How To Bake Pandesal and Other Breads

So the last batch of dough I made from 2 weeks back was turned into Pandesal as promised. Only about 20 large pieces though, I just winged it since I was so tired from all the cooking and cleaning.  That is life in the US, you want to eat home cooked meals? Better prepare to do the clean up as well. As usual, I gave my brother some and when he went down from his room, he asked me why this Pandesal was different from all the other Pandesal I have made from the past 5 years that I have been here. Well, I said other than the fact that I used 4 egg yolks,  and a sponge, i also used 3rd class in the formula. Not to mention that this dough was retarded (not in a derogatory way), meaning I delayed the process of fermentation by storing it in a cool area. I kinda agree it was superior to the rest of the Pandesal I have made so I plan to introduce this to my upcoming lessons. Exciting. That's what bread making is all about,there is always something new to learn every time you bake. ...

Posting photos of last week's breads made from a large 2 kg base dough. Just absolutely loved it. I am saying loved but I still have some dough left that I pulled out of the freezer this early morning. I plan to make Pandesal just to make things simple after all the sugary stuff we dished out last week. This dough was frozen and I am satisfied with the turn out. Photo set shows doughnuts, filled and plain, cinnamon rolls (had to do 3 times), the pretzels and fruit and nut which I made for me. This is what I want my students to learn. Make 1 perfect dough and create variations. As many as your mind can stretch it. No limit. Got to stop,  I think the dough has thawed enough. Enrollment still ongoing for June to November 2015. Hands on class where you will  definitely learn how to do the same. Adios. Have a great weekend.♡

I am currently using up much of the Parkway 0 cholesterol/trans fat made with non fat milk (to my surprise)and so far the breads were quite nice for a change. I told myself or been telling myself for years now that I am bringing some of these stuff with me but can't seem to find the space somehow. Hopefully, this time  I will.  I want to at least use this for our personal goodie and that means our sweet cravings, cookies and muffins  we regularly bake for ourselves. I am testing recipes for my sister's coffee shop so there will be lots of baking this coming next month's.  Instead of the   baker's fresh or dairy creme we normally pick up from the grocery, which are all saturated fat, this will lessen the guilt. Somehow.  Gosh, what guilt? What about the sugar? Crazy . The idea that somehow you are trying your best to make something that is wholly bad for you at your age just a tad bit wholesome like adding some whole wheat, using c...

This was the first hands on class in our house in New York, and although i was a bit apprehensive about it since the chill was still in when we started (3 sessions locked in at 63-65 F) only this last one made it to the real summer temperature which was a blessing. I had to scramble all sorts of tricks in my bag to speed up the proofing, (you will be amazed at the speed i was working) just so the dough will rise on time and my student, Jocelle Uy will still be able to leave for home before night time. I was surprised that we manage to finish as if we were in Manila. Goes to show that a little prayer and lots of planning work. It was my first time to try this, i never accepted students here before because of the problems with proofing temperature ( i don't have a proofing cabinet, just an improvise one) and even with the make shift baking rack cum heater, i know there would be problems if we will make 3 to 4 kilograms of dough in a day. If say, the batch is way smaller, then no ...

The schedule is now posted online at www.breadmakinglessons.com and you are welcome to make a reservation. Classes start in June to November only, looks like i am spending my holidays in the chilly New York. Please make sure you read the rules on reservations, you may withdraw or cancel your reservation but i will not send you the deposit, you have to pick them at on site. 4-5 days before the start of the class, you will only get 70% refund, no refunds if you cancel 3 days before the class starts but you can carry over your deposit to the next month session. Make sure that you email asap if you are cancelling. What's up ahead? Same hands on class (free lunch), 3-4 kilograms of dough (that's a lot) and at least 5-6 variations a day. This includes your practical activity on kneading and assignment. Looking back, i was telling my students a while back that with the assignments and kneading exercises, i just added a ton of pain in my neck, like i picked up a hollow block and ...

Turns out i may need to go back home and do one more round of hands on baking classes (hopefully i can squueze in some cakes and cake deco classes), before the house is torn down around January of next year. The last hands on class was very fruitful and i met some interesting people along the way. Hats off to one student (won't mention his name) who despite being wheelchair bound and disabled made it to my class. That is guts in the purest sense. What are some of the tambays doing at a time like this? Nada. Here is a guy who has a lot of bread baking sense even if his brother once failed in his bakery venture a couple of years back. Not a problem. He thinks he can do it, he will for sure. One thing that acts on his behalf, he loves Ensaimada so much he can eat a dozen in one sitting. So i heard. Good luck to you guys and thank you. Now there are also some pretty brain shaking lessons to be learned on my part during one of the sessions. Never trust anyone when he tells you the a...

It was a very blessed 2014, not only in terms of still being able to teach but to meet new lovely friends in my class. I will say it over and over, i am glad that i made the right choice to turn on to baking breads and give it all a go instead of taking a short course in computer. I was in the hallway of this popular computer school, scanned the area, looked at the students sitting in their benches probably waiting for the prof to show up and i did not like what i saw. I left after just a few minutes and told myself, it better be something else. I love to bake. Before i enrolled in OBMCI's food service, i already bake cookies, cakes, and pies but was never successful with breads. When i saw an opportunity to get an apprenticeship in Purefoods Flour and Bakery product research and development, i had to wait for two months to get in. The wait was worth it. That was not enough though, i had to go to Binan and do some apprenticing, finish up 700 hours of work (i was paid handsomely...

Not sure why, but we do love our siksik na Putok. The chewiness, the sugar, that crunch on top while it's hot and so on. Look at the photo and see why there seems to be two sizes on the same baking sheet. That's because they are both from the same batch, just baked separately to get the effect and texture we want. How hard is it to make one? Not that hard considering you can even knead the dough by hand if you want to. There are less rules when it comes to adding the water because you can go as stiff as you want, and the operative word is really stiff.  The sugar on top should be added just before baking, it is imperative that you use white sugar or brown will make the whole eating experience, very unpleasant. Just not like we want it to be. The milk, yes the milk. You can go and use the creamiest milk powder you have and it will be fantastic. I teach this bread or we do it first day of our session so i can show the class a type of a stiff dough. See be...

Thank you to the girls who  made it to my class, your appreciation for the breads you all made is enough to inspire me to find ways to make the whole experience more engaging. My class used to have only 1 kneading exercise, but i decided to take it one notch further by adding another kneading exercise to the 4 day lesson and i am amazed at the outcome. During the 3rd day class, students brought doughs that they kneaded at home using the sponge and dough method. The exercise reinforce the whole idea of gluten development and dough consistency among the many others. Can you imagine a novice baker, someone who has never baked nor touched a dough before turning up really nice, soft dinner rolls in your third day of class? I am overjoyed while my students, all 10 girls (what a treat), showed up with the properly kneaded dough, shaped it into a log, and cut them into dinner rolls. I knew that if it was me, i would have gone through the roof and jump with joy. After all, when someo...

 The following is a question i received today and it was basically what is bread making is all about so i am posting it here. The hype over the iPhone 6 coming out is in the open but let us bread makers take note of some interesting points here before we lose our heads. Not an apple fan but i am sure everyone is salivating over this new release. Here it goes: On my 3rd batch - i made a sponge for my 2 kilo bread. Ginawa kopo ung sponge around 3pm, by 12am nilagay kopo sa freezer (ndi ko na kinaya magwork napagod po ako) - nilagay kopo sa freezer then by 8:30 am - nilabas ko, medyo matigad pero i smelled it - parehas prin ang amoy - pwede pa po ba itu even though lumagpas na sa 12-14 hours mark? Huhu :( For beginning bakers, there is nothing unusual about what she did here. We as beginners get excited, we start a project and we thought oh, at so and so i am going to mix this one. When you hear the word sponge, and by industry standards, if it is a sponge, we usually do it or m...

The photo above shows you just some one of the many brands of Margarine, trans fat free fat that are on the grocery chiller section in the US. In New York, just before Mayor Bloomberg left his office, the all trans fat rule was imposed on all restaurants and bakeries. Adding more cost to the food, it does makes sense when you see obesity creeping into the society. Better health in the long run is definitely a winner. When it comes to baking, and since i deal with breads mostly, the 10%  average fats that we use in a Pandesal recipe does not really seem to be a threat at all if you eat two to three pieces a day. I doubt if there is anyone out there who regularly eats bread every morning especially since we are a country of "sinangag". We just love our fried rice and tuyo or scrambled egg, hotdog etc., in the morning. Anyway, i think the cost is the primary reason why trans fat will not be a fad in Asian markets just yet. It will be too expensive and i don't th...

The schedule for October to March 2014 hands on baking lessons is now posted at www.breadmakinglessons.com. Please read the rules on making reservations for a hassle free enrollment to my class. I know the website is has a lot of texts here and there but please try not to skip the reservation details, the sketch (so you won't get lost) and other details about the class. I sometimes request the students to read on commercial bread making while waiting for the class to start but not too many people comply so you can do this after you attend if you wish. It gives you an advantage if you know something about yeast dough baking, i know i would read on as many as i can find online not to be the bida in class but just so i will retain more information as i listen to the teacher. I remember way back early 90s when i got hooked in baking that i used one 1 ream of coupon bonds printing articles on bread. I even entered baking message boards, clubs, etc., and read on what others are talki...