Pandesal is one of my favorite Filipino breads. It is a slightly sweet, slightly salty yeast-raised bread often served with cheese. For this recipe, I took it up a notch and placed the cheese inside the rolls, and added a little ube purple yam flavoring. This ube cheese pandesal recipe is so good!
Ube has been a favorite in the Philippines forever, but it is no surprise that it is trending worldwide. This purple tuber tastes creamy and caramelly, with a little nuttiness. Its unique flavor makes for the perfect sweet and savory roll!
Why You'll Love This Ube Pandesal Recipe
Pretty in Purple - Ube is the most beautiful shade of purple, giving these rolls a lavender hue. Your pandesal will look stunning on any spread.
Any Occasion - Because pandesal so perfectly hits the sweet and salty notes, you can enjoy it any time of day. In the Philippines it is often enjoyed with coffee, but it also makes a great afternoon snack, or even a side with dinner!
Ingredients for Ube Pandesal
- Ube - You will need both ube flavoring and ube powder. Ube powder will affect the consistency of your bread, while the flavoring will give it a stronger ube taste. Check your local international market for these items. If they don’t carry them, you can order them from Amazon!
- Whole Milk - Make sure your milk is warm before you begin. I recommend whole milk. You can substitute other types of milk, however if you use a milk with a lower fat content, add a little extra butter to balance it out.
- Egg - You want your egg to be room temperature when you crack it. I usually like to get my egg out first so that it can lose its chill as I gather the rest of the ingredients.
- Flour - You will need 4 ½ cups of bread flour. Bread flour has more protein to help form the gluten needed for these rolls. You can also make your own bread flour if you have all purpose flour AND vital wheat gluten. I I don't suggest whole wheat flour, as I have not personally tested it.
- Sugar - Regular white sugar works best for pandesal. You will need ½ cup.
- Salt - A little salt goes a long way. It takes ½ tsp of salt to make this ube pandesal.
- Yeast - I prefer to use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast for this recipe, so the bread doesn’t require as much time to proof.
- Butter - You will need 4 tbsp of butter. Soften it, but don’t completely melt it.
- Cheese - Cheddar cheese really complements the ube flavors of the bread, however velveeta and cream cheese both work as well. You will want to cube your cheese into 1-1.5 inch cubes!
- Breadcrumbs - An outer coating of breadcrumbs will lock in moisture and add a little crisp. You don’t want a rough crunch, so opt for finer breadcrumbs.
How to Make Ube Pandesal Filipino Bread Roll
- To start, mix the ube powder and 3 boiling tablespoons of water. Let sit for a minute to rehydrate. Set aside.
- In a bowl or large spouted cup, whisk together the warm milk, warm water, egg and Ube flavoring. In a large bowl combine the bread flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the ube paste and wet ingredients into the well. Carefully mix together with a spoon until a rough dough forms. Add the very soft butter to the dough and mix to make a more complete dough for 3-5 minutes.
- Dump out into a well-greased surface and knead for 5-8 minutes. The dough should be light and slightly sticky but not wet. After enough kneading the dough should also be pretty smooth and spring back when poked.
- Place dough into a well-greased, large, bowl and cover with a wet hand towel. Proof the dough in a warm area for 40-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- When the dough has proofed to double its size, give it a few light punches to help remove extra air. Do not go full UFC on your dough, just a couple light pats. Remove dough from bowl and portion into 24 even sized balls. These will weigh around 60-75 grams each.
- Stuff each dough ball with a cube of cheese , making sure to seal all the edges. Roll into bread crumbs and place onto a baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other. About 12 will fit on a standard sized baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the pandesals. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and proof the pandesals for another 30 minutes. They should rise ¼ to ½ more in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 15-18 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the bottom. Let cool a bit before enjoying.
Step-by-Step Instructions
First, rehydrate your powdered ube. Mix 2 tbsp ube powder and 3 tbsp boiling water. Set aside.
Next, mix your wet ingredients. Whisk ½ cup warm milk, 1 cup warm water, 1 room temperature egg, and 2 tbsp ube flavoring.
In a separate large bowl, mix your flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
Form your batter! Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients, and pour your rehydrated ube and your wet ingredients. Mix gently, until your ingredients combine and begin to form dough.
Add your softened butter and mix for 3-5 minutes.
Transfer your dough onto a well-greased surface and knead for 5-8 minutes. Your dough is ready when it is sticky, but not wet. Your dough should spring back when poked.
Next, proof your dough! Grease a large bowl and place your dough inside. Cover the bowl with a wet hand towel.
Leave your bowl of dough in a warm area to proof for 40-60 minutes, until it doubles in size.
Once your dough finishes proofing, give it a few gentle punches to remove any excess air. Then, form it into evenly sized balls. This recipe should make about 24.
Place one cube of cheese in the center of each ball of dough.
Wrap the dough around the cheese so that it seals to keep the cheese completely encased. Roll your dough balls in breadcrumbs and place them 2 inches apart on baking sheets. You should be able to fit about a dozen per baking sheet. Cover your baking sheets loosely with plastic wrap and leave them to proof for another 30 minutes to continue dough rise.
Finally, bake your pandesals! Preheat your oven to 350, and bake your pandesals for 15-18 minutes, until lightly golden on the bottoms. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Enjoy warm!
Cook's Tips
- If you live in a cold, dry climate, you may need a little extra help proofing your dough. Simply heat your oven to 350 for a few minutes, then turn it off. Place the dough in the oven to proof, using a rolled kitchen towel to keep the oven door cracked.
- To prevent dough from sticking to your hands, you can coat your hands with oil before kneading.
- If you struggle to eyeball even portion sizes, try repeatedly halving the dough. Cut the initial ball of dough in half. Then cut each of those halves in half. Cut each of the quarters in half. Finally cut each piece into thirds, then roll them into balls!
- If you're not wanting to add the filling you a always use quick melt cheese on plain pandesal.
FAQ:
Ube pandesal comes from the Philippines. Ube is native to the Philippines, and pandesal is a Filipino staple!
To make ube pandesal, you need both extract and powder. You cannot replace the powder with more extract, because ube powder is essential to the texture. These pandesal need the starch from the ube to bake correctly. If you can’t find powdered ube, you can try using halaya, or ube jam.
Ube Pandesal Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Ube Powder + 3 tbsp Boiling Hot Water mixed to rehydrate
- ½ cup Whole Milk warm
- 1 cup Water warm
- 1 egg room temp
- 2 tbsp Ube Flavoring
- 4.5 cups large Bread Flour
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Instant Yeast
- 4 tbsp Butter softened
- 16 oz Cheddar Cheese cubed into 1”- 1.5” cubes (may also use Velveeta or Cream Cheese)
- 1 cup Fine Bread Crumbs
Instructions
- To start, mix the ube powder and 3 boiling tablespoons of water together. Let sit for a minute to rehydrate. Set aside.
- In a bowl or large spouted cup, whisk together the warm milk, warm water, egg and Ube flavoring.
- In a large bowl combine the bread flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the ube paste and wet ingredients into the well. Carefully mix together with a spoon until a rough dough is formed.
- Add the very soft butter to the dough and mix into the dough to make a more complete dough for 3-5 minutes.
- Dump out into a well-greased surface and knead for and 5-8 minutes. The dough should be light and slightly sticky but not wet. After enough kneading the dough should also be pretty smooth and spring back when poked.
- Place dough into a well-greased, large, bowl and cover with a wet hand towel. Proof the dough in a warm area for 40-60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- When the dough has proofed to double its size, give it a few light punches to help remove extra air. Do not go full UFC on your dough just a couple light pats. Remove dough from bowl and portion into 24 even sized balls. These will weigh around 60-75 grams each.
- Stuff each dough ball with a cube of cheese , making sure to seal all the edges. Roll into bread crumbs and place onto a baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other. About 12 will fit on a standard sized baking sheet. Repeat until all of the pandesals are made.
- Cover loosley with plastic wrap and proof the pandesals for another 30 ish minutes. They should rise ¼ to ½ more in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 15-18 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the bottom. Let cool a bit before enjoying.
Notes
Nutrition
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