Yema and Kabocha Pastel

Filipinos have a wide variety of sweet breads. One of the most popular rolls I see on blogs and bake books is Pastel. It's a sweet bread typically filled with yema paste (egg yolk, sugar, and milk cooked to a paste). Pastel in the Philippines could be savory, as in meat or chicken pie, and also sweet empanada/pie and bread rolls.

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Dutch Crunched Vienna Bread Rolls

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I bake our sandwich loaf bread regularly every week but lately I've been on a roll, bread roll, that is. The last two weeks I made 2 kinds of Filipino pandesal rolls and today I baked Vienna Bread rolls topped with Dutch crunch. Vienna bread is one of my favorite breads from Peter Reinhart's cookbook, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. The bread has thin crispy crust which I really love and has moist soft sweetish crumb. Because the dough uses a large amount of preferment the bread always comes out very flavorful.

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Baliwag Pandesal

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I've had these bite size sweet rich soft yellowish pandesal back in the Philippines. A few Filipino bloggers claim these are the Baliwag-style rolls. The recipe they follow is the same as the pan de leche, with the addition of milk of course.  

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Whole Wheat Pandesal

I regularly bakePandesalsince the day I learned how to bake bread properly but this is the first time I added not just whole wheat flour but also a small portion of sourdough. I can honestly say I love the rolls for the nutty flavor and the hint of sweetness from the whole wheat flour. I was also surprised the rolls are not dense and heavy; they have soft fluffy crumb and really crispy crust. 

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Food Friday: Savory Monkey Bread

Monkey bread sounds funny and I don't know why this pull-apart bread is called such. Most recipes I've seen are sweet, usually with sticky gooey cinnamon sugar and butter coating . Although I love sweet bread, I wasn't feeling it and opted for a savory one. I added cubed sharp cheddar cheese in the dough and as topping. The rolls are very soft and fluffy and great to munch on anytime of the day. I can easily go ape over this bread.🐵

Cheddar Cheese Monkey Bread

3½ cups bread flour

½ tablespoon instant yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

½ tablespoon kosher salt

¼ cup powdered milk

½ teaspoon garlic powder, optional

½ teaspoon onion powder, optional

1¼ cups water

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup cubed sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• In the bowl of a standing mixer whisk together flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, powdered milk, and garlic and onion, if using. Stir in water and oil. With the dough hook attachment, knead on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides if necessary. Increase speed to medium-high and knead for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and pliable. Transfer on the kitchen counter and knead in the cubed cheese. Transfer dough into a lightly greased container, cover with plastic wrap, and let ferment for 1 to 1½ hours. 
• Lightly knead dough, divide, and shape into 1-inch balls. Dip each ball in the melted butter and roll in the remaining cheese. Place balls almost touching in a 10-inch round pan. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375° F oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

Matcha Bread Rolls with Sweet Azuki

I was given a packet of matcha powder, compliments of Obubu Tea, a Japanese matcha producer *Thank you Ian*. The tea arrived from Japan yesterday and today I baked a small batch of bread rolls filled with sweet azuki which is one of my favorite dessert pairings. Three things I love: the mellow but distinct matcha flavor which lingers in the mouth after eating the sweet-ish rolls, the sweet aroma that greeted me when I snipped open the package, and the bright green color indicating top quality. I highly recommend it.

I'm not a green tea expert but for the past 4 years I have been drinking green tea brewed from Japanese loose tea leaves. The Japanese matcha powder I have I use exclusively for making cakes, cookies, crepes, ice cream, candies, and bread. I think I drank it once but didn't like it; I prefer the brewed tea leaves. Now I know why, the very pale green matcha powder, although also from Japan, is probably old or not the best quality.

Obubu Tea matcha has a much brighter green color

Matcha An Pan (Green Tea Bread Rolls with Sweet Azuki)

3½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons milk powder
1 tablespoon matcha powder
1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
4 tablespoons soft butter
1 egg, room temperature
homemade or canned sweet azuki

• In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, stir together 2 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk powder, and matcha. Add the water, butter, and egg and mix on low for 1 minute. Add the remaining flour and mix on low for 1 minute. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water if the dough seems dry.
  
• Replace the paddle with the dough hook and mix on second speed for 4 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and supple. Transfer into a lightly greased container, cover with plastic wrap and let ferment on the kitchen counter for 2 hours.
  
• Transfer the dough on the work surface and knead lightly to release air bubbles. Scale the dough into 2½-ounce pieces, roll into rounds, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes. Flatten the rounds into 5-inch circles. Using a 1-tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop and drop azuki on the center of the circle. Gather the edges and pinch to close. Place on parchment-lined sheet pans, seam side down, 2 inches apart, and flatten each to about 1 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F 20 minutes before baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops are light brown in color.
  

the cut roll looks like a butterfly or clover


I made a few plain rolls, so good with chocolate spread

KULINARYA Pan de Sal

As requested by a reader here is the Pan de Sal recipe adapted from KULINARYA. The original recipe has very short rising periods both before shaping (30 minutes) and after (20 minutes) probably because it is warm and humid in the Philippines where the recipe was developed and tested. Please note that not all kitchens have the same temperatures and conditions. The recipe here is just a guide and you may need to adjust the rising periods and amount of flour. It took longer for my rolls to rise because my kitchen is always cool. For the first rising I let the dough sit in the oven with the light bulb on for about 30 minutes then turned it off until the dough has risen sufficiently, about 1 and a quarter hours total rising time. The second rising took about 50 minutes.

The sweetish rolls have soft tight crumbs and slightly crispy crust when reheated in the oven. I doubled the amount of salt which I think IMO is too little for the number of cups of bread flour. If you are using all-purpose flour, you might need 8 US cups, again adjust as needed.

Pan de Sal
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons lukewarm water
6 tablespoons sugar
1 kilo bread flour (about 7 1/3 US cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups warm water
6 tablespoons soft butter, Crisco, or extra light olive oil
1 cup very fine breadcrumbs

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the yeast mixture. Set aside.
• Measure 1 cup of the flour, set aside to be used later for dusting.
• In a large bowl (or standing mixer bowl), combine the remaining flour, salt, sugar, butter, and water. Add the yeast mixture and mix well. Knead the mixture into a smooth, elastic dough. Dust with the reserved flour as needed.
• Transfer into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a plastic film, and let rise until doubled.
• Remove dough from bowl and knead to remove bubbles. Shape into a 2-inch thick baton and roll on breadcrumbs.
• Using a dough cutter, cut the log into 1-inch thick slices, about 30 grams each. Place the dough, cut side up, 2 inches apart on baking pans lined with parchment. Sprinkle tops with breadcrumbs. Cover with plastic film and let rise for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown.

pan de sal filled with coconut jam, yummy

Here is my previous Pan de Sal post with recipes for both soft and crusty variations.