Ube-Cheese Pandesal (Take 1)

What's baking dear friends?

Well, first things first, I finally got my oven working. Hooray! It has been many months since I last used this oven. Last weekend, I baked brownies in it, and today is finally the day we get it to work to make bread.

Pandesal, a Filipino bread (taken from the Spanish), is one of those that has widely taken a twist during this pandemic. People have more time in the kitchen during the quarantine period, and were able to come up with variety of fusion and new version from already famous dishes. Remember the baked sushi I shared here last time? ?

There has been many "spin-off" from the traditional pandesal, like the moringa pandesal, a supposedly a healthier version due to the added moringa, and of course the cheese pandesal, which is basically pandesal with cheese filling.

_{Freshly baked ube-cheese pandesal.}

So I finally made it!

All in all, this is my second try to make my own pandesal. The first one was over two years ago, and though it tasted and looked like pandesal, there were lots of room for improvement. I did not get to try it again until now.

I took the measurements from here and just made a few adjustments. I did not make my ube (purple yam) from scratch, but used the store bought version. I also didn't find ube extract and just relied on the flavor that the ube jam will give.

_{My ube-cheese pandesal}

Some thoughts on the outcome.

The recipe yielded 16 pandesal. While it tasted like pandesal you can buy from bakeries (it was soft too!), it really did not distinctly taste like ube/purple yam. The ube jam didn't give as much purple color as I hoped it would, so I added a few drops of purple food coloring to the dough. My pandesal didn't have that bright purple color, and the ube flavor was faint too. Perhaps a few drops of ube extract or added ube jam will enhance the flavor a bit.

_{Cheesy inside!}

While I thought I already put big chunks of cheese, I still feel that there isn't anything like "over-cheesed". If I were to make another batch, I would put bigger chunks of cheese and yeah, perhaps use the "quick melt" type. The cheddar cheese was good, but I'd love to have more cheese with each bite.

All in all, the pandesal is good - soft and delicious. We had a few pieces for dinner and even the morning after, the bread rolls are still soft. Yup! All the kneading was worth it.

Baking is My Stress Reliever

I used to tell my husband, if we were to have our own home, I do not mind it to be mostly kitchen. I love to cook, and see the look of satisfaction from my family's faces when they eat the dishes I serve.

Baking, most especially, is something that I love to do most. The precision and care you have to give to each step makes it extra special. Baking also keeps my mind off stressful things that pop in there every now and then. Example, I have been feeling kinda "lost" lately. My motivation is off and felt I need some direction in my current doings. Hence, the "Ube-Cheese Pandesal Project".

I'd love to try more bread recipes, but the kneading part is exhausting. While it can be a good arm workout, maybe a stand mixer will be a good investment?

Hmmm, hello, @kennyroy! I already declared my new number 1 on the wish-list! <3

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_{All photos are by the author.}