How to Make Pan de Sal (Filipino Bread Rolls) at Home

By Jun Belen

As I was making corned beef hash the other day, I wistfully realized that I would have to drive over 12 miles outside the city, toward the coast, to the city of Pacifica if I wanted fresh-out-of-the-oven hot pan de sal to go with my corned beef. I suddenly missed home.

Pan de sal is the classic Filipino bread. It is actually not Spanish in origin, but Portuguese. Pan de sal means salted bread but it is actually sweeter than it is salty. It is traditionally served as a breakfast roll — buttered and dipped in coffee — but it has made its way to the dinner table. Savory pan de sal sandwiches always hit the spot: corned beef, fried spam, fried egg, fried tocino, or mini-pizza with sweet spaghetti sauce. Or it can be a sweet treat: butter with sugar, sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter with jelly, strawberry jam, mango jam, coconut jam, ube jam, or homemade ice cream sandwiches. Buttered pan de sal also goes well with a hot bowl of champorado. The possibilities are endless.

A key thing to remember when making pan de sal is patience. Be patient, let the bread rise, and you will be rewarded with light and fluffy rolls.

Pan de Sal Recipe
Recipe adapted from Kulinarya: a Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine, makes 30 to 40 rolls

Activating the yeast

1 package active or instant yeast, about 2-1/4 teaspoon
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a temperature anywhere between 100 and 110 degrees F. To proof yeast, add sugar and let stand for 10 minutes. If the mixture doubles in volume then yeast is active.

It is very important to make sure that yeast is active. Water that is too hot kills the yeast so make sure that the water temperature is around 100 to 110 degrees F.

Making the dough

5-1/2 cups (750 grams) bread flour, more for dusting
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (90 grams) shortening
canola oil for greasing a large bowl
1 cup breadcrumbs

Combine flour, sugar, warm water, salt, and shortening in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add yeast. If the mixture is too wet, add more flour and mix until well combined.

On a clean surface dusted with flour, knead the mixture into a smooth elastic dough, for about 10 minutes. To test the dough if it’s ready, pinch a piece and stretch it into a square. The dough is ready if it’s elastic enough to be stretched into a translucent sheet of dough. If it tears continue kneading. The dough can be kneaded by hand or in a mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Grease a large bowl with canola oil. Place the dough in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise to about twice its size.

Punch the dough, knead again to redistribute the yeast, and divide the dough into two pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangular sheet and then roll the sheet into a log, about 20 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Let the dough rest for an hour.

Using a dough cutter or a flat knife, cut the log into 1-inch thick pieces. Roll each piece in breadcrumbs, place on a baking tray with the cut side up. Make sure there is enough space, about two inches, between pieces. Sprinkle dough with more breadcrumbs and let the dough rest for one more hour before baking. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the bread for 20 minutes or until the pan de sal becomes lightly toasted. Pan de sal is best enjoyed straight from the oven but these rolls freeze really well. Place rolls in a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat them, toss frozen rolls in the microwave or toaster oven.

Published on March 24, 2010

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Allisonvmanuel

Just made a batch. Turned out a little on the dense side, but still good.
Jun Belen

Glad you enjoyed the pan de sal recipe, Allison. It helps a lot if you let the dough rise before kneading and before baking them. The rolls are good but, I know, they ‘re not as fluffy as the ones back home.
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Sisonpearland

im going to make pandesal NOW! thank you Jun!
Rodel

i will start a pandesal business next month. will hire a baker but want to have an idea on how to make a pandesal. thanks.
cherrish verberkt

thanks for you recipes…..now i can make my own home made pandesal….
Jason Keith

hire somebody that has enough experience that when given the recipe(without procedures, just the ingredients), he should know how to make it already without procedures
Jason Keith

this type of bread must be proofed twice, and it takes longer to proof on the second turn, this bread would be tastier with frsh yeast, albeit more expensive, but tastier.
Katy Orell

This recipe (and your blog) is saving my butt right now. I’m going to a friend’s house for a Filipino dinner night and had no idea what to make and found all I needed right here. Thank you!!
Jun Belen

Thank you, Katy! Let me know what you ended up making.
debi

just done some conversion and 2 trays are still hot out of the oven. mine turned out light and fluffy. i let the dough rise twice before i rolled and cut them. let them rise again before putting them into the oven… they didn’t come out looking nice as yours tho’ and they taste more like french baguette than pan de sal. i used 1/3 cup oil. am thinking of using milk for some of the water…
brainard ross

thank you for this article, it helped a lot..,because we do’nt have pandesal here.
Toni

you can get pan de vienna in star cafe in session road -that’s the original place to get them!
King Fisher38

perfect ko yan
King Fisher38

put some rich ingedients, like milk and egg
NICOLEPRIMUS

PLZ TWO TYPES OF PANDESAL ONE THATS KIND OF HARD THE OTHER IS SOFT AND FLUFFY ,IS THIS THE FLUFFY KIND?
Inday Bote

Hello, just saw your recipe here.. i’ve tried plenty pandesal recipe.. still looking for the best one.. i tried one that tastes good, it got Milk and egg.. can we add them or sub the water with milk instead?? The recipe i was referring to was okay, but i found it too much liquid that i kept adding flour and then one pandesal itself will weigh too heavy… and aside from that, i still can’t perfect my pandesal. I want it airy like Pan de Manila… but the latter is too airy that a little pressure and the pandesal goes flat. lol
rodney

im a pinoy in saudi arabia i love pandesal but somewhere down the lower side of this place no pandesal i want to bake my own… what is that shortening?
Jun Belen

Shortening is a type of solid fat that is made from vegetable oils, such as soybean and cottonseed oil. Crisco is a popular brand of shortening here in the United States. Here is a good link about substitutes for shortening like butter or lard: http://www.foodsubs.com/Fatsoi…. Let me warn you though that the results may not be the same when you use butter instead of shortening. The texture, the tenderness of the bread will be different since shortening is 100% fat and butter isn’t. Here is another link to a good discussion about shortening substitutes: http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/01/shortening-substitute.html. Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Jun Belen

This recipe is for the light and fluffy kind of pan de sal.
Jun Belen

Thank you for writing. I have seen recipes that use milk but I’ve never tried them. The bread is not as light and fluffy as the ones we have at home but it tastes as good toasted and with a little spread of butter.
Mercy

i will try to follow your recipe kabayan….hopin’ to get the best result as i am also first timer in making pan de sal….tnx a lot for your article….
Marlondjfrancisco

amazing,,how can you do that,,,ill try..
Jason Keith

When you add milk, the texture becomes different, akin to malasadas. To really get that fluffyness; the key is PROOFING time, let it rest, let it rise. patience is key but if you want to have a bit easier time, make a proof box using boiled water inside an insulated box that is big enough to accommodate this recipe ie: Styrofoam box.
Jason Keith

I have this book and I found the recipe here a bit more traditional for a pan de sal recipe. although back in the olden days, as my grandma has told me. they used margarine or lard for the shortening part
Jun Belen

You hit the nail on the head, Jason. It’s all about letting the bread rise. Thank you for writing and thank you for sharing the tip on making the proof box.
Cyrus Zacal

Thank you so much this is the kind of Pan de sal recipe that I’ve been looking for. God Bless you for sharing it on-line. May God prosper you more.
CMZ
Allan Roma

Thanks buddy for this recipe, I’m just a first timer trying to learn how to bake the pan de sal. Thanks again and God bless. Allan Roma
jamboo

i was looking on a backup plan to start a home business and i noticed that in our village we have only one bakery. so look on baking opportunity so to start with i check on google on how to bake pandesal and the first result shows your site. amazingly, you almost have what i need here in your blog! mabuhay ka! you’re the man!
Pan de sal-lover

can i use all purpose flour instead of bread flour? Will it turn out the same?
Pan de sal-lover

I ended up finding a way to sub bread flour with all purpose! For every cup of all purpose, add 1 tbsp. Very helpful and it turned out delicious!! Thank you for the recipe

Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_4483381_turn-plain-flour-bread-flour.html
Jun Belen

I’m glad you found the recipe useful! I often use regular all-purpose flour and the bread tastes as good. I start with 750 grams and add more until the dough doesn’t feel too wet anymore. Thank you, once again, for writing back.
Troselyn32

Thank you so much for the recipe… Love making bread and this is my first time to make pandesal, hope it turns alright take care and God bless you xoxoxoxo
Troselyn32

Hey mate the best pandesal ever.,., all the white people in here loves it… Thank u mate…:-)
Jun Belen

I’m happy to hear that you found the recipe useful and that your bread was a hit!
rodney

at first i had a hard time stitute of the bread flour, luckily all purpose flour is avialable here. at first i did not made the light brown color of the pandesal, but i tried the second time, and it works! now im making a batch every friday and sell it to filipinos here… thank u very much jun… when im finish my contract here maybe this is business for me in the philippines. mabuhay! jun belen
Nessm

Mine turned out more dense (like monay) than fluffy. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to improve it?
Annie

Each trip that I made to the philippines, I would always make sure that I have fresh pan de sal for breakfast, their delicious. I also enjoy eating frances bread.
Ara Camacho

It’s almost 5am here in the East Coast and found myself making pan de sal! Thanks to your recipe! Lol! Was tossin and turning in bed cause I can’t get this pan de sal off my mind! Goin to pair it with some Spam maybe.. Or liver spread! Pan de sal for me is nostalgic, everday my mother wakes up at 5 am and go to the nearby panaderya and buy 1 dozen tostadong pan de sal, the way I like it. We would share it just before I leave to go to school.
Jun Belen

I just made a batch of pan de sal this morning and they turned out light and fluffy. Was your yeast active? Did it double in size when you proofed it with sugar? Did you knead it enough until it became smooth and elastic? Did you let the dough rest before baking? I’ve found that giving the dough enough time to rise and rest is key to light and fluffy rolls. I usually let my kneaded dough rise for at least three hours or so. And letting it rest before baking is very critical, too. I hope this helps.
Cuinspain

Wow, I’m so impressed. I always have trouble with yeast breads but I’m going to give this a try! Thank you for sharing this recipe and for all of the wonderful childhood memories your recipes bring to my heart and mind.
Roselamadarang

Would it be ok if I substitute the shortening for butter? Thank you po!
Jun Belen

Yes, butter can be used instead of shortening. I’d use the same amount — 1/2 cup. Butter will give the rolls more flavor.
Jun Belen

Thank you for writing and you are very welcome! I hope you’ll come back and try out the recipes in the blog.
Jun Belen

Thank you, Annie, for writing. What is frances bread?
Jun Belen

Yes — liver spread! Whatever was left from caldereta or menudo we would use to make pan de sal liver spread sandwiches. And of course, fried Spam! Thank you for writing and I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
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ryan moico

is it alright to use baking powder if you don’t have yeast?

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How to Make Pan de Sal (Filipino Bread Rolls) at Home

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