I Love Homemade Pandesal

I took a break from baking so I could work on my Christmas project. I missed eating pandesal though so I got to work today to bake. It just takes 12 to 15 minutes to bake pandesal but it takes a few hours to prepare it. I've made a few adjustments to a base recipe to fit my taste. It's not the same as Pan de Manila's pandesal though haha. 

The smell of freshly baked bread filled our home this afternoon. Ahhh, that's what I like best about baking. I wish one could have freshly baked bread as a scent. Haha. Same as new books, fresh roses and a newly opened balikbayan box from the US. 

I haven't tried the pandesal I baked today. I'm still thinking about what I'm going to eat it with. Normally I eat pandesal without any filling, but sometimes I eat it with cheese and mayonnaise, spam or luncheon meat, peanut butter, Cheez Whiz and tuna mayo. Pandesal is so versatile, you can eat it with anything. 

What about you? What's your favorite bread? What's your favorite palaman? 

My Ninang Jane asked me if it's hard to bake pandesal. It's not hard, you just need to be patient because it takes time. The only thing to watch out for is the milk temperature when you bloom yeast. It should be around 32'C. I made that mistake once and put the yeast on very hot milk, it did not bloom. I actually like waiting for the dough to proof because it gives me time to rest while baking (it's like a workout for me). 

I haven't made an updated video of baking pandesal, but I think I have improved after baking it five times now. It also helps to have a stand mixer since it kneads the dough more evenly. Here was my first attempt at baking pandesal --

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My Home Panaderia Update: What I Learned to Bake so Far

I embarked on a home panaderia project last May because I miss Filipino bread! I realized it's going to take awhile before I can have fresh hot pandesal so I put myself to work to learn. I made a list of buns I wanted to learn to make. Here's what I have made so far:

Dinner Rolls - this is what I baked to introduce myself to bread baking. It was easy to make. Sweetie loved it warm with butter. (Video)

Ensaymada - my first ensaymada tasted good, but I failed in the looks department haha. I belatedly realized that it required some technical skills in forming the bun correctly. I may have overcooked it a little also since it was a little crunchy. (Video)

Spanish Bread - my first Spanish bread looked okay, but the taste wasn't what I envisioned. I think the issue mainly is the margarine I used, but we don't have Star Margarine here. I later on tried a friend's recipe and that one I liked much better. Forming the bread also takes practice. Usually the last piece I form is the best looking one haha.  (Video)

Pandesal - I finally tried baking pandesal by end of May. We loved it! It was a blockbuster. I tweaked my second attempt a little, added a bit more sugar and it tasted like your next door neighbor's panaderia pandesal. This is one bun I've been baking often. (Video)

Putok/Star bread - my putok bun did not look like a star in my first attemp. LOL! It really looked funny. I changed recipes on my second attempt and it tasted much better. I also improved a lot with the shape in my second attempt. (Video)

Monay - I read that monay almost has the same recipe as putok. I ended up making both putok and monay in one baking session because of yeast issues haha. Monay for me is comfort food. I'm glad I got it right the first time. (Video)

Pambonete (panbonete) - I wasn't happy with how the panbonete turned out. It was edible, but I want it to taste like the Casa Moderna pambonete. I also did not have the right bonnet looking cups, so it looked more like a baby bonnet than an adult bonnet haha. 

Cheeserolls - the cheeserolls turned out okay, Sweetie liked it but I wasn't too happy with the consistency of the bread. It was a good run, but I'll probably try a different recipe next time. 

Here's what I learned so far:

1. Try several recipes until you find the best one you like. Try tweaking it also to suit your taste. 

2. Try to use ingredients that are closest to Filipino brands, i.e. margarine, powdered milk. 

3. Don't just any any kind of milk, so far I like using British milk for my baking. 

4. Check the water or milk temperature before you add the yeast to make sure it blooms. Too hot will kill it and you'll end up with wasted ingredients. 

5. Practice shaping/folding techniques to get the look correctly. 

6. If the recipe calls for egg wash, make sure to wipe it on all sides of the dough equally. 

7. Your oven may behave differently compared to other ovens. I used to use a convection oven and when we moved homes we ended up with a gas oven. Check the right temperature equivalent based on the ove you're using. 

8. Don't be afraid to obtain new gadgets! When I first started baking bread I took so long kneading the dough (it's a workout!). I finally got a Kitchenaid stand mixer and it cut down my baking time.

9. Get a beeswax wrap. It's better to use this than cling wrap. Saves you some money and the environment.

10. Share your buns with neighbors! I'm so far sharing to our cleaner and she loves it! I'm still mustering up the confidence to share it to my Pinoy neighbors. 

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Learnings from Bread Baking

I embarked on a home panaderia project last May. My target was to learn how to bake Filipino bread buns. I have so far baked the following: dinner rolls (for practice!), ensaymada, Spanish bread, pandesal, putok, monay and pambonete. All of it was edible, but it wasn't necessarily the taste I aimed for.

Here are some things I realized I should have done/had before I embarked on my home panaderia project -

(1) Equipment - if you bake cupcakes/cookies, you just need a few more things -

Dough slicer
Weighing scale
Bigger baking mat
Rolling pin

Of course you should already have a baking bowl, hand mixer (stand mixer better!), measuring cups/spoons, spatula, oil brush, wire rack etc.

(2) Kneading abilities - oh kneading requires patience and technique! I watched a couple of videos to learn how to knead properly.

(3) Blooming yeast - some recipes don't require you to bloom yeast, but if you need to make sure the milk isn't too hot.

(4) Use the right kind of milk - I discovered that there are certain types of milk that go well with bread and the taste changes depending on what brand of milk you use. This is true for both powdered and fresh milk.

(5) Use the right weight depending on the bun you are baking - this is something I need to understand better since sometimes the dough goes so big! Haha.

Doesn't look like putok or monay hahaha. It tasted good though.

(6) Practice shaping the dough several times before going through the whole dough - my pambonete, ensaymada and putok did not look like pambonete, ensaymada or putok after baking it hahaha.

I've also embarked on second attempts to find the best recipe. I'm getting a bit adventurous and changing things here and there. What about you? Have you tried baking Filipino bread buns?

You can check out my attempts on this playlist.

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