee Ann! I have had a similar question before so don’t worry, it is not silly at all. The evaporated milk is one used for brushing the rolls after they are shaped. The one that goes into the dough is just plain milk. Good luck and happy baking!
Hi Ms Sanna
Ask ko lang po ung 1/4 cup evaporated milk for the bread dough ng Spanish bread, when sya i add?
Hello Sheryl!
Yung evaporated milk ipang b-brush sya sa mga rolls pag na-shape mo na. Just use a clean pastry brush or any clean brush to brush the evaporated milk all over the shaped bread dough 🙂 You may not use all evap, may natitira na konti and that is fine. 🙂