Pandesal Recipe
Pandesal is a classic Filipino bread roll that is particularly eaten for breakfast. It is soft and airy and slightly sweet. Normally eaten as a sandwich with one’s favorite filling. 
Pandesal is probably the most popular bread in the Philippines. It is a favorite breakfast food among Filipinos that can be eaten on its own, dunked in coffee or with filling like coconut jam, peanut butter, cheese, cheese spread, corned beef, egg, hotdogs or practically anything you can think of or whatever leftovers you have laying in your fridge.
One of my faves is mushed spicy sardines…yup! But I remembered a time when we were just small kids, my Kuya Norman’s and I would have ketchup with sugar as filling…eeewww, right? But that tasted so good to us at that time! Haha! Yeah, I have to admit I tried a lot of weird stuff just because my big brother thinks it is good or cool. Hehe! 
It is called Pandesal or Pan de Sal (Spanish) that translate to salted bread although it is actually sweeter than salty. It is soft and a bit fluffy and covered with breadcrumbs.
Traditionally a breakfast food, they used to be sold only in early hours at bakeries or on the streets by vendors on bicycles with loud air horns. They would put the Pandesals in a big insulated box to keep them warm. But, nowadays, some bakeries make them available for the entire day.
When we were growing up, we used to live next to a bakery and I can remember waking up (and feeling hungry) in the middle of the night (around 3 am) to the wonderful smell of Pandesal being baked. Although we lived next to them, we had to buy our Pandesal early or before 9 a.m. at the latest, because they are always sold out by then.
Getting them directly out from the oven was the best and I loved cutting them into halves and spreading my Pandesal with salted butter while they are still hot.
Being in Germany, surrounded by all really good bread, I still crave for Pandesal from time to time. So I thought I would give it a try, making my own Pandesal…and I am glad I did.
The video is now available! You may now watch how to make these soft, yummy Filipino favorite breakfast, the Pandesal! Enjoy!
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Pandesal Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3 tablespoon margarine - or butter (melted)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a big bowl, mix together flour and yeast.
- In a smaller bowl, combine sugar, salt, milk and margarine or butter. Warm liquids in the microwave until warm. Remove from microwave and add the egg and beat several times until well blended. Make sure that the liquids are only mildly warm and not hot.
- Pour the liquid mixture over the flour mixture and fold until dough forms. Knead the dough on a clean surface dusted with flour until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and place it in a warm area and let it rise until it doubled in size. Depending how warm it is, could take 30 minutes to an hour.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 2 equal parts using a knife of dough slicer. Roll each into a log. Cover each log with breadcrumbs. Cut the log sideways into smaller pieces. (about 6 pieces each log). Roll each piece with breadcrumbs again.
- Arrange the pieces on a baking sheet living some gaps in between (at least an inch). Leave them to rise for another 10-15 minutes.
- While waiting, preheat oven 370° F /185°C. Bake the Pandesal for 15 minutes or until the sides are a bit browned.
- Remove from oven and serve while hot!
hi bebs,
if i will use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast,how many teaspoon should i put?thank you
Just use the same amount, Glaiza.
Hi Bebs,
I would like to ask if I can put filing before I bake it? Like pork giniling?
Thanks.
Hi Anne, sure you can. Pork giniling sounds great. You can also try corned beef or ham and cheese. 🙂
Did you use metric or imperial measurements when you made your bread? I’m cross-checking the conversions and the metric measurements don’t exactly match. All I have is a digital scale.
Hi Beb! I haven`t tried making bread before but would like to give pandesal a try. Is it possible to make the dough ahead of time? Like day before? Can I freeze the dough for later use? If so, at what stage?
Sure you can make it a day ahead Shella. Once you formed them into pandesal size and before the final rising, cover them with a plastic cling wrap (sheet included) and put the whole thing in the fridge (no need to freeze). It will rise slowly and will be ready for baking the next day.
Silly question, but hiw do you proof the instant yeast? Mix with sugar and warm the milk?
Thank you so much for the recipe. I have yet to find the best pandesal recipe ever, hoping this will be it!
Hi Aims, not silly at all and that is correct. you just mix the yeast with a teaspoon of sugar and half a cup to a cup of lukewarm water or milk (taken from the existing ingredients). After about 5 minutes, it should be frothy and that is how you know your yeast is still ok. Do not use hot water as it will kill the yeast.
[…] done by just literally sandwiching a scoop or two of ice cream in a bread cut into half, usually a Pandesal or buns but white bread would also […]
Hi Bebs,
i tried already your spanish bread and i say wooow ang sarap. And now want to try your pandesal. Thank you for sharing your recipe. God bless
Nice to hear you like the Spanish bread May! I am sure you will like the pandesal too and the other Filipino breads I made here.
I heat up the milk for 1 minute but it’s too hot and the dough didn’t rise😔
Hi Jenny, if it was too hot then it will definitely kill the yeast. The liquids (after the addition of egg) should only be mildly warm to lukewarm.
Hi Bebs,
Just wanna make sure, do I have to sift the flour before measuring?
Hi Dina, it will not harm if you do, but I find there is no need for making bread.
Hi Bebs! Can I use bread maker for pan de sal or spanish bread? Thanks.
Hi Donna, I see recipes for rolls done in bread machines so I think you could try it.
Hi, it looks delicious, i’ll try it, can i use bread flour?
Hi Alicia, if you prefer your pandesal to be denser and slightly chewy then sure go ahead. 🙂
hi, what flour did you use? just all purpose or bread flour? and did you use instant dry yeast?
Hi Niki, yes I used all-purpose flour and instant dry yeast. You can also use active dry yeast, just proof it before using…
okay thank you!! i’ve tried your siopao recipe and my family loved it! i only asked because im using the same instant dried yeast i used when i made siopao, and i remember from your video that i had to wait 5mins before combining the yeast mixture with the flour mixture.
I can see how this might confuse you. Instant dry yeast usually does not need proofing but sometimes I still do it just to make sure that my yeast is still good, just to be sure that I will not waste all the other ingredients (and work) because of bad yeast. But if you are absolutely sure that your instant dry yeast is good then just skip the proo fing.
I can see how this might confuse you. Instant dry yeast usually does not need proofing but sometimes I still do it just to make sure that my yeast is still good, just to be sure that I will not waste all the other ingredients (and work) because of bad yeast. But if you are absolutely sure that your instant dry yeast is good then just skip the proofing.
Hi Bebs, here is April a Filipina, also living in Germany. May question lang ako, ano ang gamit mo na Flour sa Pandesal or Spanish Bread, ito ba ay Weizen Mehl Typ 405? Thank You.
LG
Hi April, you can use either Typ 405 or 550 Weizen Mehl. 405 is almost the same as the cake flour and 550 is like all-purpose flour but they are both ok to use for Pandesal.
Hi! I tried the recipe. The dough was not elastic at all. Did I miss anything?
I noticed that there is no water in the recipe.
I replaced the water with milk for a softer pandesal. Did you use a measuring cup to measure the flour and milk? Or that you measured them correctly?
Iam a retiree but I’m still able to make breads if you will share your recipes for a bakery breads. Thank you Have. God Bless!!!!!
Hi Bebs,
this recipe does not require for the yeast to bloom?
It is because I used an instant yeast that does not require blooming but you can always do it to be sure ?