The Philippines – Pan De Sal (Filipino Bread Rolls)

by Zayna Khan

This is Filipino bread prepared by yeast-raised flour in the Philippines. It is the popular bread served with different dishes and also different fillings are made to serve it as a snack and sweet or salted bread rolls. There are many similar slices of bread popular in Spain and France, served with fillings mostly sweetened filling. They are baked in the oven and fluffy bread is formed. The dough is raised by adding yeast, then small balls of dough are placed on the baking tray to make small bread rolls. They are served with tea or coffee and for kids, it is best to serve with hot chocolate. This is served hot or cold depends on the side dish you are serving with.

When pieces of bread are baked they are garnished or relish with some butter, nuts, chocolate, cheese, sesame seeds, etc. These are different options of different ingredients. When this is served with different dishes like chicken and vegetable snacks, they are prepared by adding salt. But usually, this is baked towards the sweet side by adding sugar mainly to activate the yeast. And when eaten with tea or coffee, it is more delicious when sweet in taste.

For fancy snacks, it is filled with fruit jam, cream cheese, butter, Chocolate spread, peanut butter, etc. There is also meat like chicken and fish is prepared by some marination to fill in these buns. The Western dish, sliders are similar to small buns filled with some exotic filling and serve as the hi-tea snack. They are served as the main course in small gatherings.

Pandesal has many versions

• Spanish Bread
• Pan de surf
• Pan de Coco
• Malunggay pandesal
• Mmalunggay bread
• Bukayo Pandesal
• Sourdough
• Croissants
• Pan De sal

HISTORY OF PANDESAL

Pan De Sal was introduced in the Philippines as the French Baguette bread version of Filipino cuisine. It is formerly called PAN DE SUEL that means Floor Bread. It was cooked by a wood-fired oven also known as PUGON.

When it was cooked earlier, it was the harder bread and crispier. But with the time they used to prepare the dough towards the softer side and then bread was cooked soft and fluffy.

Cooking the bread in Pugon was a decline when gas ovens are invented. From baking in a gas oven, the bread baked was very soft.

During American Colonial Era in the 1900s, different pieces of bread were introduced and baked in the Philippines. That was the time when Pan De Sal exists in the Filipino cuisine by introducing different dough raising techniques.

In the Philippines, different names are introduced by Filipino cuisine specified for a meal of the day. This dish is served as breakfast or snack after tea or hi-tea.

This dish is served as two main meals of the day :

• Almusal/ Agahan
• Meryenda

ALMUSAL/ AGAHAN

The traditional and famous breakfast of Filipino cuisine is Pan De Sal with butter, jam, and Tea. This is said to be a traditional breakfast of Filipino cuisine. Coffee is usually served as the almusal or in breakfast.

Kapeng Barako is the coffee of Filipino cuisine serve as the drink of Almusal. This is the Spanish version of coffee that is famous in the Philippines. It is also known as BATANGAS COFFEE. The barako tree is the famous cultivated coffee tree used for Kapeng Barako coffee.

This meal is either breakfast or Lunch is at exact 12:00 pm and it includes the nutritious meal of the day :

• Champorada (chocolate fried rice)
• Tocino
• Corned Beef
• Salted duck eggs
• Karne Norte
• Milkfish
• Danggit (rabbitfish)
• Litsilong
• Filipino Cheese
• Tuyo (dried fish)
• Kanin (rice)
• Tapsilog

MERIENDA AFTERNOON SNACK

It is the light meal after lunch that includes small meals of the day. This meal is before tea time and after lunchtime.

• Sapin-Sapin
• Hopia
• Palitaw
• Pitsi-pitsi with coconut
• Dim sum

VARIETIES OF PAN DE SAL DISHES

There are different varieties of Pan de Sal given below :

1.PAN DE COCO

Pan De Coco is a coconut stuffed buns with different other stuffings. This is the sweet rolls and dessert of the Spanish. This is the dish that is sweetened with Bukayo.

BUKAYO is the Filipinosweetened coconut strips. They are very tasty and juicy with the sweetness of the other elements. It is caramelized by Sugar syrups, Sugarcane, etc.

A different version of Pan de Coco are :

• Bukayo pan de sal
• Muscovado pan de coco
• Bocarillo
• Bucayo
• Hinti pan de coco
• Bukayo Mani coco

2.MORINGA PANDESAL

This is the special ingredient added to the pandesal. This is a tree that’s seeds and flower pods are used as the ingredient to many dishes. It is the ingredient that is added to the pandesal and makes it more aromatic. Its taste resembles horseradish.

This is a very strong ingredient that is used among infants and malnutritions. It is a very versatile and a good source of many minerals.

It is also known as ”malunggay pandesal”

3.PUTOK

It is a type of pan de sal. It is the denser version of bread rolls that are mostly star shaped bread. It is the star-shaped dessert cookie dough. It is served with white sugar crystals.

It is mostly filled with strawberry jam and strawberry fillings. Cream cheese or cheese is also added. It shape and sugar coating makes it different from other bread rolls

4.PAN DE MONJA

Monay is another name of the bread that is cooked with whole wheat flour, eggs, and milk. It is denser bread rolls and different in taste. It is eaten in merienda as a snack. Monay bread is usually served with cheese and coffee.

This bread is known as MOTHER OF FILIPINO BREADS.

TOPPINGS OF PAN DE SAL

There are the following toppings of the pan de sal bread rolls :

TSOKOLATE

This is a kind of chocolate syrup. This can be served as a hot chocolate drink. This is made of famous cacao beans. Milk or cream is added to make froth of it and a drink is served. This is a very rich and dense drink so small shots are usually prepared and also served the sauce in many desserts. This is very popular in the Christmas season in the Philippines.

It has the following different names :

• Suklati
• Sikwate
• Sikuwate
• Sikulate

SERVINGS

This is served with the following drinks as a snack :

• Kapeng Barako
• Basi
• Buko Pandan Juice
• Coffee Liquer
• Tuba, etc.

TOPPINGS

These are mostly used toppings of pan de sal

• Butter
• Cheese
• Jam
• peanut butter
• Fresh fruits
• Chocolate syrup

INGREDIENTS

• Plain white flour : 2 cups
• Instant dry yeast : 2 tbsp
• Salt : 1/2 tsp
• Sugar : 2 tbsp
• Eggs : 2
• Milk : to knead
• Butter : 3 tbsp

COOKING METHOD

• For pan de sal, we have to knead a dough by addin all the ingredeints.
• All ingredeints should be at room temperature otherwise dough willnot rise by yeast.
• Take flour and start addin all the dry ingredients into the flour and mix well.
• Sugar must be fine and in powdered form.
• Now take all the wet ingredeints and mix them well.
• Now start adding wet ingredients mixture to the dry mixture and knead them.
• We hav to knead a soft and fluffy dough to make soft pan de sal.
• Let the dough rise at the warm and dam place for 1 hour.
• The size of dough doubled by adding yeast.
• Pre heat the oven at 300 degree.
• Take a baking tray and add small ball size dough in the tray.
• Now place the tray at oven and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
• If you like, add sesame seeds on the top of the dough before baking.
• Light borwn and fluffy colored pan de sal buns are ready to serve.
• Enjoy!