When craving strikes, it doesn’t go away easily. Ugh! Cravings! This is the reason why I made Spanish Bread.
Spanish Bread is one of my panaderya (Filipino term for bakery) favorites, along with Pan de Coco and Pan de Monggo. We usually enjoy this during afternoon snack, often paired with coffee, hot Milo or soda with lots of ice cubes.
Although there is a “Spanish” word in the name, I am not really aware about the history of this one. Or maybe I dislike history subject so I didn’t spend a lot of time digging up about this bread.
Anyway, Spanish bread is a soft bread rolls with buttery (or in my case, margarine-y hahaha) filling, then coated with breadcrumbs. It is soft, sweet and really delicious. Although I said “sweet”, it is not overly sweet, rather it has enough sweetness.
So as I said in the beginning of this post that I did this because of my cravings. Do they break-up with you??
This is the second time I made this. The first time was 99% successful – the bread was perfect and the filling was ALMOST perfect. I meant, it was PERFECT, but I was craving for that “bakery taste”. So I experimented with the filling – butter vs margarine.
The filling made with butter was delicious and I can stop right there, I can enjoy my Spanish Bread. However, I was looking for the experience that when I close my eyes when I take a bite, memories will just fill my head – memories like the time when my late mom used to ask me “Which of these do you like?” when we are in front of varieties of bread.
So the first attempt was not the one I was craving for.
The second attempt was the BEST (at least for me)! The bread was soft. The filling was completely AMAZING (again, at least for me)! And that’s it – it brought back so many good memories.
NOTES:
- I prefer to use fresh yeast because I find the texture of the bread better and it stays softer up to 3 days. You can use instant dry yeast as well.
- Make sure to please use warm water. I always use a thermometer to make sure I use the correct temperature of the warm water.
- The egg should be at room temperature.
- Do not overknead the dough or else you will get a bread that’s dense and heavy.
- You can use brown sugar instead of white sugar.
I have shared the recipe video on my YouTube channel. I hope you’ll check it out. 😉
I am thrilled to share these with my friends at Angie’s Fiesta Friday #342 where I will be co-hosting. I hope you guys can join us. Please don’t forget to link back to us. See you!
Spanish Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 2 cups , spoon & leveled (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups , spoon & leveled (260 g) bread flour
- 1/2 cup (112 g) white granulated sugar
- 25 g fresh yeast, crumbled (or 3 tsp instant yeast)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cup (310) ml whole milk warm (110 – 120 F)
- 1 medium egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 5 tbsp (75 ml) melted unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs for coating
For the filling:
- 6 tbsp margarine or butter I used STAR margarine
- ½ cup (65 g) breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (100 g) white sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
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In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine flours, yeast, sugar, baking powder, and salt. If using fresh yeast, you may need to crumble them using your clean hand.
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In another bowl, mix warm milk, egg, oil, and butter. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix everything until well combined.
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Attach the bowl to your stand mixer and using a dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer starting from the lowest speed. Increase the speed after a minute or so.
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Knead the dough until smooth and elastic or if the dough detaches from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball or if it is not sticking to your finger anymore. The time of kneading varies from dough to dough – it may take 7 to 10 minutes or more. In my case, when the dough is not ready after 7 or 10 minutes of kneading, I add 1-2 tbsp of flour and let the mixer continue its job. Sometimes, the dough is so stubborn it doesn’t pull away from the edges of the bowl, though it is ready coz it is not sticking to my finger anymore. When this happens, I don’t wait for the dough to form a ball or detach from the sides of the bowl because I am afraid of over kneading; I just check if the dough is not sticking to my fingers when I touch it and then I rub my palm with little oil and pull out the dough from the bowl. Then I continue to the next step.
If the dough still sticks to my finger, I transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead using my hands for 2 minutes. Then I proceed with the next step.
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When the dough is ready, form it into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and brush the top of the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with cling film and keep in a warm place to rise for one hour or until doubled in size.
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Meanwhile, let’s prepare the filling.
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In a saucepan (or small pot) over low medium heat, add the margarine (or butter) and let it melt. When it’s melted, add half the breadcrumbs and mix. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix again. Let the filling cool down.
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After the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough to remove the air. Transfer it to a lightly floured surface.
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Divide the dough into 48-50 g each. I always use a food scale so I would have almost the same sizes of little dough. You can also equally divide the dough into 22-24 pieces.
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Form each little dough like the shape of the pizza (about 5 inches in height). Take about 1-2 tbsp of the filling and spread on top. Roll the dough from the wider side towards the end (refer to the recipe video for visuals).
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Coat each rolled dough with breadcrumbs and place in a baking pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
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By this time, make sure to preheat your oven to 375 F.
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When the dough is doubled in size, remove the towel and bake them in a preheated oven at 375 F for 15 minutes or until the top is brown.
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Let the bread rest for about 5 minutes before enjoying.
Recipe Notes
- I prefer to use fresh yeast because I find the texture of the bread better and it stays softer up to 3 days. You can use instant dry yeast as well.
- Make sure to please use warm water. I always use a thermometer to make sure I use the correct temperature of the warm water.
- The egg should be at room temperature.
- Do not overknead the dough or else you will get a bread that’s dense and heavy.
- You can reheat the bread in a preheated oven for 5 minutes or in a microwave.
- You can use brown sugar instead of while sugar.
If you make this recipe, please send me a photo on my Instagram account (@thenotsocreativecook).
Thanks a bunch for spending your precious time with me!
I am also sharing these at
WEEKEND POTLUCK 443 | COOKBLOGSHARE WEEK 34 | Full Plate Thursday,499 | Happiness is Homemade | Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party #343 |