How To Bake Pandesal and Other Breads

Here's a peek of the breads we made in class. It's funny that when i posted some of the breads on my Twitter account last year someone commented that he does not believe that my students made the breads. Of course, i helped them shaped the breads but i can't possibly have faked them all, are you kidding me? Hahaha, all 2 kilograms with 10-12 varities? No way i can make them all by myself. So here they are, i'm going to randomly post them here not in order or when or what day we baked them. If you happen to see my schedule online and you are passing through the area, feel free to drop by around 1 pm so i can share you some samples. If you are curious to see what we do in class, you can also drop by a bit earlier, maybe around 11 pm, this is usually the time we were still knee deep into shaping the dough. My address is Block 5 Lot 13 Guijo street, Northridge Park Subdivision, Sta. Monica Novaliches, about 10 minutes before you get to SM Fairview. I would love to open my...

 I am opening my 1 on 1 hands on sessions starting this November till next year, so if you want to start baking breads or cakes in your own kitchen you can now start learning all the basics from recipe formulation to food costing and pricing. Google our location at Block 5 Lot 13 Guijo street, Northridge Park Subdivision Sta. Monica Novaliches, near Casa Milan and before SM Fairview.  Group lessons are limited to only 2 students unlike before where there is usually 4 to 6 students per lesson. You can choose from the bread lessons to cakes and cake decorating. Learn how to mix 1 basic dough such as the one pictured below, and create as many variations as you can.  Below is a basic sweet yeast egg dough, i did not use too much sugar because i am trying to cut it down, so around 18% is enough for me. I use this dough to make my loaf bread, pandesal, malunggay loaves and donuts, cinnamon rolls as well as raisin breads.  Actually, it is up to you how much eggyolks, butter...

First of a series.  Knowing how to bake. I need more than a page to explain the nitty gritty on setting up your own bakery, in fact, in the next few months I will be re-opening mine. So instead of lecturing you guys on what to do i will try my best to tell you my preparations for my bakery. Just to make it simple. Siempre, dapat marunong kang mag bake. In all my years of teaching baking, I started 2001), every month I get students who own bakeries but never bothered to take up baking. Just like that, they would set up a bakery by hiring a baker. Fine, as long as you can trust the baker right? Uh....wrong. That baker will not stay with you forever. Another downside is that 100% of the time, he owns the recipes your bakery is selling. You have no idea how much sugar the pandesal has, or how much egg yolks he uses in the Ensaimada so you can do proper inventory and food costing. Nada.  If he tells you he has a headache and doesn't feel like coming to work today, he doesn't work t...

Two of my students for this month, Jenn Apares and Belle Nakpil. Having fun on our 3rd day of session making Monggo Breads. Jenn was able to bake these Malunggay Pandesal as part of their assignment and things to do at home in between our session. This is why there are always a 2 day gap in my class, to give the students time to practice what they've learned and then bring some dough and bread for me to look at. Belle forgot her breads at home so i am very satisfied with Jenn's first time with Pandesal. It needs at least 3% malunggay to be visible but the Pandesal is excellent. I am so happy for Jenn, she can now help her parents' bakery. Finally. This is only after our 2nd session, i admit i have to push my students but it was all worth the challenge. Plus, they had fun doing it!!! after chopping the fresh leaves, just pulse them into the finished dough, lightly kneading to incorporate the veggies. Now that obviously has Malunggay! My...

So I got seriously obsessed with these red mongo breads lately. Believe it or not, the filling was plain boiled and pureed red mongo beans and brown sugar but Michelle, one of my November students cant help but snack on the palaman. So I showed them.how to fill a braid or plait with mongo and when it was done, I sliced it up and saved it for my nocturnal snacking. Yeah. I am old in wake up early everyday. No exception. Anyway, I don't know what got to me but I ate a quarter of the loaf  (got to save some for my ate). You see, I make it a point to share to my dear sister anything great that I tasted or created from my kitchen. If it was just so and so, I don't bother sending them to her. And so 3 days before I left for New York (she won't stay quiet mind you if she liked something ) she dropped by my kitchen for a 4 batch 20 some piece  pound cake baking, that she asked me "ano yong binigay mo na tinapay na may palaman"? I said that's Mongo and you are lucky...

50% sponge with 15% Oatmeal, these loaves will be our baon for Baler and hopefully some makes it to LA Union. I added some turmeric for color and sesame seeds as toppings. This batch also has 3% potatoes for extra shelf life although I'm  worried that due to the heat and because I left the anti mold out,  i need to have them refrigerated or frozen to make them last longer.

Love love the class this June. I enjoyed the company of true bread aficionados, wuich made me realize iba Pala feeling pag ang mga kasama mo are like you. I barely noticed the time and it was so much fun. We created large breads on our last day and I ate almost all of the Raisin Soft Monay. Actually, i woke up at 2 am and sneaked into the dark kitchen to take a bite of the bread. Yum! You see, I am truly blessed to have the knowledge of making breads at a whim. I just thought about adding glazed fruits and cranberries next time or maybe my favorite chunky Skippy peanut butter and guava jelly. Mmmm. Exciting. Going back 1995, I made the right decision enrolling in a 2 year culinary school instead of a computer course. I wouldn't be this happy. I would not have met these beautiful people, my students. More photos to come..... Enrollment still on for July to November at www.breadmakinglessons.com