AI-generated image
Pandesal
Soft Filipino breakfast rolls rolled in breadcrumbs
Pandesal is the bread of the Filipino morning: small, soft, slightly sweet rolls with a fine breadcrumb coating, bought hot at dawn in brown paper bags from the neighbourhood panaderia (bakery) and eaten before school or work. They are torn open and filled with butter, cheese or peanut butter, or dunked straight into a cup of coffee, and at night the leftovers are toasted. Despite the name ('salt bread'), they are gently sweet, with a pillowy crumb and a thin crust. Home-made ones are best eaten within hours of baking. Chef's tip: the classic shape comes from rolling the dough into a log, coating it in crumbs and cutting slices, which bake into those familiar oval rolls with cut sides up.
- Total time
- 148 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz instant dried yeast, 2 ⅛ oz sugar and 1 ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Add 1 cup milk and 1 egg and stir into a shaggy dough.
Step 2: Knead on the worktop for 5 minutes, then work in 1 ¾ oz butter a piece at a time. Keep kneading for 8–10 minutes more, until the dough is smooth, soft and springs back when poked.
15 minStep 3: Put it in a bowl greased with 1 tsp vegetable oil, cover and leave somewhere warm for 60–75 minutes, until doubled in size.
75 minStep 4: Divide the dough in two. Roll each half into a log about 40 cm long and 4 cm thick. Roll the logs in 2 ⅛ oz fine dry breadcrumbs until coated.
Step 5: Cut each log on a slight diagonal into 10 pieces with a dough scraper. Lay them cut side up, 3 cm apart, on two lined baking trays and press lightly to flatten. Sprinkle a few more crumbs on top.
Step 6: Cover loosely and let rise for 30–40 minutes, until puffy and nearly doubled. Heat the oven to 375°F (fan 350°F). Overproofing is the common mistake: the rolls spread, collapse in the oven and turn dense.
40 minStep 7: Bake for 15–18 minutes, until lightly golden on top and pale gold underneath; they should sound hollow when tapped. Don't let them get dark or the crust goes hard.
18 minStep 8: Cool for 10 minutes on a rack and eat warm, split open with butter or cheese.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pandesal take?
- About 148 minutes in total: 130 minutes to prepare and 18 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Ma'amoul
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.
Banana and cashew slice
A soft, moist low-calorie slice made without flour, eggs or refined sugar: ripe bananas are blended with sunflower oil, vanilla and cardamom, then cashews, desiccated coconut, oats and grated apple. Baked and cut into wedges, it is naturally sweet and good with tea or in a lunch box.
Moist banana bread
The blacker the bananas, the better the loaf. This one is mixed in a single bowl with melted butter and a little brown sugar, so it's soft, deeply banana-y and keeps well for days.