How To Bake Pandesal and Other Breads

It is mighty cold, this morning i just put two layers of clothes and a pair of socks which i thought i have gotten rid of 3 weeks ago. Last Sunday, we took out some of the seedlings we were growing inside the house, near the windows (all windows) and was so bitterly disappointed when they wilted, not because of the heat of the sun although it was sunny outside, but because of the almost freezing temperatures. Ano ba yan? The seedlings all drooped, the leaves curled up like they have not been fed for days. I took them all back inside, some upstairs in my room near my window to rejuvenate them, with a prayer... Not an easy task planting from seeds but i love the whole process. I just don't like re-doing the same thing over using the same seeds. That means failure and a waste of my time, peeking through the plastic covering, checking everyday for life, watering, transferring them back and forth, turning the trays to get a spray of sunshine from the windows. Seedlings i started fr...

I am currently sitting on my bed, watching the news at 3:27 pm so i can get a first hand look on the capture of this stupid Chechen bomber. I am annoyed to see his Aunt, screaming like hell asking for proof. Hmm. You think the FBI will be paranoid to pin it on two backpackers just like that. In broken English, she was demanding proof, "it's just a picture with a circle, where is the proof, i am a lawyer, i am used to people accusing of etc., etc.,. Dear oh dear. I get why her nephews bombed the marathon. Anyway, they are going to get him for sure. Working on making videos on baking cakes and cupcakes with my cake deco basics 1, 2 and 3. I will be able to finish by the end of the year perhaps, lots of editing and re-shooting to be made but i am loving it all. Look at those flowers! 1 tip and 4 kinds of drop flowers. I swear a restful sleep once you learn how to do these flowers yourself. I might be able to release the Royal Icing and Buttercream early next year if n...

I should be writing a review on my American Era mixer that i recently purchased but sad to say, when i opened the box a day after my arrival last March 21, the dough hook and beater blades are missing. Funny huh. I reported the matter to Sonic Electronics,naturally they were very apologetic and asked me how i can be helped further aside from sending me my missing blades. duh. I do not need anything else other than my dough hook and paddle. That's all. So many unwritten blogs, my February and March schedule were so out there i could not even do personal shopping for myself, had to ask people around me do it. Nevertheless, i am so grateful to the people who made it to Fairview, i had so much fun. Two days before i left for New York, i had people asking if they can pay the reservation fee already, one even dropped by to ask for the lessons and needless to say, i am sorry if i could not promise for the next schedule. I just have to say, i learned a lot from your experiences too so if...

So i went there yesterday, not really knowing whether my friend and former student from Los Angeles would be there. I was saying, what the heck i already planned this months before so despite the sore arms from the cookies and brioche i made a day before, i left for the Bakery Fair. Smooth ride, unexpectedly so i got there around an hour and a half. Not bad. Saw my friend but we both got lost inside because i was stuck at the registration counter. For a good hour and so so. Imagine the system this people have. 6-7 lines. I was at the walk in farthest line. You go there if you do not have the confirmation email from the online registration, which i filled up twice, once at Fox Mozilla and over at Google Chrome, but none came in. So we were all wondering, how come we were not moving at all? Yun pala, those at the other side or lines would submit their forms in groups, so those who are in the walk in sections would have their papers or forms placed under. Pinatungan ng pinatungan, all ...

I love this January, not because i had quite a few more baking sessions than before. Normally, January is a dead end, people do not have that much money left from the holiday blast but this is an exception. Or maybe, i just happen to be found by interested people who want to learn new skills. The photos will mostly be from my sponge and dough classes and it was fun to play around with the recipes once again. Going back to New York on March 21 :( and i have no idea what NY will offer this time. Nakakasawa na ang layovers, the long back breaking flight, the awful airplane food etc., etc., yUM! With chocolate chips, drunken raisins, almonds etc., a huge hit, camote and malunggay pandesal which i will make for my sister, she is already waiting for it HOney Oatmeal Buns and rolls This time, tons of photos but not that much to say. Too tired. Just finished my cake classes yesterday, and i am going to just watch Inspector Morse on youtube the whole...

Dough proofed and ready for the oven. I did not take too many pictures this month which is odd, i guess this is photo taking fatigue. Two months from now and i will be preparing to go back to New York which makes me sad. Like i said, i hate travelling so much, hate it the way we all dread getting our teeth pulled. This was a hectic month also, my phone line is smoking, i mean calls after calls, i mix up their names. I feel happy when i see young blood in my class, this time two boys fresh off college. Good luck to you guys, i hope you learn the virtue of patience and work out your time line. Do not rush it, you will get there. I did not learn all these in a month, two months etc., Incidentally, my February class got full fast. All 7 slots so i am opening another one for February 24 26 28 just in case someone wants to get an earlier than March session. I will still have my last one on March, but this is for those who will ultimately get to that 11th hour, in time before ...

Special Ensaimada Day 1 Special Ensaimada Day 5 This Ensaimada has a shelf life of 1 week or exactly 7 days, no molds but best eaten on or before Day 5 because you can still bite into its moistness. Days later will result in dryness so i don't recommend it. I don't use calcium propionate which is the anti mold agent in breads, but i think most bakeries use them so they will stay on the shelf longer. This bread was made using the Sponge and dough method and i plan to make a video of it so those who have a No time dough method background can learn this one. In fact, i am planning to create a whole library of bread making videos/movie using this method because not too many people are familiar with it. Sayang because you don't really get to that pro level if you have no knowledge of this method. I don't have time to teach this special class so maybe i can turn them into a pro video class. Still working on it, i am writing the script so to speak, want to make the vid...