The Unlikely Baker

Easy and Delicious Recipes for the Home Baker!

Pandesal Recipe (Filipino Bread Rolls)

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Here’s an easy pandesal recipe so you can make the quintessential Filipino bread roll at home. It’s crunchy outside, soft and fluffy inside, perfect with butter or dipped in your morning coffee.

Pandesal Recipe (Filipino Bread Rolls)

Are you a Filipino living abroad like me? Then you’re probably thinking why bother making pandesal at home when you can get them pretty easily at the Asian store. One reason: nothing beats the smell of freshly baked pandesal filling your kitchen.

And it’s not just any smell. It’s THE smell. One sniff of freshly baked pandesal and I’m back at my nanay’s dining table, eating pandesal filled with Lily’s Peanut Butter that she prepared for me after school. Or it’s a Sunday morning and I’m happily eating pandesal (out of those little brown paper bags) that my mom bought from the local panaderia after church.

Not a Filipino? Then you are in for a treat. Unlike dinner rolls or the regular loaves of bread we get, this recipe for Filipino bread rolls is egg-free, has a very subtle hint of sugar and salt, crunchy outside and soft inside. It’s certainly unique and absolutely delicious. Give it a go and find out why Filipinos all over the world love it.

Patience is key

Pandesal Recipe (Filipino Bread Rolls)

I won’t lie to you – it probably is quicker for you to get in your car, drive to the store and buy pandesal. But there’s something so fulfilling about making your own bread. And I’m not kidding about the smell. I may or may not have cried.

Who knew so many memories can be attached to a single bread roll eh? I guess food (and food smells!) work that way, especially for immigrants like me.

Different kinds of pandesal

Pandesal Recipe (Filipino Bread Rolls)

I can’t claim that this pandesal recipe is for the “traditional” pandesal however; I’ve eaten different kinds (big, small, light, dense) to know that each province, town or city probably has their own version so there’s technically no traditional kind.

This is the pandesal I grew up on. Crunchy, soft, sweet and salty all at once.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread. Grab the recipe for Filipino pandesal here >> ” quote=”Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread. Grab the recipe for Filipino pandesal here!”]

Pandesal recipe

Pandesal Recipe (Filipino Bread Rolls)

I’ve looked around for pandesal recipes for a long time and this is the result of me tweaking and trying to make it easier. It’s still lots of steps but trust me, you will be rewarded with delightful pandesal that’s perfect with butter and jam, as a side to a savoury dish, or do as Filipinos do and dip it in your morning coffee.

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Pandesal Recipe (Filipino Bread Rolls)

Pandesal Recipe (Filipino Bread Rolls)

Here’s an easy pandesal recipe so you can make the quintessential Filipino bread roll at home. It's crunchy outside, soft and fluffy inside, delicious.

Ingredients

    Phase 1:
  • 2 cups (475 ml) warm water (around 110F)
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
    Phase 2:
  • 2/3 cup (134 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup (59 ml) canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 6 cups (768 grams) all purpose flour
    Phase 3:
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
    Phase 4:
  • 1/4 cup (25 grams) bread crumbs

Instructions

    Phase 1:
  1. In a medium sized bowl, stir 2 cups warm water, 2 teaspoons active dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar until dissolved. Set aside and let stand until bubbly (about 10 minutes).
    Phase 2:
  1. In a large bowl, stir 2/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup oil until fully combined. Add 2 teaspoons salt, your yeast mixture and 1 cup flour. Stir until incorporated. Proceed to add the rest of your flour 1/2 cup at a time combining well after each addition.
  2. Once the dough starts pulling and sticking together in a ball, transfer it into a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). When in doubt, knead some more.
    Phase 3:
  1. Oil a large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. Place your dough in the bowl and turn to ensure the whole dough is coated. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a dry warm place (about 90F) until it doubles in size (about 2 hours).
  2. Once the dough is ready, turn the dough into a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Weigh the dough and divide into 32 pieces. Shape each piece into an oval, like an egg, and place onto a lightly greased baking sheet (you would need two baking sheets - 16 pieces per sheet). Make sure to keep about a quarter inch space around each piece to allow them to rise further.
  3. Cover each baking sheet with a damp cloth and allow to rise a second time (about an hour).
    Phase 4:
  1. Preheat your oven to 375F. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the pandesal and bake until golden brown (15-20 minutes). Since you're using 2 baking sheets, you may want to rotate/switch the sheets midway through.
https://theunlikelybaker.com/pandesal-recipe-filipino-bread-rolls/

Happy baking!

Did you try this pandesal recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. The ubiquitous pandesal easily available at the corner bakery in the Philippines, that you’d missed it here in the U.S. I’ve tried different bread dough recipes to make pandesal like the sour dough, buttermilk dough, challah dough. Yours a keeper. It freezes well too, and remains soft and chewy, not crumbly after it thaws at room temperature. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

    • Hi Liza, happy to hear you liked it! I love pandesal and I think my favourite part about baking it at home is the wonderful smell that fills our whole house. Transports me back home. Hope you’re having a lovely Saturday!

      Reply

  5. I haven’t ever heard of these, but they look incredible! I am always amazed at how many different bread recipes there are.

    Reply

  6. Excellent recipe! I am going to have to make this as a surprise for some of my Filipino friends – I’m curious if they say anything without prompting. And dipped in morning coffee? Intriguing!

    Reply

  7. These look delicious! So light and airy I have a terrible time baking bread it always comes out like a hockey puck, I am going to try this recipe keeping my fingers crossed

    Reply

  13. I love baking bread and this is a recipe I definitely want to try. I had never heard if pandesal before.

    Reply

  17. I love pandesal and I live right down the street from a bakery that cooks some so I can smell it in the early morning so I know what you mean about the smell. I have the convenience of buying some from there but I think I’m going to try baking some myself. Now all I want is some pandesal with butter.

    Reply

  18. I LOVE homemade bread/roll recipes. It’s one of the things we indulge in quite often. Your recipe looks absolutely spectacular. I’m definitely adding it to my list. Thank you!

    Reply

    • I’ve only recently learned to make my own bread and now I cannot stop. I love it 🙂 Thanks Tasia! Hope you like pandesal.

      Reply

  20. These rolls look lite, fluffy, and incredibly delicious!

    Like you said they may take some time and effort but they definitely look worth it and I can’t wait to try them soon !

    Reply

  22. Yasssss! You are so right about all the smells of fresh bread in your house. Totally worth the time to bake. I thought it was funny you talked about traditional pandesal. All Filipino ladies are switching up the recipe every time they make it! HA HA! Now I need to go bake me some!

    Reply

    • Hi Candice! Right? Something about the bakery smells that make us happy! And yeah there’s so many different varieties of pandesal haha. All delicious though 🙂

      Reply

    • I love it when the whole house smells of it! So wonderful. It almost makes me less sad about the clean-up lol!

      Reply

  26. Funny how smells/food can bring you right back. I’ve never had this type of bread before, but I know that I would love it and there’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread going through house, is there? Do you remember the scene in Ratatouille when the restaurant critic takes a bit of food and instantly he is transported to when he was a child? I think we all have certain things that do that for us, whether it is a smell or taste. Pinning these and trying soon 🙂 Cheers to a lovely week, Jolina!

    Reply

    • Ohhhh I love that movie and yes I remember that scene! Something about food and smells eh? Almost like magic I think. Thanks for the pin Dawn and have a wonderful week too!

      Reply

    • Me too, that’s my goal this year actually, get better at bread making 🙂 Hope you like pandesal Lisa!

      Reply

  29. I miss this! Nothing beats having pandesal dipped in coffee for breakfast every morning! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    • Hi Shannon! I’m afraid I’m not sure what Conor’s oil is…but you could use vegetable oil or any oil that’s flavourless 🙂 Would love to hear how it goes!

      Reply

  31. This looks so delicious I WISH I could smell it through my monitor. I haven’t tried the recipe (yet), but I love baking bread. Yes, it would be faster to drive to the store but like you said, I can’t get that smell in my house without baking!

    Reply

    • Haha you can’t, can you? Not even if you toast the bread I don’t think (well maybe you can you but not the same). Hope you like pandesal Jaime!

      Reply

  32. Nothing like warm rolls made right at home. I also love recipes that include everything I pretty much already have on hand at home. Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply

  37. These sound amazing- I have only ever had these in restaurants and never would have imagined how labor intensive they are. Makes you appreciate dining out a bit more! I need to try them for home- I know my husband and kids would be pleasantly surprised!

    Reply

    • I know! It wasn’t until I started to learn to bake that I started to appreciate all the work that goes into the tiny cupcake I’m eating at our local coffee shop lol. It’s so fulfilling though. Hope you guys like pandesal Chelley!

      Reply

  38. I pretty much eat anything that has the word roll in it and this sounds amazing! I have never heard of these before 🙂

    Reply

    • It didn’t like me either but I found practice makes perfect! Well…not PERFECT but I’m getting better at it (I think lol!) Thanks Maria!

      Reply

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