Super Soft, Fluffy, and Cheesy Ube Cheese Pandesal!

When I started baking I never imagine that I will be making bread specially Ube Cheese Pandesal. As much as possible I stay away from it, Why? simply because I don’t like Kneading, it intimidates me and I’m lazy 🤪. You need to combine all ingredients and Knead it to develop Gluten. To know if your dough is on that stage one way to know is you need to do the Windowpane test!  And that is the test I always fail. To get that you need to knead the dough by hands or using a stand mixer for at least 10 minutes and a max of 15 minutes. Good thing I have a stand mixer because as I said I don’t like kneading and my mixer is to the rescue. I make Ube Cheese Pandesal in small batches because my mixer is small and I don't like to overwork Kristy (yes she has a name).

I decided to give it a try because it's trending here in the Philippines so here's my version of super soft, fluffy, and cheesy Ube Cheese Pandesal.

How to do the elusive Windowpane test  

1. Take a small amount of dough.

2. Hold it between your thumb and your first two fingers.

3. Then stretch the dough by spreading your thumb and fingers apart.

4. If it tears apart before you fully extend your fingers it means the dough is not yet ready and you need to knead it for another 2 to 5 more minutes. 

The question is; If after kneading for 2 more minutes or several minutes I still can’t pass the Windowpane test does it mean I can no longer use this batch of dough? 

The answer is NO! you can still use it, it will still be tasty and some of the experience bakers don't even do the test. 

Here are the ingredients for Ube Cheese Pandesal

 

2 cups of Bread Flour (set aside the other 1 cup)

1/2 tsp of Salt

1/4 cup of bread improver (optional)

1/2 cup Milk (room temperature)

1/4 cup white sugar 

2 Tbsp Ube flavoring

1 Egg (room temperature)

1 Tbsp. Active Yeast

1 tsp.  White sugar

1/4 cup warm water

3 tbsp. Of unsalted butter

1/4 cup bread crumbs

For the Filling

Ube Halya  or Purple Yam, you can buy this at your favorite supermarket, I like to use Nathaniel's Ube Halya.

Quick melt Cheese (any brand of cheese you like).

Instruction:

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl

1 cup of Bread Flour 

1 cup of All-Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp of Salt

Combine all liquid ingredients in a bowl

1/2 cup Milk (room temperature)

1/4 white sugar 

2 Tbsp Ube flavoring

1 Egg (room temperature) 

Yeast Mixture: combine all ingredients and wait for 5 minutes until you see foamy texture.

1 Tbsp. Active Yeast

1 tsp.  White sugar

1/4 cup warm water

Filling: 

Ube Halya 

Quick Melt Cheese

Cut your cheese into cubes or rectangular shape, I measure mine for 10 grams. each. 

Prepare the Ube Halya balls just use 1 tsp and form it like a ball. 

In a bowl combine Dry Ingredients and Liquid Ingredients and mix slowly until well combined. If you are using a stand mixer use paddle attachment then set the speed to 2 until well combined. After 2 mins. add the other cup of Bread Flour and the Bread Improver. Add 3 Tbsp. butter, when all ingredients are well-combined change to dough-hook attachment, This is the kneading process,  set your speed to 4 for five minutes then change speed to 5 and mix for another 5 mins. Until you see the dough is smooth, at this stage you can do the windowpane test, if it’s still not elastic enough to pass the windowpane test, mix it for another 5 mins. Total of 15 mins. we can now stop kneading to prevent over-kneading that can cause Gluten to tighten and prevents the dough from rising.

In a clean bowl drizzle some vegetable oil and coat the dough to avoid drying up and cover. Rest the dough for 30 mins. or until it becomes double in size. 

After 30 mins. cut the dough according to your desire size, me I weigh my Pandesal, 60 grams each dough, then 10 grams of cheese plus 10 grams of ube halya. Each of Ube Cheese Pandesal has a total of 80 Grams. Rest it again for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size. 

  

After dividing your dough to your preferred size, flatten the dough and add the cheese and ube hayla, fold the dough to secure the filling, and form it into a ball. Roll it to the breadcrumbs covering all sides.

Arrange it on a  baking sheet and make sure they have gap in between and rest for another 30 minutes or until it double it size. 

Pre-heat your oven for 175 degrees Celsius or 340 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the Ube Cheese Pandesal for 15 to 20 minutes or until it became slightly brown.

Enjoy while it's hot, pair it with hot Coffee. You can also reheat in a microwave oven for 15 seconds.