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Baking Pandesal, Manual Kneading

So baking Pandesal is what everyone who wants to bake breads ask all the time. No one in the Philippines start out with wanting to learn how to bake Putok or Monay, or Soft Buns, maybe Ensamaida comes second but Pandesal is always the first one they ask.

Want to know how you can bake the best breads or Pandesal FAST? I mean fast not 1 week fast but at least not dragging 1 month fast or months and you still have not done a decent Pandesal.

Learn how to knead properly. What do you mean knead properly? Is there a technique into making kneading much easier and faster? Well, technically bakers will tell you there is only one way to knead, siempre by the hand or "mano mano". Pag masa ang tawag in Tagalog and i have to say there are, not just one but at least 4 ways to make the kneading faster and way more efficient.

For proprietary reasons, not to be stingy though, I show my students how. It is their choice whether to use them or not. Not all appreciate the finer points and benefits of kneading the dough manually.

First impression, is nakakapagod. Why bother when you can buy a mixer and be done with it. This is where i explain in class more than twice, probably paulit ulit kong sinasabi why and by the end of the 3rd session, we all agree that kneading is the easiest way to appreciate the mixing stage through kneading manually or mano mano.


A sturdy table, one that does not move and wiggle is the first thing you need. I remember i practiced kneading on a marble round table from the garden. Umuuga kasi yung table sa kitchen, yung isa naman may varnish so hindi ko pwedeng gamitin. I saw the marble garden table and decided to put it inside the house so i can clean it up and knead the dough there.

I admit, palpak ang mga first trials ko since i have no knowledge of bread making back then. You know i was 17 when i first tried baking breads, the mess i made was so bad i stopped and did not try for years. 

You will not go through all this mess in my class, and save a whole lot of time and flour. You will appreciate more why it has to be done. No shortcuts. No compromise, you really have to. I cannot divulge everything since i heard someone is copying my style. 






You will receive a free kneading video once you make the deposit or reservation for the class so you can take a peek as to how to knead properly, plus some other techniques.

Want to perfect that pandesal right away? Again, it's not the recipe that counts first, it's the technique. 

For reservations to my class, please text 09495705091 or email irla2010@aol.com

Last Monday, I told my students that a dough mixed manually can be as equally as good as a dough mixed in a commercial mixer. They never thought it was possible until we baked the Pandesal dough they kneaded manually.

We actually used the dough to make Malunggay Pandesal because we already have the plain version.

Malunggay Pandesal my students manually kneaded or minasa ng kamay, Day 1 of class. We had to bake it right after they kneaded it since it was the last bake of the day after the 3 kilograms we did previously.

You can see that siksik and hindi masyadong alsado or risen/proofed but i ate 6 pieces of this for breakfast the following day.

Want more bread making articles, click the link below.
https://bakingpandesal.wordpress.com/






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