How To Bake Pandesal and Other Breads

RAISIN AND NUTS ROLLS -- One of my very few favorite breads to eat when i want some carbs, usually half of these batch is destined of course to my sister's house since she and my niece love it, but not anymore since i left 2 months ago. The only difficult thing about this recipe is that, raisins are unpredictable when you use them in baking. If they are too dry, they soak up the moisture in the batter or dough, too wet, makes for a sticky dough. They also have the tendency to fall out of the baked bread, and burn when you forget to soak them. Soak the raisins in warm water at least two hours before using them, then drain at least an hour before you start mixing. Never add the raisins during mixing, pulse them AFTER THE GLUTEN has developed or you will wait for 2 days for this dough to rise!!! The crushed raisins affect the fermentation, believe me it happened to me. Add the raisins gradually while pulsing the mixer at low speed until the raisins/and nuts is distributed in the dough...

My first experience with yeast baking did not go well at first despite the many baking books i have in my collection( which were all wiped out by the typhoon Ondoy, sept 26, 2009). The most ridiculous thing is that in your attempt to proof the yeast, you actually just snuff the life out of it by using water that is too hot for the yeast to handle. So you throw it out and then try again. Later on, many years after, i found out from my teacher in class that i did not even have to do this, simply use tap water, add a teaspoon of sugar, then the yeast, stir and voila!!! Wait for the dough to bloom or froth and your done. This is if you are using active dry yeast. Instant means you simply dump it in the flour mix, no blooming necessary. Shown here in these images, two types of yeasts, the active dry has to be bloomed first before using, then when the yeast froths, you can dump it into the mixing bowl. The instant yeast on the other hand, is more convenient to use, i weigh it with the rest o...

BAKING YEAST DOUGH BREADS