Pandesal Recipe - Jeanelleats Food and Travel Blog (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pandesal so hard? ›

Why is the crust on my pandesal so hard? Your bread should be fluffy on the inside and slightly crusty on the outside, but the crust should not be rock hard. If your crust is too hard, it could be the result of under kneading your bread. Make sure your dough is completely smooth after kneading.

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).

Pandesal is the most popular local bread in the Philippines. It is the Spanish term for “salt bread,” since the name originated during the 16th century Spanish colonial era.

Its taste and texture closely resemble those of the Puerto Rican pan de agua, French croissant, and Mexican bolillos. Contrary to its name, pandesal tastes slightly sweet rather than salty. Most bakeries produce pandesal in the morning for breakfast consumption, though some bake pandesal the whole day.

foil. Storing bread in either plastic, cloth, or foil helps retain the loaf's moisture. This moisture retention is a plus when it comes to the bread's crumb (interior) — but a minus if you're talking crunchy-crispy crust, since wrapping bread will inevitably soften its crust as well as its crumb.

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

Use around 5% sugar (percentage of flour), use of milk and honey in the recipe keeps the bread soft and moist after baking if kept covered and protected from dry environments. Use of oil in the recipe also keeps the bread softer.

If your pandesal is hard out of the oven (and not burnt), it might not have proofed enough and the gluten did not develop properly. Try to test your yeast to make sure it's not expired by blooming it in warm milk before adding into your flour.

Pandesal is typically consumed as part of the first, simpler meal Filipinos sit down to before a heartier breakfast known as almusal. During the earlier morning meal, pandesal is frequently consumed plain with a cup of black coffee or hot chocolate for dipping, says Ponseca.

Pandesal is the most popular style of bread in the Philippines. The name comes from the Spanish word meaning “salt bread" and it originated during the 16th century era of Spanish colonization in the Philippines. Pandesal is known for its pillowy texture and signature breadcrumbs on top.

What do you pair pandesal with? ›

They're delicious with peanut butter (as I've told you) or smeared with salted butter and honey or jam. Pandesal make a lightly sweet counterpoint to a savory breakfast sandwich, and while I haven't tried this yet, I think pandesal and sausage gravy might be the Deep South-Filipino fusion dish the world needs.

bread (n.) food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked. foodstuff rich in natural starch (especially potatoes, rice, bread).

Your dough can become sticky when you add too much water or the flour isn't suitable for the type of dough you are making. Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough.

Pan de Sal or pandesal means salt bread in Spanish, the most popular bread in the Philippines which is. made out of basic bread ingredients such as eggs, flour, sugar and salt.

It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used. Always use strong flour instead of plain and make sure too much salt was not added.

The flour could have too low a protein content, there could be too much salt in the bread recipe, you did not knead it or leave it to proof long enough, or you could have killed the yeast by leaving the dough to rise in a place that was too hot.

The flour you used may have contained too much protein. Protein is one of the ingredients that help yeast bread brown. Use bread flour that is purchased at a grocery store or a national brand of all-purpose flour.

The first is using sugar in the formula, sugar (or honey or malt extract) provides the golden appearance of bread but it also hardens during heating in the oven. The second probable cause is the use of water inside the oven or as a spray upon the introduction of the loaf in the oven.