pan de leche

Working when you're supposed to be relaxing/recharging for next semester sucks. What sucks even more is not having time to cook and especially bake. This one is from sometime last semester when I was studying for one of my crazy tests.

Pan de Leche is a sweet Filipino bread. It's savory, subtly sweet and it's pretty good. It's a relatively quick bread so the flavor isn't as deepened or developed but it's still an above average bread. It's odd because I've heard of pan de sel but never leche (I asked 3 of my Filipino friends and they didn't know of it either). Anyways, it's a great substitute for a dinner roll and very simple to make!

Pan de Leche
Adapted from Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté

Ingredients (Bread):
- All-Purpose flour 383g
- Whole Milk 1/2 cup
- Butter, melted 1/2 cup
- Sugar 75g*
- Kosher salt 2 teaspoon
- Instant yeast 2 1/2 teaspoon*
- 2 large eggs

* - my variations

Ingredients (Egg Wash):
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons sugar

1) Activate the yeast if needed (add 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of sugar if it needs to be activated). If not skip this step.

2) Mix in the dry goods and then add in the milk and lightly beaten eggs. I added half of my butter in then and half later when the gluten was about half developed but I think you can just add all the butter in now if you want. See my melonpan post about adding fats into dough...

3) Knead for 10 - 12 minutes (by hand) until the windowpane test is cleared.

4) Primary fermentation in a warm place for 2 hours in a lightly oiled container or bowl.

5) Divide into equal pieces and let the gluten rest for 15 minutes.

6) Shape into boules.

7) Proof UNCOVERED for 60 - 90 minutes until doubled in size. Proofing while uncovered lets the bread form a nice, hard crust.

8) Preheat that oven to 375°F (190°C).

9) Glaze each bread w/ the egg wash mixture. Score the bread. The design doesn't really matter but I suggest scoring to make it look cool and let the air out while baking.

10) Bake for 18 - 22 minutes and rotate the pan halfway if necessary.

11) Resist the temptation to eat freshly baked bread and cool for at least 15 minutes. Trust me, you will burn your tongue and it's not fun.