April 28, 2010

Monay, Pinagong, and Putok

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Monay, Pinagong, and Putok

Filipinos love to give unusual names to things, food, and even people. There is a fried fish dish wrapped in banana leaves then deep fried called Pinaputok na Plapla (tilapia) and sweet buns called simply Putok. Putok is the Tagalog word for explosion/firecracker and crack/fissure. I looked online for the recipe and found it in Manang's blog. The putok refers to the star cut on top of the bun and I started to wonder where it originated because I never heard of this bread before. It turns out it is a variation of a bun called Pinagong, which means shaped like a pagong (turtle). Pinagong is a bun that comes exclusively from Sariaya, Quezon province and I remember eating those buns as a kid when we visited my maternal grandparents. I still remember it being sweet and dense and milky and had a hard crunchy shell just like another bun called Monay. Sariaya and other nearby cities and towns sell an abundance of various breads. At the time they even sold buns named after popular movie celebrities obviously catering to their fan base. The buns were shaped exactly the same and made from the same dough but they were given different names and sure enough fans bought their favorite's namesakes. I'm not kidding.

The funny thing is I can remember the flavor, texture, and aroma of the pinagong buns but I couldn't recall the shape. I just snipped the top of the buns with scissors before baking. They were already baking when it suddenly occured to me that they should have about 4 or 5 parallel cuts on top and the lower portion is formed to make a tail of sorts to resemble a turtle. Why a turtle, I have no idea.

I adapted Manang's recipe using powdered milk instead of evaporated, omitted the baking powder and soda, and I also didn't let the dough rise the second time to have the hard dense texture that I remember. The buns were baked as soon as they were shaped. When I took my first bite I was transported back to Sariaya. The crunch of the crust...the sweet yellow milky crumb that doesn't need any butter or jam...the aroma...this is the pinagong of my childhood. Sooo yummy.

Monay
I don't know the origin of monay, it's great for cheese ice cream sandwiches

Putok
putok with coarse raw sugar

Pinagong
wrong shape of pinagong but has the same flavor and texture

I baked a second batch using concentrated evaporated milk and made a proper pinagong shape although the scores should have been a little more shallow. Well, next time. I didn't like the flavor of evaporated milk. I still prefer fresh whole milk or powdered nonfat milk. Maybe I should get the full-cream milk powder KLIM for a deeper milky taste.

Monay and Pinagong
Putok Crumb
the crumb is dense and tight but surprisingly soft

Monay, Pinagong, and Putok
1¼ cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons soft butter
2 egg yolks
4 cups bread flour
½ cup milk powder
  • Preheat oven to 400°F. In a standing mixer with the kneading hook attachment, add the ingredients in the order as written. Mix on low until combined. Knead on medium for 5 minutes or until smooth. Transfer the dough into a greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic film, and let rest on the kitchen counter for 1 hour.
  • Lightly knead the dough and divide: monay and pinagong into 4-ounce portions, putok into 2-ounce pieces. Shape into rounds, flatten slightly, and place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. If you want dense hard-shelled buns, make star cuts on top of putok, a deep slash right down the middle of monay, and 4 quarter-inch deep slashes on pinagong rounds. Immediately bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • If a softer bread is desired, let the buns rest for half an hour, covered with plastic film, before baking. I don't recommend letting the buns rise for an hour because they will be too fluffy and won't have the right texture.

50 comments:

Joy said...

OMG, you're the best!!! I love monay and putok (I completely forgot what they're called), and I would love to try my hand at making them. Thank you!

Btw, I didn't even know what is Pinagong...haha.

Oggi said...

Joy, pinagong is not known outside of Quezon province, I think.:)

Lory said...

Oggi,
I should try this recipe sometime.
Now that you mentioned pinagong, I do remember that my father's bakery used to make them too. Small-ish, with 3 shallow slashes on top, very tough (I honestly did not like it), one could throw it to an enemy's head and make a bump...lol!
I prefer the big version of monay; not only that they are allowed to rise more and so are less dense, but I love it when sliced...I used to munch on slices of monay without any palaman...and I could have that even when not fresh from the oven (I think I enjoyed it even better that way). It was another favorite giveaway of my father to his clients during Christmas season.

Lory said...

BTW, is this powdered milk the kind like Carnation? (I don't like it...) I do have a KAF-bought powdered milk that I have been trying to use in breads using powdered milk and I like it better. Do you think that will work better instead of the Carnation type (granule-like) powdered milk?

Oggi said...

Manang, oh Carnation tastes like cardboard. LOL
I use another brand,SANALAC. The milk is a very fine powder almost like KAF's.

The pinagong I had in Sariaya and Lucena were a little smaller than monay but bigger than a 2-ounce bun. They were hard-shelled, very crunchy but tender inside, not rock-hard. I loved them for their sweet and milky flavor.:)

Eva said...

Thanks for posting the monay recipe. I have been looking for this recipe. My husband loves this bread.I will surprise him with home made monay. Thanks again.

Eva said...

Can I make the dough in a bread machine?

Oggi said...

Eva, you're welcome. Yes, I think you can make the dough in the bread machine. For a softer texture, let the monay rest for at least half an hour before baking.:)

Ria said...

hi oggi! thanks for posting this! a surge of nostalgia swept me when i took my first bite. hubby and the kids love them too! thank you so much!

Oggi said...

Ria, I'm so glad you and your family love them too!:)

Mirage said...

These are all my favorites! I was laughing as you explain the names...putok, pinagong and monay wahahaha but I have to admit my memories were evoked! I can smell the goodness and I imagine them jsut out of the oven, ayyy heaven!

Oggi said...

G, I wanted to write the babybuttocks shape of the monay but I don't want perverts to come to my blog.:)

i♥pinkc00kies said...

I miss the bread sold in neighborhood bakeries.. like the spanish bread, kababayan, pan de red/ ube and pan de coco. :P

Oggi said...

u8mypinkc00kies, now I'm curious about the Spanish and kababayan. Pan de red I think is called kalihim and in some places a term that's a bit gross.:D

Anonymous said...

i've been making this bread like every week my family love it, i used the same dough for pan de coco but letting it rise for 1hr more on the second rising.
thank you so much!!!
the recipe is perfect in every way:)
mary d.

Oggi said...

Mary, pan de coco is a favorite. I'll bake some next.:)

Anonymous said...

Love to see that you have pinagong recipe. This remind me of my fathers step father. Love the bread. where i can find the powdered milk. The powdered milk that I see in the store on the baking isle is not the same brand I know this will affect the taste of the bread. By the way I'm from Bakersfield, California. Thanks for your help.
Nithz

Oggi said...

Nithz,
I buy SANALAC brand fat-free powdered milk from the grocery store but I also keep a bag of this one from King Arthur Flour online store. The Sanalac is way cheaper and has the same consistency as KAF milk.

Anonymous said...

omg! sobrang hanga talaga ako with your baking prowess Oggi! I've been craving for monay for the longest time. It was a favorite comfort food back in childhood. I read and follow your recipes like a baking bible. Thank you for sharing all your expertise. In fact I'm making puto bumbong tomorrow. I've already soaked and ground my malagkit. I'm excited na to cook it tomorrow. Your food really makes homesickness so much easier to bear. God bless!

Lisa from London

Anonymous said...

i just made these monay and they're REALLY GOOD. i've tried many recipes including kusina ni manang and these are far the best ones. omitting the baking powder and soda and just letting the dough rise once did gave the bread the hard dense texture. and using non-fat powdered milk instead of evap did make a BIG difference. i would also like to try the regular milk powder like u suggested for a more milky taste.
THANK U so much for this recipe. so far this one is the only one worth keeping and making over and over.
Would u be posting a recipe for pandesal baliwag anytime soon?

thank u, Pampanga

Oggi said...

Pampanga,

You're welcome and I'm glad you like this recipe.:)

I have been looking for baliwag pandesal recipe but couldn't find one. I remember these teeny buns back in the Philippines. They're so soft, almost like ensaimada, and very yellow with a subtle milky flavor.

Anonymous said...

Hi oggi,
I would love to try your recipe, been craving for filipino breads,
But we dont have breadflour here in our country is it ok to use high grade all purpose flour?.
And what kind of powdered milk should i use? Thanks.

Oggi said...

Hi,
Yes, the high grade all purpose would be okay. Whole milk powder such as Nido is good, or any brand of whole milk solids. Happy baking!:)

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much! Im going to buy the ingredients later, cant wait to try your recipe :)

Anonymous said...

Hi oggi! I did try your recipe and we love the monay! thank you very much. :)

hmm one thing, may i ask?. uhmm should the size of the dough double after 1hr of resting?. coz mine didnt double in size. but the taste, texture etc is perfect. just that one. thanks! :)

Oggi said...

Anon @ 4/11/11
You're welcome. I'm glad you love the monay.

The dough should not double in size if you want the dense texture, which I prefer btw. When I want to use monay for ice cream sandwiches, I let the dough rest for an hour to double in size for a finer softer texture similar to but not as fluffy as burger buns. Perfect for cheddar cheese ice cream.:)

Anonymous said...

you are an angel. miss na miss ko na ang pinagong!!! favorite ko yan. i was born in quezon but grew up in laguna. tuwing summer and christmas vacation lang ako nakakakain nyan(noon bata pa ako nun. thanks for posting the recipe. i will try that. thanks again

Anonymous said...

hi pwede po ba n walang egg?

Oggi said...

Anon @ 4/11/11, thanks and you are welcome. I'm from Sta. Rosa but my mom is originally from Sariaya.:)

Anon @ 5/15/11, I haven
t tried it without an egg; you can substitute maybe 2 tablespoons of butter and add water if the dough feels too dry. Let me know how it turns out.:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your kindness in posting the recipe and the finished products. They looked exactly like the bread I always bought in the Filipino Bakery here in Jacksonville, Florida. I will try to make my own Monay using your recipe. I hope it turns out right.

Anonymous said...

Hi!I'm so glad I came across your web site. I'm from Lucena City, and my dad owned Sanitary Bakery located between the public market and bus terminal BLTB. All the recipe of bread that you are posting we bake in our bakery.
Thank you for all those bread recipe your sharing. We love our fellow Quezonian to remember what they used to enjoy back home.Bring back memories and re-connecting with the past. Way to go!!!

Anonymous said...

I tried this recipe just today.. i love it..it is very simple to do and yet so delicious!!! Thank you for posting this recipe ,it is a big of help.God bless you!!! ((:

Oggi said...

Anon@5/29/11, let me know the outcome; hope you like it.:)

Anon@6/7/11, you're welcome. We also used to visit one of my aunts who lived near Lucena and I always bought from the sari-sari stores a variety of breads. Nice to hear from a native of Quezon.:)

Anon@6/16/11, that's great to know.:)

Linda said...

I have been making bread. Is there a way for it not to be hard after a day or two. Thank you!
BTW, my mom comes from Quezon also and I remember there is a bakery just next door to her house in Quezon.

delvicer1@gmail.com

Oggi said...

Hi Linda, I'm not sure. I never had a problem with bread getting stale except for maybe same-day French baguettes. I keep them in air tight bags, a few days on the counter and leftovers in the refrigerator.

Anonymous said...

WOW! thank you for this recipe. I have been looking for this type of bread recipe for the longest time now. As most of the bread recipes you find online are western, and usually not the old filipino bakery breads. Thanks so much again :) will try this one now!

Anonymous said...

OMG this recipe is so amazing i have tried baking this yesterday and it turned out very good and my family loved it even my picky daughter loved it and she even want to try it by herself..thank you very much for posting this old favorite bread recipes....

Anonymous said...

Hi good day , do you know where i can buy sanalac powdered milk? Thanks

Anonymous said...

=) tried it and it was so good.. my family loved it..thanks for the recipe!!! i double the amount of the ingredients made lot of it.. but its all gone now lol..by the way i used bear brand milk

Anonymous said...

My daughter have milk allergy, can I use water instead of milk?

Oggi said...

Anon@3/17/12, yes sure, the flavor won't be the same of course.:)

Anonymous said...

Follow up question, how about the measurement of the water compared to 1/2 c milk powder? Thank you again.

Oggi said...

Anon, I didn't think of that; remove 2 tablespoons of water and add later to adjust the dough moisture.

Anonymous said...

I can't find bread flour, but I saw bread and roll mix flour...is it the same? If not, is there any substitute for bread flour?

Oggi said...

Anon @4/14/12,
No, the mix is not the same as bread flour. You can use regular all-purpose flour; if you can find vital wheat gluten in your grocery store, add amount as indicated on the package directions; or just use AP flour.

RL said...

Hey Oggi!

I'm currently trying this, and the dough is resting as we speak. I used all-purpose flour, and during the first kneading (I didn't have a mixer) the dough ended up really sticky. Might be also attributed to the milk I used? (Alaska) but I added almost a cup of flour to make the dough workable. Hope it turns out well. Have you personally tried with AP Flour yourself?

Oggi said...

Hi RL,
No I haven't baked them with AP flour. It takes longer to get the correct moisture/consistency if kneading by hand and adding a cup or more of AP flour wouldn't hurt. Try resting the dough for 10 minutes after mixing, then start kneading. Hope it turns out well.:)

RL said...

Hi Oggi, this was a success! :) I added more of AP flour so 4 cups definitely isn't enough when using AP Flour. everyone who tried it said it was close to authenticity :D thanks for sharing! :)

Oggi said...

RL, that's great!:)

Anonymous said...

great classic breads! they send me back to my childhood days of stone ovens and aromas spilling all around town.

 
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