Ube Cheese Pandesal are a new twist on our classic Filipino dinner roll. Ultra-soft and delicious with an intense purple-yam flavor and melty cheese filling, they're great for breakfast or anytime snack.
Hello guys! I'm Sanna, and I am back here at Kawaling Pinoy to bring you a delicious twist on our iconic Filipino bread roll. It's so much fun to see different sorts of baked goods on social media, and the hottest pick of them all are ube cheese pandesal rolls!
If you love pandesal, you'll love this purple yam version. Super soft and fluffy with an intense purple yam flavor and savory cheese filling, every bite is bread heaven.
How to make ube cheese pandesal
Everyone wants to make them, and because you guys asked, here's a step-by-step guide. The recipe is based on my tried and tested sweet potato dinner rolls, which are always a hit. I replaced the mashed kamote with ube, rolled the dough in bread crumbs before baking, and voila! Best ube pandesal ever!
Step 1: prepare purple yam
- If using frozen grated ube, thaw completely and remove from package. Wrap the thawed ube in aluminum foil, leaving a little opening on top, and place in a steamer basket. Steam for about 10 to 15 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool slightly and mash until smooth, if needed. Use ยฝ cup.
- If using fresh ube, place one medium purple yam and enough water to cover in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until fork-tender. Drain and allow to cool to touch. Peel the yam and mash with a fork or potato masher until smooth. Use ยฝ cup.
- If using prepared ube halaya, use ยฝ cup jam and decrease sugar to 4 tablespoons.
- If using ube powder, reconstitute ยผ cup of the powder with ยพ cup hot water and stir until smooth.
Step 2: make the dough
- Proof the yeast in a mixing bowl. Add the warm water (105 to 115 F temperature) and sprinkle the active dry yeast and one tablespoon of sugar. Stir the mixture and let stand for about 5 minutes or until foamy.
- Add the softened butter, the eggs, the remaining sugar, warm milk, the mashed purple yam, and salt. Stir the ingredients until well combined with a wooden spoon.
- Add flour, one cup at a time, stirring well each addition. By this time, the dough is starting to form a shaggy mass. Add just enough of the remaining flour to manage stickiness and stir until the dough comes together in the center of the bowl.
- Lightly flour a kneading board and turn the sticky dough. Use oil and a little flour to make kneading easier while keeping the bread texture soft. Grease the work surface and your hands as needed and sprinkle the dough with flour, but do so sparingly, as oversaturating the dough with oil will keep it from rising, and adding too much flour will dry it.
Step 3: knead, proof, and assemble
- As you knead, the dough will gradually lose its stickiness, but it will remain somewhat tacky. To check if the dough is well-kneaded, do the windowpane test. Take a small portion of the dough and stretch it out with your fingers to form a square. A translucent film should form in the center without breaking easily. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
- Place the kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise until it doubles in size.
- Gently deflate the risen dough, form it into a log, and cut it vertically. Cut each half into smaller portions.
- Using the palm of your hands, flatten each dough portion and place a piece of cheese in the center. Fold the dough around the cheese and form it into a smooth ball, tucking the ends under to seal.
- Roll the dough in bread crumbs and arrange in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until puffy and has doubled in size.
- Bake in a preheated oven until slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, as the filling will be hot!
Baking tips
- Check the temperature of the water used for proofing the yeast to ensure itโs within 105-115 F range as very hot liquids can kill the yeast. If the mixture doesn't foam in about 5 to 10 minutes, do not use and discard.
- The dough will gradually lose its stickiness as you knead, but it will remain somewhat tacky.
- Cut the cheese into squares instead of cubes so you get more cheesy areas inside the buns.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you use ube powder?
If fresh or frozen purple yams are unavailable, you can use ube powder. Reconstitute ยผ cup of the powder with ยพ cup of hot water, stir until smooth and use in the recipe as directed.
How to serve and store
- Serve as a breakfast or midday snack with coffee, tea, or your favorite beverage. They're best enjoyed freshly baked, but again, be careful, as the melted cheese filling can be very hot.
- Ube pandesal with cheese stays soft for days after baking. Leftovers can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to two days or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- To reheat in the oven, arrange the rolls in a baking dish and bake in a 350 F oven for 5 to 7 minutes until warm. To reheat in the microwave, arrange the rolls on a microwavable plate and cover with a slightly damp kitchen towel. Microwave for 30 to 40 seconds until warm and not piping hot, lest they turn tough and chewy.
Ingredients
- ยผ cup warm water
- 1 packet (2 ยผ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ยผ cup warm milk
- ยฝ cup mashed cooked ube
- 1 ยฝ tablespoons liquid ube flavoring
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ยฝ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for kneading
- ยฝ pound Velvetta cheese (or any quick melat cheese), cut into 14 two-inch and ยผ-inch thick squares
- ยฝ cup bread crumbs
Equipment
- baking sheets
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the warm water (105 to 110 F in temperature) and sprinkle the active dry yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Stir the mixture and let stand for about 5 minutes, or until foamy.
- Add the softened butter, eggs, the remaining sugar, warm milk, mashed purple yam, ube flavoring, and salt. With a wooden spoon, stir the ingredients until well combined.
- Add 3 cups of the flour, one cup at a time, stirring well after each addition until the dough forms a shaggy mass. Add just enough of the remaining flour (you might not use the whole ยฝ cup) to manage stickiness and stir until the dough comes together in the center of the bowl.
- Lightly grease a kneading board with the oil, and turn the dough out.
- Lightly grease hands with oil and knead the dough, ย pushing the dough down and away from your body using the heels of your palms, until it's smooth and elastic but still somewhat tacky.
- Place the kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise for about 1 ยฝ to 2 hours or until double in size.
- Gently deflate the risen dough and form it into a 20 to 22-inch log. Cut the log vertically in half and then cut each half into 7 smaller portions to yield 14 portions.
- Using the palm of hands, flatten each dough portion and place a piece of cheese in the center. Fold the dough around the cheese and form it into a smooth ball, tucking the ends under to seal.
- Roll the dough in bread crumbs and arrange in a single layer at about ยฝ inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 30 to 60 minutes or until puffy and doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Bake for about 20-23 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to slightly cool as the filling will be hot!
Notes
- Check the temperature of the water used for proofing the yeast to ensure itโs within 105-115 F range as very hot liquids can kill the yeast.
- The dough will be sticky. To make kneading easier while keeping the bread texture soft, use oil and about 1 teaspoon flour. Grease work surface and your hands as needed but do so sparingly as oversaturating the dough with oil will keep it from rising and too much flour will make it dry.
- The dough will gradually lose its stickiness as you knead, but it will remain somewhat tacky.ย
- To check if the dough is well-kneaded, do the windowpane test. Take a small portion of the dough and with your fingers, stretch it out to form a square. A translucent film should form in the center without breaking easily.
- Cut the cheese into squares instead of cubes so you get more cheesy areas inside the buns.
Video
Nutrition Information
โThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.โ
Dawn says
Can I use Ube halaya instead of mashed Ube?
Lalaine Manalo says
You can; just decrease the amount of sugar to about 4 tablespoons as the jam is already sweetened. ๐
Kot says
Where can i buy active dry yeast?
Maricris says
Can i use instant dry yeast and bread flour instead of APF?
Lalaine Manalo says
Yes, you can. If using, instant yeast in the recipe but no need to proof. Just add the yeast directly on the dry ingredients but make sure to include the warm water and tablespoon of sugar (used in proofing) to the dough. And adjust rising time; decrease by 10 to 15 minutes. Bread flour will also work but the pandesal will be chewier due to bread flour's higher gluten content while all-purpose will yield a lighter texture.
merian epilepsia says
if i use the ube powder reconstituted with hot water as you said ,it would be more if liquid na cus itโs not mashed ube
mym says
The 1/4 cup ube powder + 1/2 cup hot water resulted to a liquid texture and not mashed. Is that okay?
Christine Le says
Great recipe! Would I be able to prepare the dough and filling the night before?
Corie Palmario says
How many minutes could I knead it using a stand mixer without overworking my dough? I'm an avid follower of KP! ๐ฅฐ Following your recipes made me an instant chef in the house! And most of all, NONE of the ingredients were wasted! More Power!โค๏ธ
Lalaine Manalo says
We haven't tested this recipe using a stand mixer; I am thinking 6 to 8 minutes would be about right. Do the windowpane test to be sure it's properly kneaded.
Thank you for your support! I am glad you find the recipes useful.
Maria says
Whatโs the windowpane test?
baby epilepsia says
but the reconstituted water and ube powder is liquid.it might be too watery cus i know mashed ube is like paste
Lalaine Manalo says
What would be liquid? The ube powder or ube flour will turn into a smooth mashed texture when mixed with hot water ๐
CrissyPer says
I used 1/2 cup ube powder and mixed it with 1.5 cups hot water, it didnโt turn into mashed smooth texture but is really watery... you think I used the wrong kind of ube powder?
merian epilepsia says
i followed the direction of using ube powder and mixed with 3/4 cup hot water. i didnโt have mashed or ube yam. thought that it replace the mashed ube. what will i do with it
Lalaine Manalo says
Just follow the recipe. The reconstituted ube powder will take the place of the mashed ube; just measure out 1/2 cup. ๐
Janet says
Ok Lang po bang mag tanong ano ba yung ube at Saan po nabibili yung ube sorry po wala lang akong alam salamat po
Leora Alyanna says
What bread crumbs did you use? Thanks
Lalaine Manalo says
Any fine breadcrumbs will do ๐
Mina says
Can I use a turbo broiler to bake?
Really appreciate you for sharing your recipes!
Lalaine Manalo says
This recipe hasn't been tested in a turbo broiler so unfortunately, I don't know if it would work ๐
CK says
Hello, I wanted to follow this recipe but just to ask if Iโll be using a different ingredients will I get the same results:
-ube halaya in a bottle
-ube flavoring
-instant yeast
-crushed biscocho instead of bread crumbs
Its hard to find some of the ingredients, some of them are out of stock. What would be the instructions if using these alternatives?
Also, how long will it last?
Thank you in advance
Lalaine Manalo says
1) Yes, you can use ube halaya in the bottle; use 1/2 cup and decrease the amount of sugar in the recipe to about 4 tablespoons as the jam is already sweetened. 2) Use flavoring or extract should be fine. 3) You can use instant yeast; no proofing needed but add the warm water and sugar (used to proof) in making the doubt. 4) Biscocho will work; just crush to fine crumbs. 5) The rolls will keep for up to 2 days at room temperature and up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Happy baking!
Linda de Jesus says
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I am just a newbie to baking, and would prefer less kneading.
Do you happen to know if we could adopt this recipe using a bread machine?
Lalaine Manalo says
Unfortunately, we haven't tested the recipe in a bread machine but will work on it.
Ck says
I would like to give this a try. Can I use instant yeast and omit water in the recipe? Also, can I replace the butter with oil? I only have ube halaya in a bottle and ube flavoring. Using these ingredients mentioned above, what will be the measurements?
What will happen if I over knead the dough?
Thank you.
Lalaine Manalo says
Yes, you can use instant yeast but don't omit the water. Add the water in making the dough. We haven't tested this recipe with oil but would love to know how it works for you ๐ Use the same amount of ube halaya as the mashed ube; 1/2 cup but please decrease the amount of sugar in the recipe.
Do the windowpane test so you don't over knead the dough ๐
Jane says
Can you use instant yeast? what would i do different ?
Lalaine Manalo says
Yes, you can use instant yeast in the recipe but no need to proof. Just add the yeast directly on the dry ingredients but make sure to include the warm water and tablespoon of sugar (used in proofing) to the dough.
Bernadette says
Is there a gluten-free flour you recommend for this recipe? Rice flour? Almond flour?
Lalaine Manalo says
I am sorry but the recipe hasn't been tried on gluten-free flour so I am not sure what adjustments to do to make it work ๐
sarah s says
wondering if i could sub the milk for almond milk or something of the like?
April says
Hi. What type of bread crumbs do you used?
Lalaine Manalo says
Any brand of fine breadcrumbs; not the Panko kind ๐
Desiree says
Hello! I only have a Convection Oven/Rotisserie and up to 230ยฐ only. Will I be able to bake? Thank you!
Maria says
Thank you for this recipe! I want to give it a try but with few questions:
1. What type of flour would you recommend? Will it be ok to use all-purpose flour?
2. Can I skip the ube extract? I have searched for this but could not find one.
Thank you and God bless! I have tried a lot of your recipes and they are always good.
Lalaine Manalo says
The recipe calls for all-purpose flour and yes, you can skip the ube extract as it's mostly for color.