Making Hot Pan-de-Sal (Salted bread)

Hot Pandesal





Ingredients:





2 1/2 cups bread flour


1-2 tsp. instant yeast


3-4 tbsp. sugar


3/4 water


1 tbsp. shortening (butter or margarine)


2-3 tbsp milk powder


1 tsp. salt



Procedure:

1. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl until it forms into a sticky ball. Mix it by cris crossing.


2. Transfer to a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.


3. Rest for an hour or until double in size in a cover pan ( use plastic plus cheese cloth), (3 hours is better for tastier bread)


4. Roll into a stick like a sausage ( Walking stick)


5. Cut into pieces using a wooden cutter


6. Dredge into bread crumbs and arrange on a greased baking tin.


7. Rest for 30-45 minutes


8. Bake at 180 C.

Basic steps in bread making

Steps in bread making:


Dissolve yeast in warm water with little sugar. For yeast to be activated, it needs moisture, warmth and a little sugar to feed on.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix to form a dough. Mixing can be done in two ways, the straight-dough method and the sponge method. All the ingredients are mixed together and there is no initial fermentation of the yeast, water and part of the flour after which the remaining ingredients are added.

Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Using hands or the mixer, manipulate the dough with rhythmic pressure until the gluten has developed and the dough has become elastic with blisters forming at the surface. Over kneading is not likely to happen if kneading is done by hand, but it is possible in machine mixing.

Cover the dough and let rise until double bulk. This is called fermentation and it is when yeast produces carbon dioxide gas to make the dough light and porous. Keep the dough in a greased bowl covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying out. To test if the dough has fermented, press 2 fingers into the dough. If the indentation remains then it has risen enough.

Punch down the risen dough. Push your fist into the center of the dough, bring the edges towards the center then turn over. This is done to expel extra carbon dioxide gas and to break up large air spaces.This way there is also redistribution of the yeast and other ingredients.

Shape dough into desired sizes and forms. After punching down and before shaping, the dough can first be rested so it will be easier to handle. For uniformity and accuracy, dough can be weighed according to desired size. When putting the dough into the pans, make sure there is enough space for second rising.

Proof the shaped dough. The shaped dough are again covered and allowed to rise until double in volume. At this stage, the dough regains the gases lost insuring a light product.

Bake the cake until done. The bread is baked in a preheated oven until its inside is dry and the top is golden brown. To test if bread is done, remove it from the pan. If it slips out easily then it is baked. It is also done when you hear a hollow sound when you top the bottom of the bread. Also try pressing the bread down, if it springs back to the original shape then it is ready.

Kinds of flour

• White wheat flours

Wheat is the only grain which contains the two proteins, gliadin and glutenin, which unite when moistened to form glutein, the elastic substance which makes it possible to stretch the cells of the dough, giving the porous texture characteristic of yeast breads. Wheat flour differs in gluten content according to the variety of wheat or wheats from which is made. Hard wheat contains more of the gluten forming proteins as wells as stronger proteins than does soft wheat and the gluten formed is more elastic.

• All-Purpose Flour

As the name implies, generally useful not only for bread but for other baked goods.As sold in the north, all-purpose flour is a blend of soft-wheat and hard-wheat flour in the south it is generally a blend of soft-wheat flour.

• Bread flour

Bread flour is made from hard wheat and is used principally by commercial bakers.

• Cake flour

Made from soft wheat, cake flour has a low gluten content. It is a finely milled flour with a smooth starchy texture, used chiefly in cakes.

• Pastry flour

Finer than all-purpose flour but not so fine as a cake flour, pastry flour is another soft wheat flour with a lower gluten content. It is distributed mainly to commercial bakers.

• Self-Rising Flour

An all purpose flour to which baking powder and salt have been added is put in package form. It should be used as directed on the package.

• Whole-Grain Wheat Flours

Whole-wheat, entire-wheat and graham flours contain, in their natural proportions, all the constituents of the cleaned grain. The whole wheat flour now manufactured by newer processes have a finer bran content and can be used successfully for bread without addition of white flour.

• Rye Flour

Because it lacks one of the proteins necessary for the formation of gluten, rye flour is usually combined with wheat flour to give it lightness.

• Soybean Flour

Neither of the gluten-forming proteins is found in soybean floue, which must be combined with a strong wheat flour for good results in bread making. In quick breads and cakes,soybean flour may be substituted up to half the total amount of flour.

• Buckwheat Flour

This flour has a very strong characteristic flavor and is always combined with some wheat flour.

Introduction to Baking

Baking:

Baking refers to cooking dry heat especially in an oven where the temperature is uniform as hot air circulates to cook a cake, pie, cookie or bread.Basic ingredients: Flour is the basic ingredient in cakes, pastries, breads and scores of other products. It provides the structure or framework of the food. Different types of flour are used for all kinds of baked goods. For cakes, it is baest to use cake flour becuse of its lightness and low protein content while bread flour is the most suitable for breads due to its high protein content. Other flours used in baking include whole wheat flour, pastry flour, etc.

Sugar function not only as sweetener, it is also responsible for making the cake tender because it hinders in the hydration of flour which is necessary in the development of gluten. Sugar also provides the golden brown color of cakes of breads. Most used is therefined white sugar or granulated sugar although some recipes call for brown sugar and even confectioner's sugar.

Fat is also needed for baking because it makes the bread products tender, moist and rich. Butter or margarine are usually preferred because of their flavor and for additional color. Shortening is also often used while oter specify oil. Butter can either be creamed or melted depending on its use.

To make cake rise, leavening agents are added. These produce carbon dioxide largely resonsible for the rising of the cake or its volume.They also make the cake light and porous. Bakingpowder, baking soda, andyeast are examples of leaveners used in baking. The first two are used for cakes and pastries while yeast is used for breads.

To hold the batter or dough together and to blend all the ingredients, liquid is added. Liquid can be in the form of water, milk or juices. Milk refers to whole cow's milksubstitute with canned evaporated milk, dilute it in 1:1 proportion. Powdered full-cream milk can also be used as substitute, simply dissolve it in water before using.

For additional structure, richness and nutrition eggs are added-either whole, just eggyolks or just eggwhites. The important thing is to use eggs of the same size.

Lastly, to make cakes flavorful and more interesting, add nuts, dried fruits, flavoring,spices and even fresh fruits.