Pandesal is a popular bread roll in the Philippines that translates to bread with salt in Spanish. It’s a fluffy and slightly sweet bread roll that’s commonly eaten for breakfast and merienda (snack) on its own, dipped in different drinks like coffee or hot chocolate, or with palaman (spread) like Lady’s Choice Chicken Spread inside. For World Pandesal Day, why not try learning more about pandesal – from pandesal stays soft for days to creative pandesal flavors and recipes using pandesal, we cover what you need to know about pandesal. We even scoured the internet and found that a typical small pandesal has the calories of around 75-160 depending on the ingredients used. We say quit counting calories and simply enjoy it.

How to Get Fluffy Pandesal Using Your Favorite Recipe

There are several pandesal recipes online that teach you how to make pandesal but we all know that the real test is days after the pandesal is made. Freshly baked pandesal is delicious and soft but most turn hard after only a few days. Instead of reinventing the wheel and sharing a new recipe for pandesal, we’ll teach you how to convert your favorite pandesal recipe into one that helps keep the bread soft for days using the tangzhong method.

Tangzhong is a method where a small portion of a recipe’s flour and liquid are cooked to form a thick slurry that is then mixed to the rest of the pandesal ingredients. This method gives Japanese Milk Bread that fluffy texture. To convert your pandesal recipe to one that uses tangzhong, you first need a kitchen scale. Precision is key when it comes to baking and it’s especially true when using a tangzhong. Use this ingredient weight chart to convert your recipe from cups and teaspoons into grams.

How to Convert Pandesal Recipe to Tangzhong For Bread That Stays Soft For Days

Tangzhong usually has a hydration of 75%. This means that for every 100 grams of liquid, you need to have 75 grams of flour. To make it simple, get the weight of your flour and multiply that by .75. The result of that is the amount of milk or water that you need in your recipe.

Let’s take it step by step using 200 grams of flour as our reference.

Step 1: Multiply 200 grams by .75. The result is 150 which means you need 150 grams of liquid in your recipe.

Step 2: Get 10% of your flour and place it in a saucepan. In our recipe, that’s equivalent to 20 grams. To this, you need to add five times the liquid which in our case is 100 grams. Add that to your saucepan and cook over medium heat until it forms a thick paste. Set this aside and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Add your tangzhong into your mixing bowl and follow your pandesal recipe ingredients and procedure as usual. Just make sure to remember that because you used part of your flour and liquid ingredients in the tangzhong, you have less to add in your recipe. In our case, that’s 180 grams of flour and 50 grams of liquid left to add in this stage.

Try this method out to get your fluffy pandesal stay fresh for days.

Pandesal Flavors

While classic pandesal has been around for centuries, people have gotten more creative with it and developed new pandesal flavors that have exploded in recent times. There’s the pandemic-popular ube cheese pandesal, strawberry cream cheese pandesal, matcha pandesal, red velvet pandesal, mango pandesal, bavarian pandesal, caramel pandesal, healthy malunggay pandesal, and pandan pandesal among other creative pandesal flavors.

We love this development of new pandesal flavors because of how it elevates the humble pandesal and plays on its versatility even more. To make your own pandesal flavor that’s easy and fuss-free, try playing with the different herbs and cheeses you have at home. Simply incorporate the dried herbs into your dough and experiment with what you like. Who knows, your pandesal flavor might be the next viral sensation on Tik Tok.

Easy Recipes Using Pandesal

If you’re not into experimenting with new pandesal flavors, you can still be creative by changing up how you eat your pandesal. You can dip it in your drink of choice or use it in the classic ice cream sandwich we all grew up eating. If you want more ideas, these pandesal recipes will surely get your creative juices flowing and your tastebuds dancing!

Chicken Coleslaw Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Lady’s Choice Chicken Spread, cabbage, and ham
Ready in 15 minutes

Cheese Bacon Pandesal Recipe

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Lady’s Choice Bacon Spread
Ready in 15 minutes

Chicken Spread and Scrambled Egg Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Lady’s Choice Chicken Spread and scrambled egg
Ready in 15 minutes

Ham and Egg Salad Pandesal

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise, ham, and hard-boiled eggs
Ready in 15 minutes

Hamdesal

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Ham & Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise
Ready in 20 minutes

Egg Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Hard boiled eggs and Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise
Ready in 15 minutes

Mini Hotdog Pandesal Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Mini hotdogs and Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise
Ready in 15 minutes

Hotdog Scrambled Egg Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Hotdog, eggs, and Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise
Ready in 20 minutes

Tuna Pandesal Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Tuna and Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise
Ready in 20 minutes

Creamy Adobo Pandesal Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Leftover adobo and Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise
Ready in 30 minutes

Sardines Pandesal Sandwich

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Sardines and Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise
Ready in 20 minutes

Chicken Pandesal with Creamy Basil Gata

Main Pandesal Ingredients: Chicken, pesto sauce, mushrooms, and Knorr Ginataang Gulay Recipe Mix
Ready in 35 minutes

Now you have everything you need to know to enjoy the humble pandesal to its fullest. Try making your own soft and fluffy pandesal to give away to friends or experiment or make your own pandesal flavors. If you’re pressed for time, the recipes we shared can have you enjoying a delicious pandesal in 35 minutes or less. Whatever route you choose to take, make sure to enjoy what you made and share it with friends and family. After all, what is pandesal without the shared stories and laughter around the dining table?