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Ube Cheese Pandesal

The classic Pandesal now flavored with ube and filled with melty cheese. It is soft on the inside and has a crusty texture outside. It is so perfect with a cup of coffee.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Filipino
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 10 buns
Author Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Ingredients

  • 1 cup spoon & leveled (135) g all-purpose flour
  • 1 cups spoon & leveled (130 g) bread flour
  • 1/4 cup (56 g) white granulated sugar
  • 13 g fresh yeast crumbled (or 1 ½ tsp instant yeast)
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp (155) ml whole milk warm (110 – 120 F)
  • 1 small egg, room temperature (about 2 tbsp)
  • ½ tbsp (7 ml) vegetable oil
  • 2 ½ tbsp (37 ml) melted unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ tbsp ube extact
  • 10-12 cheese chunks (I used about 1x1 inch cheese chunks)
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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. You can also add the ube extract at this point, and mix again.
  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.
  6. After the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and lightly push it down just to remove the air.
  7. Divide the dough into 50-52 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 10-12 pieces.
  8. Form each little dough into a ball, flatten them (about 3 inches in diameter) then put the cheese on top. Seal the edges by gathering the ends and pinching them to seal. Make sure to put the sealed side down at the bottom.
  9. Roll the shaped dough in breadcrumbs and transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  10. Meanwhile, make sure to preheat your oven to 375 F.
  11. When doubled in size, bake them in a preheated oven at 375 F for 15 minutes or until the top is brown.
  12. Let the Pandesal rest for about 10 minutes before enjoying.

Recipe Notes

This recipe makes 10-12 Pandesal and these are good until the next day.

If planning to keep more than 1 day, keep in an air-tight container. You may reheat them in a preheated oven for about 5 minutes or in a microwave or even an oven toaster.

Not all measuring cups/spoons are created equal. Please take the time to check my notes regarding the measurements I use.