Pandesal Recipe

Name: Pandesal
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour; 2 cups bread flour; 1/2 cup white sugar; 5 tbsp butter (melted); 1 tsp baking powder; 1 1/4 cup fresh milk (warm); 1 pouch rapid rise yeast; 1 tsp salt; 1 cup bread crumbs; 1 piece raw egg; 1 tbsp cooking oil

Pandesal is probably the most popular Filipino bread of all time. This has been a staple for breakfast. Enjoy it with cheese or dip it in hot coffee, the choice is yours.

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By: Vanjo Merano Updated: 11/14/24

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This pandesal recipe will give you a fluffy, and simply tasty bread that you can enjoy anytime of the day. I tried to make the process as simple as possible so that even beginners can follow with ease.

How to Make Pandesal

Activate the yeast

Start stirring 1 pouch of rapid rise yeast, ½ cup of white sugar, and 1 ¼ cup of warm, fresh milk. Keep doing this until you can see that the yeast and sugar have dissolved completely.

Combine the dry ingredients

Then in a separate mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, starting off with the 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 cups of bread flour, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Stir this as well.

Complete making the dough

On the same bowl, add 1 raw egg, 1 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, as well as your yeast-sugar-milk mixture in the mixing bowl containing your dry ingredients. Mix this again until your dough has formed. Then with clean hands, mix your ingredients and make sure they are blended well together.

Knead the dough

Use a flat surface for kneading the dough until you achieve a fine texture. You could also utilize a stand mixer with a dough hook if you’d like to have an easier kneading process. Also, mold the dough until it becomes a round shape. Then place it back in your mixing bowl and cover it with a damp cloth. You will be waiting for at least 1 hour to let the dough rise.

Divide and slice the dough

Place your dough on a flat surface, and using a dough slicer, separate this into 4 equal parts. Form a cylindrical shape with these parts by rolling them, then slice each cylindrical dough diagonally. Take note that these slices will later be our individual pieces of pandesal.

Roll the dough in breadcrumbs and let it rise

After this, roll your sliced dough over breadcrumbs, and put this in a baking tray lined with wax paper. Since we expect our pieces of pandesal will be rising, make sure to provide enough space among the dough. Then leave it in the tray with breadcrumbs for 10 to 15 minutes more for it to rise.

Bake your pandesal

Get your oven ready for baking by pre-heating it at 375 °F for a total of 10 minutes. Then we’re good to go with our tray of dough! Bake this in your oven for 15 minutes. When this is done, turn your oven off. Then place your warm, delicious batch fresh out of the oven on your serving plate or tray of choice.

History of Pandesal

This is because the famous bread originated from a need to turn to innovation when early Filipino bakers were looking for a cheaper option for flour. Pandesal, in turn, was originally made from wheat flour. Additionally, American wheat soon became more affordable than rice in the 1900s. And so this bread and other recipes that largely made use of wheat grew in popularity.

Commercial yeast, canned dairy, and baking pans also became cheaper to produce. This is because of the massive population of American immigrants in the earlier part of the 20th century. This only helped increase the demand for pandesal.

However, it also evolved from a bread that was present in the country before the American colonization. Pan de suelo or “floor bread” was popularized by the Spaniards upon their arrival in the Philippines. And it is still popular in the country today. But it is comparably less of a household name than the familiar pandesal or “salt bread”.

Despite not possessing the richest flavors, it is an incredible go-to for Filipinos looking for a versatile snack. It works as a savory treat, as it makes for a great sandwich with a bit of corned beef, ham, or most meat you might be able to name! Alternatively, most locals also opt for simple sweet fillings for this bread. You might have heard of the infallible combinations of pandesal and condensed milk, or with peanut butter.

The possibilities are endless for this blank canvas of a bread. But it can also taste great on its own, compact, fluffy, and delightfully salty-sweet!

How do you like your pandesal? Let us know in the comments!

Watch how to make Pandesal

Vanjo Merano

Vanjo Merano is the creator of PanlasangPinoy.com. His goal is to introduce Filipino Food and Filipino Cuisine to the rest of the world. This blog was the first step that he took.

Pandesal Recipe