I owe a lot of my taste in bread to Pandesal.
If I had somehow grown up in a sourdough kind of home somewhere in Europe instead, I likely wouldn’t have this Filipino sweet-salty tooth I do today.
Soft. Chewy. Literally “salt bread” by name, with nearly ten times the amount in sugar. A staple in many Filipino homes, with my version just being one of many.
This recipe is an enriched version containing milk and butter for more chew than airiness—great on its own, but flexible enough to pair with your favorite sweet or savory jams and fillings.
Don’t forget to see my tips and check out the process on TikTok!
INGREDIENTS
- 500g bread flour
- 100g brown sugar
- 12g fine salt
- 10g instant dry yeast
- 55g unsalted butter, softened
- 55g egg (1 large)
- 18g egg yolk (1 large egg yolk)
- 100g whole milk
- 150g water, room temperature
- Fine bread crumbs for coating
METHOD
- MIX. In your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine bread flour, brown sugar, and instant dry yeast. Mix for a few seconds, then stream in your egg, egg yolk, milk, and water. Knead on low speed until it forms a dry dough, then gradually add your softened butter. Knead on low-medium speed until the butter is absorbed, then add salt.
- KNEAD. Starting on medium speed, knead for about 5 minutes until it forms a smooth, stretchy dough. See tips.
- PROOF. Shape into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling wrap and proof in a warm area for 60 minutes or until at least doubled in volume. (Note: Proofing takes longer in cool weather.)
- DIVIDE & PRESHAPE. After proofing, punch down the gases. Divide dough into 2 equal portions, about 490g each. Flatten with a rolling pin to form two 8×16-inch rectangles. Roll lengthwise to form two16-inch logs. Sprinkle fine bread crumbs on both logs, rolling as needed to cover all sides. Cover with cling wrap and rest for about 5 minutes before cutting.
- SHAPE. Prepare a bowl with about 1 cup of fine bread crumbs. Divide each log into 16 portions, for a total of 32 pieces. Roll each piece in bread crumbs to cover completely, then place on parchment-lined baking trays.
- PROOF. Cover and rest for 20-30 minutes or until about doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C.
- BAKE. Bake at 180°C for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
TIPS
How do I know when to stop kneading?
The total kneading time is highly variable. Factors such as the strength and size of your mixer, the brand of your bread flour, and more can affect this step. It’s important to note that the main objective of kneading is to build structure through gluten development.
Follow these visual cues, and you’re in for a successful batch:
- The dough is much smoother.
- The dough is very stretchy and less sticky.
- The dough passes the windowpane test.
Unlike milk bread which has a much higher fat content, pandesal can be kneaded on low to medium speed only—as long as it passes the windowpane test. If you prefer to knead by hand, it’s totally possible.
Different ways to shape pandesal!
Pre-shaping the dough into logs creates thin layers of dough that provide a soft and airy texture in the end result. By slicing the logs, you are forming pandesal the traditional way—kind of similar to cutting cinnamon rolls! However, you can also roll these buns into balls, or even add a filling of your choice. Make sure to seal and smoothen the seams before final proofing!
Thank you for checking out my recipes! Let me know when you try them out. If you have any questions, comment below or reach me on TikTok / Instagram!
11 thoughts on “Soft Chewy Pandesal”
Hi Ms. Anna. If I double the batch of pansedal, do I need to double the yeast in the recipe?
Hi Milcah! Yes you would need to double the yeast. After kneading to windowpane, I would also suggest dividing the entire dough into 2 so it doesn’t take too long to proof ☺️
Hi Anna, can you share what are their conversions in terms of the measurements of the ingredients to cups and tsp. Im not good in grams and dont want to mess it up. Thank you
Hi Tine! I understand. I also didn’t have a weighing scale when I started, but getting one really helped me reduce my errors and boost my confidence in baking.
I actually provide gram measurements as much as possible, because I want you all to have the best chance at getting great results and reducing errors. (For example, 1 cup of flour can range from 120g to 140g depending on how you scoop! This affects the result and can make it dry.)
In my experience, many errors were caused by wrong measurements 🥹 so I would instead encourage buying a food weighing scale! 🙂 If you’re from the PH, there are scales available online at just Php 100-200 and they work great.
In case you still prefer to work in cups/spoons, you may have to search the conversions individually, but pls note I haven’t tested the conversions so there might be some differences in the end result 🙏
Hi Anna,
I was wondering if you’re recommending to bake only half the recipe for pandesal for our first time, so we don’t end up with too many of them? Or is it because it would be easier to manage by cutting the recipe in half?
Also, do you have any suggestions on how to use only half of an egg? Shall I mix the egg first and then use half of the weight required in the recipe?
Thank you!!
Hello! Yes you can cut the entire recipe in half 🙂 especially if you’re making it the first time. To use only half an egg, crack it into a small bowl, whisk then divide in half. Hope this helps!
i think this is a personal problem but even though the dough did not stick to the sides and passed the window pane test, it kind of ‘melted’ in my hands and did not keep its structure. i kneaded it for more than 40 minutes for it to toughen up and added flour but it was still ‘melting’. as a result, it did not rise how can i fix this?
Hello, Kace! Interesting outcome and I haven’t personally experienced this, but it could be due to a number of reasons.
Once it’s smooth, stretchy, and passes the windowpane test–gluten development would’ve already been sufficient to shape it, even into a rough/not so perfect ball. Curious to know how the “melting” looked like as the dough could have been shaped then let to rise from here.
Here are some things that may have happened:
– Kitchen too hot, butter melted which made dough more liquid
– Kitchen too humid, dough became more wet than normal
– Kneaded too long, dough heated up and broke down gluten strands
– Flour should be be ideally bread flour for gluten development, but APF is okay too. Other flours (or certain brands) will absorb liquid and develop gluten differently. I had a problem with a different bread flour I tested before–by any chance did you use a different kind of flour for this?
– Have you checked if your instant dry yeast is still good?
Might take some more investigation but these are the things I have in mind. I would also suggest doing a half-recipe in case you haven’t done so already. The dough would be more manageable this way 🙂 Good luck and I hope this helps you out! ☺️
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Hi Chef Anna! I tried your recipe, it went well but it’s sticky. What do you think is the problem? Thank you
Hi Babie! Thanks for trying it! 🙂 The dough becomes less sticky as you knead. If it’s still sticky after 5 mins. on medium speed, continue kneading on low-medium or by hand if you’re scared to overknead. You can also add a pinch to a teaspoon of extra flour. Some days can also be a bit humid and contribute to the stickiness of the dough. 🙂 So I suggest you continue kneading and only add a pinch of flour if needed!