Deliciously soft, these Filipino Bread Rolls (Pandesal) will surely become a regular in your home too! They’re so easy to make; the hard part is waiting for the proofing of the dough. But trust me, it’s all worth it!
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Aside from sinangag, these Filipino bread rolls are what locals generally have for breakfast.
But it’s not really just for breakfast. It’s common to hear ‘may pandesal dyan‘ (there are some bread rolls there) any time of the day. Meaning, as long as they’re around, household members will always reach for a piece (or two) for lunch or merienda.
I can’t really blame them. Contrary to its name (pan de sal), these rolls are not salty. In fact, I think they’re quite sweet compared to other rolls that I’ve had here in Stockholm.
Well, only one way for you to agree with me. Try them now and let me know what you think in the comments section!
Ingredients to prepare
- Flour – you can use all-purpose flour; you will still have excellent results. Adding bread flour will give it a chewier texture.
- Vegetable oil – any oil that does not have a ‘taste’; that means no olive oil or peanut oil.
How to make pandesal
Start by warming up half a cup of milk and mixing it with the yeast. Set aside (photo1).
Using a large bowl, combine all the flour, salt, and sugar. Mix evenly (photo 2).
Once the yeast mixture is ready, combine the remaining milk, eggs, yeast mixture, and vegetable oil in the stand mixer bowl (photo 3).
Add half of the dry ingredients and mix using the stand mixer’s dough hook (photo 4).
Add the remaining dry ingredients in batches. Increase the speed of the mixer once a dough starts to form. Keep mixing until you get a smooth dough; about 25 minutes.
Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel.
Set dough aside until it has doubled in size (photo 5).
Punch the air out of the dough and divide it into equal portions. I generally make 25 pieces from this recipe (photo 6).
Form each portion into a ball and roll-on breadcrumbs (photo 7).
Place each roll on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet and keep some distance between each roll. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside for 30 minutes (photo 8).
Fifteen minutes before you uncover the tray, preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F).
The rolls will be quite puffy by this time, ready for baking (photo 9).
Place the tray in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the rolls have turned golden.
Top tips to remember
- To mix with the yeast, make sure you only heat the milk to lukewarm. Don’t make it too hot, or worse, boiling temperature.
- Beat the eggs before adding them to the rest of the liquid ingredients.
- Use vegetable oil or any other neutral-tasting oil, NOT olive oil.
- Mix the salt with the flour instead of adding it directly to the liquid ingredients (and the yeast mixture).
- If the dough is too wet, do not hesitate to add more flour. Pandesal should have a pliable, slightly sticky dough, not a wet one.
- If you want to keep all the rolls in equal size, use a weighing scale to measure each dough portion before forming it into a ball.
FAQs
CAN I LEAVE THE DOUGH OVERNIGHT?
Absolutely.
As soon as you have the dough in the oiled bowl, cover it with plastic and place it in the refrigerator. The dough will still rise but at a slower rate.
WHY IS MY PANDESAL SO HARD?
This generally happens when the dough is dry.
To avoid this scenario, you can either add the flour slowly (as I indicated in this recipe) or if you’ve already added all of them, add a bit more water to get the pliable dough that you need.
HOW LONG WILL THEY LAST?
When placed in an airtight container — maximum two days. You just need to reheat, and you’re good to go.
If you still have a ton left after two days, not a problem; turn them into homemade breadcrumbs.
CAN I FREEZE PANDESAL?
Yep.
Let them cool first, then arrange them in a freezer bag — I strongly suggest setting them straight in the bag instead of randomly placing them inside.
Once you’re ready to serve them, place the bag in the refrigerator overnight to defrost, then reheat as normal in the morning.
FOR OTHER ASIAN RECIPES, CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING POSTS –
Filipino Bread Rolls (Pandesal)
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups milk (divided into 1/2 & 1 cup)
- 2 & 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1/2 cup more for adding)
- 2 cups bread flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
Preparing dough:
- Warm-up ½ cup of milk and mix with the yeast. Set aside until foamy.
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, bread flour, salt, and sugar. Mix evenly.
- Once the yeast mixture is ready, combine all the wet ingredients in the stand mixer bowl – 1 cup milk, eggs, yeast mixture, and vegetable oil.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and mix (using the dough hook) of the stand mixer. Set your stand mixer to low at this time, so you don't sprinkle the flour.
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients in batches and continue mixing until a dough starts to form.
- Adjust the speed of the mixer into medium and continue kneading until the dough becomes smooth. It usually takes 20-25 minutes. You can also do the kneading manually if you don't have a stand mixer.
Proofing dough:
- Place the smooth dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Set aside until the size of the dough has doubled. It generally takes me no more than 2 hours.
- Punch the dough in the middle and remove it from the bowl. Divide it into 24 equal portions.
- Form each portion into a ball and roll it in breadcrumbs.
- Place each ball in a baking tray lined with a baking sheet. Keep some distance between rolls to allow when they expand. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside for about 30 minutes.
Baking pandesal:
- Halfway during this proofing time, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
- The rolls are slightly puffy by this time. Uncover the baking tray and place it in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the rolls turned golden.
- Take out of the oven and serve.
Notes
- You can skip the bread flour and just use all-purpose flour instead. The result would still be great. The bread flour gives the rolls a chewier texture.
- Make sure you are mixing lukewarm milk with the yeast, not hot or boiling — or you’ll end up killing the yeast.
- Beat the eggs before mixing them with the rest of the liquid ingredients.
- Do not use olive oil. Stick to vegetable oil or any other oil that has a neutral taste.
- Do not add the salt directly to the wet ingredients; mix it with the flour instead.
- Do not hesitate to add more flour (slowly) if the dough is too wet. The dough for Filipino bread rolls should be just slightly sticky, not wet.
kaitlyn says
Hello – How much sugar needs to be added? I don’t see the amount listed in the recipe but it’s referred to a few times.
Thanks,
Kaitlyn
Neriz says
Apologies Kaitlyn, half a cup of sugar. I have now updated the recipe card.
Thanks so much for bringing it to my attention! 🙂