#133 Whole Wheat Pandesal Rolls

I shared some of my freshly baked pandesal to the Mckays and they loved it! I told them I can make more if they want, but they said, they couldn't control their portions after eating one. And Sheryl said, "it's sweet and it's white bread...I ate 4 in one day!". Then I realized I should also try to make whole wheat breads. So I tweaked the pandesal recipe that I recently posted by replacing a few cups of all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. It turned out really really good. I noticed that it took me about 25 minutes of kneading by hand before I got a smooth dough. Then it took about 1 1/2 hours for the dough to double it's size the first time, and then another 1 1/2 hours to double the size while resting before baking. Well, it was worth the wait. Soft, fluffy, sweet whole wheat Pandesal came out of the oven. I did not sprinkle breadcrumbs on top before baking this time. It's been frozen after 3 days in the pantry, and when I heated it in the toaster oven, it was soft and delicious!

Yield: 36 rolls

WHOLE WHEAT PAN DE SAL

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

Directions:

1. Put the warm water in a small mixing bowl and add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining 15 teaspoons of sugar and the oil and mix until smooth. Add the salt, 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixture; stir well. Add the remaining 5 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, supple and elastic; about 25 minutes. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in it and turn to coat the dough with oil. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume; about 1 1/2 hour.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into a cylinder and roll out until the 'log' is 1/2 inch in diameter. Using a sharp knife, cut each 'log' into 1/2 inch pieces. Place the pieces, flat side down, onto two lightly greased baking sheets. Gently press each roll down to flatten.
5. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours more.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C).
7. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees F (190 degrees C) until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

 

 Recipe adapted, but I slightly improvised it, from here

 

before and after