PANDESAL 101
Proofing Pandesal dough is a tricky business, proof less and you turn it into a door stop, proof more and all you get is mushy hole ridden mass.
The ebook tells you the many correct ways to proof the dough, the professional way and how to trouble shoot etc.,
Okay, so what exactly is this "baston" Filipinos say when we shape the pandesal dough into a log?
This is the local lingo they use to call the long log. "Baston" in English translates into "cane", so maybe because a cane is long, Filipinos and maybe the early Spanish colonists liken the "pag ba-baston" or "bastonin" to its shape.
Beginning bakers will find this task hard at first, you cannot "baston" a dough that is too soft and sticky, you cannot use a plastic or metal dough cutter to do the cuts, and you need to tightly seal and fold the baston to make the cuts even and "singkit".
Another term they use when they cut pandesal is the word "singkit". No offense meant to our Chinese friends but i cannot find another word to replace this since this is the word all bakers use to mean a cut that is close and tight, not open and flat. Chinese people have eyes that are close and tapering at the ends, resembling an almond that is thin. In our local dialect we also call this "tsinita" meaning your eyes are somewhat Chinese looking since majority of Filipinos have chinese blood just like my great grandmother.
I first learned of these terms when i had a stint at Purefood's Flour and Bakery Division, (now owned by San Miguel Corporation). One of the bakers there taught me how to roll the baston and do the singkit cut. I laughed at first honestly because i thought he was just taking me for a ride but learned later on that he was indeed teaching me the right stuff.
In order to create the perfect cut, "singkit style", the consistency of the dough should be neither too soft nor too hard that it fights back. Remember, this is a soft roll, not a Hard Monay so it cannot be too stiff or you will end up with a dry Pandesal in just two days.
After rolling the log, sealing the edges and making sure the log is even all the way, you roll the whole log in bread crumbs. Most bakeries i see cover the log after this stage and allow it to rest before proceeding to the cutting. This ensures that the cuts will be even because the dough is given a rest time to recover from the rolling.
Using the same dough, you can create as many variations you can think of. Here, i made some Asado Rolls, a few Soft Buns, Mongo Loaves and Pan de Coco.
The only catch here, is that learning how to MIX, PROOF AND BAKE in perfect timing. When you stop mixing, how much water to use, when to end proofing and when to pre heat the oven so the dough will not over proof etc.,
**students of the hands on class get to do the baston and cut their baston one by one for a chance to experience this.
Pandesal Basic Recipe
bread flour 500 grams
yeast 8 gms
sugar 100 gms
salt 8 gms
eggs 50 gms
bread improver 5 gms
margarine 50 gms
vanilla 10 gms
water variable, start at 55 %
* this recipe is a good start, there are still many variations of this formula, in my class i use milk powder instead of evaporated milk, you can also use shortening or butter, pure eggyolks if you like, brown sugar instead of white sugar, or even washed sugar.
*mix the dough to full gluten development, round the dough and cover.
*relax the dough for 10 minutes and then form the "baston" rolling the log in the breadcrumbs after shaping, you can also shape them individually see Pandesal B recipe in the book.
* cut the dough and place in greased baking sheets, i can make 40 20-21 gram piece cuts from this batch. The cut side should be on top, remember you will not get this the first time, so keep practicing.
*proof until it doubles in size, some proof it triple so this depends on your personal preference, others like the dense "siksik" type of pandesal, so reduce the proofing if this is what you like.
*bake in a very hot 325 -350 F oven for 12 -15 minutes until you get the crust color you want.
Notes to ponder:
-----rolls with lighter colored crusts will stay fresher and moist longer than dark colored crusts
------baston cut pandesal dries faster than individually shaped rolls
------pandesal doughs that are made using the baston will dry faster than machine mixed doughs
------if you are using dough rollers, you cannot use too much sugar, the sugar competes with the gluten formation making the dough tough
------breads or pandesal made using the modifed no time dough dries faster than the other methods
At the end of the day, what makes a good pandesal? The formula, the method, the technique and your tender loving care!!!
www.breadmakinglessons.com
Proofing Pandesal dough is a tricky business, proof less and you turn it into a door stop, proof more and all you get is mushy hole ridden mass.
The ebook tells you the many correct ways to proof the dough, the professional way and how to trouble shoot etc.,
Okay, so what exactly is this "baston" Filipinos say when we shape the pandesal dough into a log?
This is the local lingo they use to call the long log. "Baston" in English translates into "cane", so maybe because a cane is long, Filipinos and maybe the early Spanish colonists liken the "pag ba-baston" or "bastonin" to its shape.
Beginning bakers will find this task hard at first, you cannot "baston" a dough that is too soft and sticky, you cannot use a plastic or metal dough cutter to do the cuts, and you need to tightly seal and fold the baston to make the cuts even and "singkit".
Another term they use when they cut pandesal is the word "singkit". No offense meant to our Chinese friends but i cannot find another word to replace this since this is the word all bakers use to mean a cut that is close and tight, not open and flat. Chinese people have eyes that are close and tapering at the ends, resembling an almond that is thin. In our local dialect we also call this "tsinita" meaning your eyes are somewhat Chinese looking since majority of Filipinos have chinese blood just like my great grandmother.
I first learned of these terms when i had a stint at Purefood's Flour and Bakery Division, (now owned by San Miguel Corporation). One of the bakers there taught me how to roll the baston and do the singkit cut. I laughed at first honestly because i thought he was just taking me for a ride but learned later on that he was indeed teaching me the right stuff.
In order to create the perfect cut, "singkit style", the consistency of the dough should be neither too soft nor too hard that it fights back. Remember, this is a soft roll, not a Hard Monay so it cannot be too stiff or you will end up with a dry Pandesal in just two days.
After rolling the log, sealing the edges and making sure the log is even all the way, you roll the whole log in bread crumbs. Most bakeries i see cover the log after this stage and allow it to rest before proceeding to the cutting. This ensures that the cuts will be even because the dough is given a rest time to recover from the rolling.
Using the same dough, you can create as many variations you can think of. Here, i made some Asado Rolls, a few Soft Buns, Mongo Loaves and Pan de Coco.
The only catch here, is that learning how to MIX, PROOF AND BAKE in perfect timing. When you stop mixing, how much water to use, when to end proofing and when to pre heat the oven so the dough will not over proof etc.,
**students of the hands on class get to do the baston and cut their baston one by one for a chance to experience this.
Pandesal Basic Recipe
bread flour 500 grams
yeast 8 gms
sugar 100 gms
salt 8 gms
eggs 50 gms
bread improver 5 gms
margarine 50 gms
vanilla 10 gms
water variable, start at 55 %
* this recipe is a good start, there are still many variations of this formula, in my class i use milk powder instead of evaporated milk, you can also use shortening or butter, pure eggyolks if you like, brown sugar instead of white sugar, or even washed sugar.
*mix the dough to full gluten development, round the dough and cover.
*relax the dough for 10 minutes and then form the "baston" rolling the log in the breadcrumbs after shaping, you can also shape them individually see Pandesal B recipe in the book.
* cut the dough and place in greased baking sheets, i can make 40 20-21 gram piece cuts from this batch. The cut side should be on top, remember you will not get this the first time, so keep practicing.
*proof until it doubles in size, some proof it triple so this depends on your personal preference, others like the dense "siksik" type of pandesal, so reduce the proofing if this is what you like.
*bake in a very hot 325 -350 F oven for 12 -15 minutes until you get the crust color you want.
Notes to ponder:
-----rolls with lighter colored crusts will stay fresher and moist longer than dark colored crusts
------baston cut pandesal dries faster than individually shaped rolls
------pandesal doughs that are made using the baston will dry faster than machine mixed doughs
------if you are using dough rollers, you cannot use too much sugar, the sugar competes with the gluten formation making the dough tough
------breads or pandesal made using the modifed no time dough dries faster than the other methods
At the end of the day, what makes a good pandesal? The formula, the method, the technique and your tender loving care!!!
www.breadmakinglessons.com