Soft and Fluffy Pan de Sal (Filipino Bread Rolls)

How do I Pan de Sal? Let me count the ways:

What baguette is to the French, Soft and Fluffy Pan de Sal ( Filipino Bread Rolls) is to the Filipinos. We mostly eat Pan de Sal for breakfast, maybe dinner or anytime in between. Slightly salty, a little bit sweet, soft and fluffy and has a distinctive coating of bread crumbs. While Pan de Sal is nice to eat by itself, it’s mouth-wateringly good with fillings both sweet and savoury. Once , I’ve served this filled with adobo as sliders and it was devoured in a flash.

I’m an hour away from the nearest Filipino bakery so I had to teach myself how to cook Pan de Sal. After a lot of trials, this is the recipe that works for me. It’s very versatile, turns out soft and fluffy and can be reheated in the microwave successfully. As with any bread making project, Pan de Sal requires a bit of patience although it is easy enough to make. I start the dough in the afternoon, shape the rolls then prove them overnight in the fridge, ready for baking the next morning.

Classic Soft and Fluffy Pan de Sal, Sweet Ube and Hot Chilli and Cheese…

Classic Pan de Sal is like the bread I remember growing up. Soft inside with a golden crust. It’s like a blank canvas which you can fill with whatever your taste’s desire. If you then add Ube flour to the Classic mix, you end up with scrumptious Sweet Ube. I love the Ube flavour with sweet fillings such CoCo Jam with lashings of butter. Admittedly, my favourite is Chilli Cheese, as our family love anything with chilli in it. It pairs particularly well with ham , smoked salmon and avocado or salami filling.

What you need to make Hot Pan de Sal…

• Bakers/Bread Flour – you need a strong flour for this recipe . Bread flour has more protein content which helps in gluten development which is ideal for breads.
• Yeast – I’ve used quick acting dried yeast. Dissolve yeast in tepid water to ensure yeast is still active. Nothing worse than going thru the recipe to find that your dough doesn’t rise because the yeast culture was dead.
• Pantry Staples – Sugar, Salt , Butter and Powdered Milk
• Ube Powder/Ube Flour – Optional if you are making the Ube version. This is available from most Asian shops.
• Chilli Flakes and Grated Cheese- Optional if you’re making the Chilli Cheese Pan de Sal. You can substitute grated cheese with cubed cheddar if that’s what you’ve got. Either is fine.
• Bread Crumbs – Fine bread crumbs are ideal. Maybe substituted with Japanese Panko Crumbs.

How to Soft and Fluffy Pan de Sal…

• Dissolve yeast in tepid water to ensure yeast is active. Set aside for five minutes. The mixture should be bubbly. If not frothy, discard the mixture and start with a new batch.
• Use mixer with dough hook attached. Place the rest of the ingredients and the yeast mix (excluding bread crumbs) to the mixing bowl. Mix at low speed until combined then increase speed to medium and mix until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Cover and let the dough rest until double in bulk, which can take between an hour to 4 hours.
• Portion and shape into rolls and coat the rolls in bread crumbs and let rest again. I prefer to make the bread rolls in the afternoon, then prove them overnight in the fridge, ready to bake the next morning.
• Bake until golden.
• Can be frozen if packed in a sealed container for up to 3 months.

If you have any questions or just wanted to say hello, please drop me a line via the comments section below, I would love to hear from you. And while you’re here, here’s another Filipino treat to try Polvoron Filipino Shortbread.

Soft and Fluffy Pan de Sal

Recipe by Lola Adele

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: BreakfastCuisine: FilipinoDifficulty: Medium

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

2

hours 

Cooking time

20

minutes

Pan de Sal – Classic, Chilli Cheese and Sweet Ube

Ingredients

• Classic Pan de Sal

• 5 cups Bread Flour

• 1/2 cup Milk Powder

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/4 cup Caster Sugar

• 50g butter, melted and cooled

• 2 packet dry yeast (2x 7g)

• 2 eggs, lightly whisked

• 2 1/4 cups warm water about 36-37°C (100°F)

• 1/4 cup Bread Crumbs, for coating

• Ube Pandesal

• 1/2 cup Ube Flour (decrease Bread Flour to 4 1/2 cups)

• Chilli Cheese

• 2 tablespoons chilli flakes, add more if you want it spicier

• 50 g cheddar cheese,grated

Directions

• Classic Pan de Sal
• Combine 1/4 cup warm water with yeast and add a pinch of sugar. Stir and set aside until frothy.
• In a mixer, with dough hook attached combine salt , milk powder flour, sugar , eggs , butter, rest of the warm water and yeast mixture.
• Mix on low until combined then increase speed to medium high until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
  
  
• If dough is too wet, add a little bit more flour.
• Form into a round shape and cover with a plastic wrap. Let rise until it doubles in bulk about one hour. This could take as long as 4 hours, depending on the weather.
• To let the trapped air out, punch the dough in the middle. Knead the dough slightly until smooth, then divide the dough into two for easier handling.
• Knead each dough portions into a round shape then roll into a log. Divide each into 8 to make 16 pieces in total . Shape each piece into rounds by rolling with the palm of your hand until smooth.
• Roll each balls in bread crumbs and place in a baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. Alternatively, can let this rest in the fridge overnight so it’s ready to bake in the morning.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 180°C.
  
• Bake the rolls until golden about 20 minutes
• Ube
• Add Ube Flour in Step 2
• Continue into the next step.
• Chilli Cheese
• Add chilli flakes in Step 2.
• When rolling dough in Step 7, flatten the ball of dough, place a teaspoon of grated cheese in the middle and pinch to seal.
• Roll and bake as per the rest of the recipe.

Notes

• Can be frozen in sealed container for up to three months.