How to Make "Pre-War" Pandesal

The staple of the Filipino breakfast, the pandesal never fails to make its appearance on the table. What exactly it is, is not really clear for one thing, there is no such thing as "salt bread" which is what pandesal translates into and when eaten as bought in the bakeries of the Philippines, its taste can range from neutral to sweet, the color could be white to somewhat yellow resembling brioche and the consistency soft to even crunchy. This varied range of character that describes this bread then leads to the controversy of "pre war" pandesal. 

The Pandesal: theoretically should be
crunchy outside, soft inside.

Unless one did actually live in the years prior to the Japanese invasion of the Philippines and actually ate one of these things, I don't think we can actually gauge what pre war pandesal is all about. But there are several clues on how to unravel this mystery.  

The Pandesal is a roll, usually served during
breakfast, could also serve as a
quick snack with any spread
and coffee.

The first one is based to a joke that goes like this. There was once a person who was charged of murder. Questioned by the police, he was asked, "So you killed him. How did you do it?" 

The man then meekly replied, "It is said in the bible, 'If a man throws you a stone, throw back a piece of bread." 

"But if you threw bread, then how come he is dead?" 

"I don't know. But I threw a piece of bread that came from the jar." 

That joke wasn't a good one. But in Tagalog, the jar here is translated as garapon which is an earthenware jar in which bread is stored. Bread in its real non preservative state and recipe has a tendency to become hard as days go by. Therefore, pandesal is the same way which, as days go by, gets crunchier and hard. Thus, pandesal that is soft and remains soft for the next days has a recipe that is not reminiscent of so called pre war pandesal. 

Secondly, my father who is now almost eighty five said always, "Pandesal these days don't seem to have that crunch. In the olden days, because the ovens were really hot," remembering the time his Father used to bake bread for a living, "the bread would sometimes pop." He referred to this pop as "putok" meaning, to burst in Tagalog. This observation therefore leads to the third point. 

Europeans, of which Spain, Italy and France - all countries well renowned as bedrocks of culinary techniques and art in the Western hemisphere, seem to be fond of breads that have a crunchy crust and a soft inside. Unless specified to be a different type of bread such as the brioche which is the basis of sweet breads such as sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls, ensaymada and sticky buns and are relatively soft, the usual staple bread is white, taste neutral and crunchy on the outside with the soft inside. Case in point, the baguette has this character and so is the sourdough bread or the Italian dinner rolls served by Bertucci's or the ciabatta bread. These breads are white, taste neutral, not sweet. That being the case, it seems that by historical inference, knowing that the Philippines was a former Spanish colony, the pandesal of the "pre-war" and even Spanish era might be the same way. 

Now, theoretically speaking breads are best baked in a very hot oven.  In the olden days, especially when one is looking at the classic cookbooks of the 19th even 18th centuries, oven temperatures were not described in terms of degrees Fahrenheit or Centigrade, rather in terms of "hot" or "very hot" or "moderate" or "slow" oven.  Usually, hot or very hot ovens refer to the hotness that of a clothes iron which is unable to be touched and usually the tester would immediately remove his finger lest he be burned. In terms of temperature, this is about 500 to 600 oF. Because ovens of the olden days are made of stone and brick, one can imagine just how hot this is that according to my Dad, it was so hot that one can see breads pop open because of the instant dough expansion as the crust is made so quickly by the dry heat that the gases will expand tremendously and break the tough crust. Hence, this may be the scientific explanation for the  phenomenon of the "potok". 

Lastly, my Father said before that in order to develop a crunchy crust it helps to spray the bread with a salt solution - nothing more than just salt and water mixed together and sprayed using a regular fine mist sprayer. If one thinks about it, this is how one makes roasted pork skin crispy - the saturated salt crystals would be enough to draw the surface water out hence helping in the dehydration process with the oven's high heat. 

Guava Jelly (and this from the Philippines too!!!)
with cheese - as Homer would say,
"Hmmmmmm."

The sweetness and tartness of the jelly with the flavor
of cheese is just heavenly. (Note the crusty bread.)

In this recipe, we attempt to recreate this bread, the "Pre-War Pandesal" 

"Pre-War" Pandesal 

• 2 cups lukewarm water 
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup white sugar (more the sweeter) 
• 1 tablespoon to 3 tablespoons salt (more the saltier) 
• 1/2 to 1 cup butter (more, the more resilient) 
• 7 cups flour 

1. Mix sugar, yeast and water together. Leave alone for about fifteen minutes until bubbly.  This means that the yeast has been activated and ready for bread making. 
2. Add salt, mixing for a minute or so until the it is dissolved. 
3. Using a mixer with the paddle or whisk attachment at low speed, add the butter and put slowly two cups of flour to mix well until batter stage.  Leave this for about thirty minutes while the yeast bubbles and creates gas. 
4. Switching to the dough kneading attachment at some time, add slowly, one cup at a time, the remaining cups of flour until a stiff dough is achieved. This may need a total of 6-7 cups of flour. Remove from the mixer and cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise until more than double in bulk - usually this takes about two hours. 
5. Punch in the middle and leave to rise again until double in bulk. 
6. Remove from the bowl and divide the dough four long loaves of about three inches diameter thick. 
7. Spread bread crumbs on the table and roll each loaf on bread crumbs. 
8. Using a knife or your own hands, divide each loaf further into buns of about 2 or 2 inches thick. Line a baking sheet with these pieces of dough cut side up. 
9. Let rise the dough pieces are double in bulk. 
10. Using the highest setting of your oven - usually 450oF in electric ovens and if possible 550oF in gas ovens, bake the bread for about fifteen minutes. (Try higher temperatures if possible.) 
11. Without removing the trays from the oven, spray with a fine mist of salt solution (about 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup salt). 
12. Bake for about three to five minutes more until brown. Or, broil as necessary.  
13. Remove from oven and serve. 

Tip! I noticed that traditional bread becomes tough as it gets older by the day. With this bread, it seems that reheating it in very hot oven of about 500oF for about ten minutes makes the crust even crunchier on reheating and the inside bread fluffier typical of Italian dinner rolls! 

More Basics of Cake: Almond Cake with Cookies and Cream Cheese Filling and Icing (An Original Recipe).

Happy New Year to all my readers.  My sincerest apologies first for not having an entry for the past two months. With my responsibilities of maintaining my medical career plus the fact that my family just recently paid me a visit, the balancing act was tedious enough not to pay attention to my blog. But I haven't forgotten all of you and so here goes.

An original recipe. Almond Cake with Cookies and
Cream Cheese Icing.

This recipe is an original.

In this entry, I would again discuss more about the basics of cake.  I mentioned that with proper proportion of butter to sugar, flour/solids and milk/liquids, one can achieve the cake batter that is right in sweetness, moisture and structure.  With that, plus applying the right techniques of incorporating these ingredients such as creaming, adding of eggs and the sequencing of the rest will ensure that the cake batter is a success.

Case in point, I was looking at my pantry when I discovered I have leftover almond flour from making French Macaroons (I could discuss this some other time, I never thought it was so simple yet the people at Bizou charge and arm and a leg for them, cost three dollars each in NYC and two euros in Paris - what a rip off!!!), and Hershey's cookies and cream bars from last April's Easter Sunday celebrations.  Not to mention, I still have quite an amount of cream cheese from making icing for my red velvet cake.  (Cream cheese, by the way, keeps very well frozen.  When thawed, one would not even know the difference that it came from the freezer.)  Just as my Banana Cake few weeks back, I devised this recipe using the proportions as discussed and turned out this Almond Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and Milk and Cookies filling.

 I have some of this - Almond Flour. It's a leftover from
my French Macaroon recipe.

And some of these - Cream Cheese.

And this. An Easter Sunday leftover.

As always, my testers are my colleagues from the hospital.  The cake was simply gone within the hour.

Proportions: remember the 1 stick butter: 1/2 cup sugar:1/2 cup liquids:1 cup flour/solids:1-2 egg formula?  Look at the recipe and see how these numbers translate.  Keep this in mind.  The next time you see an ingredient in the pantry that you could think of making as a cake, translate this along with the other ingredients in these proportions and surely, the cake will turn into a success.

Almond Cake with Cookies and Cream Filling and Cream Cheese Icing.

For the cake:

• The butter and sugar that makes the cake moist and sweet:
• 2 sticks (therefore, 1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• The flour and solids that provide structure:
• 1 cup sifted Almond flour (Note: Almond flour can be bought in the non gluten aisle.  It is peeled blanched almonds pulverized to a flour-like consistency.)
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Combine the two together in a bowl and add:

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder (Note: Since we are going to use baking powder and not baking soda, we do not need vinegar to catalyze the exothermic reaction which releases the gas for the leavening effect.)

In a pyrex measuring cup, combine:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• Also, you need:
• 2 eggs.

Procedure:

1. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  To this, add eggs one at a time, mixing well together until homogeneous.
2. In this mixture, add first the flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder then the milk and vanilla in two or three portions, stirring each time until well incorporated.
3. Divide the resulting batter in four 8 inch round pans, the bottom lined with parchment paper.  Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes in a 325F oven.  Do not open the oven door prematurely unless you are sure that the cake is ready for testing with a toothpick which should come out clean.
4. Remove the pans and let the cake cool prior to frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting.

• 3 blocks (equivalent to 1 1/2 cup) butter
• 3 cups cream cheese
• 6 whole bars of Hershey's cookies and cream flavored chocolate bars
• 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2-3 tsp. vanilla extract

Procedure.

1. Using a food processor, chop the chocolate bars into little pieces about the size of small pebbles.  Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and whipped.
3. To this, add the sifted powdered sugar mixing well.
4. Divide the icing into two portions.
5. In one portion, add the cookies and cream candy pieces and mix well.

Now, set up the whole cake!

1. Lay on a cake circle the first cake and spread a third of the cookies and cream with cream cheese icing mixture. Lay on this the second cake layer and do the same as well with the third to top with the final cake layer.  Place the whole set up in the refrigerator to cool a bit and solidify the structure.
2. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and trim the sides until the sides are even in preparation for the final icing.
3. Spread the plain cream cheese icing on top and sides in the usual fashion, evening the surfaces.  Cool the cake further in the refrigerator to set everything and serve when ready.  

Recipe: Pan Seared Ribeye with Flambeed Onions, Garlic and Apple Saute

I posted months ago that one can make steakhouse quality steak with all the trimmings right in your own home.  I started with a whole slab of meat, in that case choice quality ribeye then proceeded to slice it in what I consider the most minimum thickness for it to be cooked to your liking - usually, as a matter of personal preference, one and 1/2 to even one and 3/4 inches thick.  The reason is one cooks steak by applying constant high heat, first on one side then flipping it to the other with one turn and with just the right amount of time on each side, the meat achieves the desired doneness and with the perfect crusting at least on the presentation side.

Ribeye Steak with Onions, Garlic and Apples - sauteed
and flambed with Sherry.

I did not emphasize much on the trimmings that can be served along with the steak as it can be cooked separately.  On the other hand, I have some personal inquiries from friends how to make steak and how it can be enhanced by the flavors of the trimmings that can be cooked with and accompany it.  I am doing in post with emphasis on that.

In order to know how to cut steak on your own and how to make a consistent sharp cut with even thickness, refer to an earlier post I have on this blog.  Unfortunately, I think the video was made in Tagalog and with not the best editing techniques I knew then.  However, read the post instead and watch the video as the post very much summarizes what I demonstrated.  But one should achieve a cut that is even throughout and a thickness of 1 1/2 inch.

A nice ribeye - preferable choice to prime has marbled fat
and therefore retains moisture and flavor. 1 1/2 inch
thickness is preferred to achieve rare or medium rare
with a nice caramelization.

If one prefers to buy ready cut ribeye in the supermarket, that is of course, great.  Just emplasize to the butcher that a 1 1/2 cut thickness is preferred.

Now on to the cooking.

As I mentioned before, a consistent high heat is preferred because it achieves two things: one knows how long the steak need to be seared in order to get to the proper doneness (just like baking) and secondly, the consistent searing will develop the crusting the meat needs to give the nice caramelized flavor that is so desired in steak.  For this reason, a thick cast-iron well-seasoned skillet is preferred. Do not go for the nice shiny new one that looks good in a kitchen that no cook cooks with.  Rather,  go for the blackest skillet that has been used and passed on to generations from the great-great grandmother to the present day.  Theskillet's  black colors implies that it has been used several times that the fats that have touched it have already changed in character givng that non-stick coating that is natural to this lovely utensil. My skillet at home is as old as Mike's great great grandmother and reportedly was in existence in York county, Pennsylvania as she heard the bombs and voices of slaughter of the Battle of Gettysburg.  I hope that at the present, I am doing justice to its being and that I did not bother the ghosts of the former owners who have used it with love.

Yes, this cast iron skillet is probably even older
than your grandmother. I believe it was a
witness to the Battle of Gettysburg.

But going back again to the steak, I am giving you one of my favorites with regards to trimmings. Everyone knows the value of onions and garlic; mostly the former.  But not everyone knows the value of contrast items in the flavor such as fruits -- in this case apples.  I used peaches as well.  Sometimes, if I have it in the pantry, sliced plums or dried prunes.  Cherries, blueberries, raisins or craisins even can be used.  The tartness of these things is the key to provide that zing and an element of variety and "difference" to the plain steak.  With the searing and the caramelization of these elements, combined with the meat juices and flambéed, deglazed and reduced by a high alcohol wine such as port or marsala, and with the wine's sweetness, the magic is set for a great side dish.  Now, I used an old apple that I found in my refrigerator chiller drawer.  Peeled, cored and sliced into pieces, I combined these with garlic and onions to make this nice steak compliment.

So this...

...turned to this...

And not wanting to waste anything away - here combined
with sliced onions, whole garlic cloves.

Seared Ribeye with Onion-Garlic-Apple Side Flambéed with Sherry.

• 1 ribeye, preferably choice or above grade, 1 1/2 inch thickness
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 whole peeled garlic, retained in clove form
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced coarsely (each piece probably 0.5x0.5 cm size)
• 1 medium apple, peeled, coared and diced coarsely (each piece about 0.5x1.0 cm size)

In place of apples, you can use:

• 1 medium peach, peeled, pitted and sliced in at least 8-12 sections
• 3 prunes, pitted, each sliced into 4 pieces and soaked in a liquid - sherry, brandy, marsala etc.
• 4 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 8 cherries, pitted and halved

You would also need:

• 1 plain resting plate: a resting plate is any ordinary plate, not for presentation, but for the purposes of letting the cooked steak rest and cool a bit as the residual inside juices seep out of the meat making it clean in appearance just prior to presentation.
• 1 presentation plate: self-explanatory. Usually, I have it in a hot oven for about five minutes until ready.  You can also choose to place the plate in a microwave and just leave it there for five minutes.
• Optional: side-dish plate. Usually, in steak houses, this is a boat shaped dish.
• 1 well seasoned thick cast-iron skillet

Procedure:

• Heat your cast iron skillet as you begin to salt and pepper the meat.  It should already be on your stove, lingering in heat, preferably on high.  Because the skillet is thick, it will gather and preheat the skillet to real high sometimes smoking lightly.  Since there is no oil on the pan, it will not smoke the kitchen prematurely. Usually, I leave the pan on for at least 5 minutes for this procedure although longer is fine.
• Once the meat is salted and peppered and the skillet is ready, sear the meat leaving it there during the searing undisturbed.  This is important as it is the prolonged contact with the heat that the searing, crusting and caramelization of the meat is achieved. Frequent turning of the meat will not achieve this effect!
• There is a formula for the achievement of proper doneness for a 1 1/2 inch thick cut ribeye:

                        N = first side in minutes and (N-1) = second side in minutes

                       where:
                                      5=rare
                                      6=medium rare
                                      7=medium
                                      8=medium well
                                      9=well

• Smokey flavor? You may want to place a paper plate on top of the meat while searing is going on.  It gathers the smoke emitted by the vapors of the oil as the fat melts and the meat sears on the pan.
• After searing the first side with the prescribed number of minutes, turn the meat and replace the paper plate.
• Sometime about a minute or so during the searing of the second side, saute on the periphery the onions, garlic and apples.  Replace the plate with occasional stirring to caramelize the vegetables evenly. DO NOT DISTURB the meat during this time.
• Once the second side is well seared, remove from the pan and let it rest on a warm plate. Spread truffle butter or plain butter on the steak to give it as glisten for presentation.
• Pour about 1/5 cup of a dry, high alcohol content wine (sherry in this case) on the pan with the sauteed vegetables and tilt the pan on the side to catch fire.  Turn off the heat.
• With your presentation plate ready - usually a white plate preheated in a microwave or conventional oven for about five minutes - place the meat in a middle.  Garnish with your sides and apply a few parsley flakes to complete the dish.  Enjoy while hot.