Pan de sal (bread of salt) is a mainstay in Filipino breakfast table. There have been so many
requests to post a pan de sal recipe here but unfortunately I can't bake. Whatever I do, the result is
always inedible or lopsided or burnt or whatever. But, recently, I found a remarkable similar bread (in taste
and appearance) in an Argentine grocery (where I buy my empanada) here in Chicago. So this month's
feature is a little daya (cheating). The picture is of Argentinian bread and the recipe is
from the excellent
Alibata at Pan de Sal webpage.
Ingredients:
2 cups water
6 cups flour
2 packages of yeast (equivalent to 14 grams total)
1 cup of plain bread crumbs
2 cups of dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of vegetable oil along with extra for flour cleanup
You will also need
a rolling pin
a board for spreading dough (like a large wooden chopping board)
a sifter or large strainer
a large mixing bowl
a large spoon, a fork, a clean towel, and a kitchen knife
one oven for baking that you will eventually preheat to 350 degrees
a flat cookie sheet or other baking pan to place pandesal rolls
Procedure
gently dissolve 2 packages of yeast into 1/2 cup of warm water
mix & dissolve 2 cups dark brown sugar & salt into 1/2 cups warm water
sift 6 cups of flour into large mixing bowl
fold 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil evenly into sifted flour
add sugar & water and yeast & water mixtures to flour
add remaining 1/2 cup of water to flour
stir dough mixture with spoon
oil your hands and kneed dough until lumps are gone
temporarily place dough on rolling board so you can clean bowl
after cleaning bowl, shape dough into a ball & place it in bowl
if dough is somewhat wet and gooey, pandesal will be moist and good
place clean towel over bowl
place bowl in room temperature location
let dough rise and double in size (between 30 and 45 minutes)
place dough on rolling board
using a fork punch holes so that air leaks out
flatten dough on board (about 3/4 inch thick)
then reshape it into a ball
again place dough in bowl
cover and let dough rise again (30-45 minutes)
after dough has doubled in size place dough on board
preheat oven to 350 degrees
flatten dough (about 3/4 inch thick)
spread dough across board and sprinkle bread crumbs
gently roll bread crumbs into dough
turn dough over to other side
spread dough across board and sprinkle bread crumbs
cut dough into four columns & eight rows to yield 32 pandesal rolls
shape each piece into a roll and place on lightly oiled baking pan
arrange all 32 pandesal evenly on baking pan
let stand for another 10 minutes
place baking pan into 350-degree fahrenheit oven
inspect carefully every 3-5 minutes
many ovens bake pandesal at 350 degrees fahrenheit for between 10 to 15 minutes
take pandesal out of oven, place in bow1 to serve
they are best to eat when fresh out of oven
This recipe was given to me by a co-worker in San Francisco in 1977
where she got it from her Ilocano grandmother in Kalihi, Hawaii.
I have been baking pandesal for over 20 years.
-- terrio echavez of Alibata at Pandesal
if you have any questions - email him at terrio@tahanan.net
