PANDESAL

Pandesal is a popular yeast-raised bread in the Philippines. Individual loaves are shaped by rolling the dough into long logs (bastón, Spanish for "stick") which are rolled in fine bread crumbs. These are then portioned, allowed to rise, and baked.

Why is my pandesal dense and not fluffy? A dense and pandesal can be caused by using inaccurate proportions of ingredients, for example, not enough liquid or fat, or using too much flour. Another reason is under rising. If the dough did not have enough time to rise, then the bread might come out dense and hard.

Can I leave pandesal dough overnight? Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to rise at warm room temperature (75°F/24°C) until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Alternatively, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight until puffy and soft, between 10 and 12 hours).

Why do you put breadcrumbs in pandesal?What makes pandesal unique from any other bread roll is its breadcrumb coating. In addition to preventing the rolls from getting stuck on the baking surface, it also imparts a delicious textural contrast, between the plush pillowy crumb and crunchy crust. Plus it ensures that even old bread doesn't go to waste.

How do you make bread lighter and airy?Adding dry milk powder to your bread dough will help your loaf rise higher. In addition, the loaf will stay soft and hold moisture longer which again means it will last longer. It also helps brown the crust. If you want a lighter fluffier bread loaf just add 2 Tbsp of dry milk to the flour per loaf of your bread.

What are the ingredients of pandesal? Basically, you can already make pandesal with just 5 ingredients: flour, yeast, oil or lard, sugar, and salt. Six if you have to include water.

This recipe replaces the water with milk and adds eggs. Both of them giving these pandesals a softer texture, both inside and to the crust, and gives a richer flavor. The eggs also help the dough rise higher. I also use butter or sometimes margarine that adds that delicious buttery goodness. Remember—different types of flour has different flour-to-water ratio. The higher the protein/gluten content, the more water it needs. Also important to note, not all-purpose flour acts the same. Different brands have different ways of processing their flour and different contents.

If the dough feels too dry then simply add more water, or if too sticky then add flour. The dough should feel pliable or easy to knead and not too sticky.You can also use bread flour if you are looking for a chewier pandesal. Mix them in equal parts to get a moderately chewy but softer ones. But remember that bread flour absorbs more liquids so you may need to adjust.

Ingredients :

3 cups all-purpose flour - see NOTE 1 about bread flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk - lukewarm

1 egg

2 tablespoon butter - melted (or margarine)

1 extra tablespoon of butter room temperature.

1 ½ teaspoon instant dry yeast - see Note 2

1/4cup breadcrumbs

1.In a big mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt.

2.Pour in milk, beaten egg and melted butter. Mix several times until well blended. Make sure that the milk is only mildly warm and not hot.

3.Add the instant dry yeast and fold until a sticky dough forms.

4.Tip the dough on a floured surface and knead with the extra butter until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes.

5.Form the dough into a ball and lightly coat with oil. Place it in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and place it in a warm area and let it rise until it doubled in size. Depending how warm it is, could take 30 minutes to an hour.

6.Punch down the dough and divide into 2 equal parts using a knife or dough slicer. Roll each into a log. Cut each log into 6 smaller pieces.

7.Shape each piece into a ball and roll it in breadcrumbs, completely covering all sides.

8.Arrange the pieces on a baking sheet leaving some gaps in between (at least an inch). Leave them to rise second time until double in size.

9.While waiting, preheat oven 370° F /185°C. Bake the Pandesal for 15 minutes or until the sides are a bit browned.

10.Remove from oven and serve while hot!

Note 1 - You can also use bread flour if you want it on the chewy side or 50/50 APF and bread flour for soft but slightly chewy bite.

Note 2 - Using Instant Dry Yeast eliminates the need to proof it with warm liquid before adding to the rest of the ingredients. Just make sure that your yeast is still active. It also lessens the rising time.

Note 2- You may also use Active Dry Yeast. It needs to be proof and might take longer to rise. Take ½ cup of the lukewarm milk from the recipe and 1 stp sugar. Add the yeast to it and let it bloom for 5 minutes before adding to the flour.