pandan pandesal recipe (2024)

Pandan Pandesal Recipe Pandan Pandesal is a new twist of the famous Pandesal. Pandesal flavored with Pandan will have you asking for more. It’s like love at first bite! This Pandan Pandesal recipe yields a soft and fluffy bread that soaks milk or Milo so well.

Pandesal is a classic Filipino roll or Pinoy bread, and it is one of the favorite breakfasts for Filipinos. It’s distinct for its crumb-covered dough. It is a yeast-based bread that is best with softened butter, cream cheese, or any other jam paired with hot coffee, tea, chocolate, or warm milk.
Ideally, we will use fresh Pandan leaves to flavor this Pandesal, but we don’t have that luxury here in the USA, so we use store-bought Pandan extract in this recipe. Pandan Pandesal Recipe is easy to follow, and it will only require a few simple ingredients that you may already have in your pantry.

What is Pandan?

Pandan, or pandanus, is a fragrant tropical plant native to Asia and the Pacific. The Pandan leaves are used in many different types of Asian cooking to add a subtle sweetness and unique flavor. It’s straightforward to make your extract by boiling water with pandan leaves. But if you want a shortcut, Pandan extract can be found in most Asian grocery stores.

Pandan leaves are rich in calcium, iron, and phosphorus. They have been traditionally used for medicinal purposes to help with digestion, relieve coughs and colds, and even improve the skin. When I was in the Philippines, I added it to my rice, which exuded an earthy fragrance.

What does Bread Proofing mean?

Bread proofing is the final rise before baking your bread. Typically you’ll want to let your dough double in size, which usually takes about 30 minutes to an hour. For this recipe, I made proofing twice. You can see that the dough slowly rises from a perfectly flattened dough to a slightly risen one.

Why should I use a Parchment-lined baking pan?

No, you don’t have to line your baking pan with parchment paper. I like to use a parchment-lined baking pan because it makes it easy to slide your bread in and out. This type of pan also makes cleanup a breeze. If you don’t have one, skip this process.

CAN I USE INSTANT YEAST INSTEAD OF ACTIVE DRY YEAST?

• There is a difference between instant yeast and active dry yeast. For instant yeast, you can add it in the dry ingredients, while in active dry yeast, you have to mix it with warm water to make it bloom, like making it wake up from its deep sleep.

Ingredients

Prepare the Yeast Mixture

• One packet of active dry yeast is 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast.
• Sugar
• Water
• All-purpose flour

How to Make the Dough

• All-Purpose flour
• Coconut milk
• Melted butter
• Egg
• Salt
• Sugar
• Pandan flavoring
• Bread crumbs

Instructions

• Brush a large bowl with oil. Set aside.

Prepare the yeast Mixture.

Making Pandan Pandesal starts with blooming the active dry yeast. And it’s essential to have the right amount of water temperature to “wake up” the yeast.

• Warm the water in the microwave for 35 seconds. Add the active dry yeast and sugar. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes until bubbles form.

Make the Pandan Pandesal Dough

• Warm the coconut milk for 35 seconds, and then place the coconut milk, melted butter, and egg into the stand mixer bowl. Add the yeast mixture. Mix using a wire whisk or the hook until ingredients are incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix using the hook for seven minutes. Note that this will be a wet dough, so take one tablespoon of flour and rub it in between your hands and sprinkle some flour on the dough for easy transfer.
• Transfer dough to a flat surface and form into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl and sit at a warm temperature for 1 hour.
• When ready, divide the dough into two and form a log or you can cut the dough and weigh 60 grams each and fill it with white chocolate or cream cheese or, it’s ok not to fill it. Put the dough into the baking pan.
• Cover the dough with a damp cloth and sit for another 30 minutes.
• Uncover dough and roll into bread crumbs.
• Bake Pandan Pandesal in a preheated 350 F oven for 22 minutes or until the Pandan Pandesal is brown on top.

What can I add to make my Pandesal more special?

You can add other flavors to your Pandan Pandesal by adding some fillings, creating a more festive twist on our classic Filipino bread. Here are some exciting suggestions for fun fillings!

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling

Mix cinnamon powder and brown sugar and spread a teaspoon of the filling on your bread square before rolling it up like a pan de sal. You can also add chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts for an added crunch.

Cheese Filling

Using your rolling pin, flatten the bread until it’s about 1 inch thick while keeping each circle intact, then spread some melted cheese on top of one piece of bread. Cover with another bread; then, you can fry it using a frying pan, grill, or even an electric skillet for about 2-3 minutes per side.

Creamy Ube Halaya Filling

Mix condensed milk with ube (purple yam filling) mixture, then spread it on top of your dough. I have tried a Pandan Pandesal with ube filling, and I can say the flavors complement each other.

Chocolate Filling

Spread melted dark chocolate on top of one piece of bread, cover another bread to seal the filling, and carefully roll it up before frying them.

How can I enjoy my Pandan Pandesal?

Enjoy your brightly colored Pandesal in the morning with a cup of brewed coffee or tea. You can heat it with butter on top as part of your merienda. But if you plan to save it for the following day, you can always put it in a plastic wrap or an airtight container. If well kept, it can stay fresh for at least 1 to 2 days.

You can do many variations with the pandesal recipe depending on your preference. And that’s the fun in baking – you can add several flavors to make it more than just dough. So why not give this recipe a try? Let me know what you think by commenting down below.

For more Pandesal Flavor

• • Ube Pandesal
  • Classic Pandesal
  • Chocolate Pandesal

How do I store it

You can store the leftover in a sealed container and refrigerate them.

How do I reheat Pandan Pandesal

You can reheat this Pandan Pandesal in the microwave oven by putting it on a heat-proof plate and microwaving for fifteen seconds.