Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls

It’s once again my turn to host the month’s challenge at the Bread Baking Babes. I have chosen Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls to make. These may be simple to make but they’re deliciously soft, mildly sweet and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

These Spanish Bread Rolls are very popular as breakfast bread in the Philippines. It is also enjoyed as a mid-day snack at merienda. They’re found at most Filipino bakeries along with Ensaimada and Pandesal. Slightly sweet, these rolls are much like the Spanish Ensaimada but look somewhat like plump and badly rolled bread or pastry.

Since the Philippines was once a Spanish colony, I think it’s safe to assume that all yeasted breads in the Philippines are probably Spanish in origin. I couldn’t find any reasons why this particular bread alone is referred to as Spanish Bread.

Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls are made with an enriched broche like dough. Smaller pieces of dough are rolled out thin, brushed with butter (melted or creamed depending on the recipe used) and sprinkled with breadcrumbs and sugar. They’re then rolled up jam roll style and then baked till golden.

What is unusual here is the use of breadcrumbs in the filling in these rolls. I’m guessing the breadcrumbs keep the butter inside and keep it from leaking out. Karen, a fellow BBB, tells me many Filipino breads make use of breadcrumbs.

This recipe has been put together from various sources on the net. It makes 16 Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls. You can make a half recipe for a smaller batch. This bread freezes very well. You can reheat frozen rolls for about 30 seconds in the microwave.

Different recipes suggest varying amounts of butter for the dough and the filling. Some suggest a creamed butter and sugar filling, while others use melted butter and then sprinkle breadcrumbs and sugar over it. I chose to use melted butter because this requires less butter.  If you would like to cream butter and sugar together then you would need to up the butter in the filling to about 1/2 cup.

Cinnamon is not a traditional ingredient in this recipe. The thought of using ordinary white sugar didn’t excite me much. I love the combination of cinnamon and sugar and so went that way with the filling.

A lot of my recent posts mention that my husband and I have been eating vegan for the past couple of months. It’s a temporary diet choice to give our livers a rest. We prefer to avoid non-vegan food generally but do occasionally eat non-vegan, nowadays.  I had some butter leftover from baking for friends recently, but no eggs or milk. Soya milk was substituted for milk. The liquid content from eggs was adjusted with a little more soya milk. Soya milk worked as well as milk as far as I could see.

I must mention that these rolls puff up quite a bit when they bake. It is important to pinch the dough and seal it well after shaping. Otherwise, they will open up while baking.

Filipino Spanish Bread Rolls

A crisp, buttery and mildly sweet Filipino bread roll that's soft inside and filled with cinnamon, sugar and breadcrumbs.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course breads

Cuisine Filippino

Ingredients

  

For the Dough :

• 2 tsp active dried yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
• 2 eggs

For the Filling :

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder optional

For Coating :

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar

Instructions

 

• Mix the yeast in the warm water, after dissolving the sugar in it. Keep aside for about 5 to 10 minutes to proof.
• You can knead the dough by hand or machine. I use my food processor to do this. Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the milk, melted butter, eggs and yeast mixture and knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough. You may add a little more of flour or milk if you need it to achieve desired consistency of dough. You know your dough has been kneaded enough when you can make a windowpane out of your dough.
• Cover loosely and let the dough rest for about 2 to 3 hours or till it has doubled in volume. Press down the dough gently and divide the dough into two equal parts.
  
• There are two ways of shaping Filipino Spanish Bread. One is to roll out each portion into a round and spread the filling over it. Then cut each into 8 triangles like you would a pizza. Each triangle would be rolled up croissant style.
• The other is a more traditional way. For this shape each half of dough into a log and divide into eight equal parts. Roll each piece into roughly a 3- by 5-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and sugar (or cinnamon sugar if you prefer). Roll the piece like you would a jelly roll, starting from one corner and rolling towards the opposite corner.
  
• Alternately, roll each half the dough into a largish rectangle about 10” x 10”. This is what I did. Then brush the surface generously and completely with melted butter. Sprinkle half the breadcrums and the cinnamon and sugar mixture over this evenly. Now c
• Which ever way you shape your Filipino Spanish Bread, sprinkle the rolled dough with more breadcrumbs and sugar. You can also roll the shaped dough in the breadcrumbs and sugar if you like. Place the pieces with the seam-side down on a lined or greased baking sheet.
  
• Let the shaped rolls rise for 30 minutes. Bake until golden brown at 190C (375 F) for about 15 minutes.

The Bread Baking Babes are –

Bake My Day – Karen

Bread Baking Babe Bibliothécaire – Katie

Blog from OUR kitchen – Elizabeth

Feeding my enthusiasms – Elle

Girlichef – Heather

Life’s A Feast – Jamie

A Messy Kitchen – Kelly

Lucullian Delights – Ilva

My Kitchen In Half Cups – Tanna

Notitie Van Lien – Lien

Bread Experience – Cathy

Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen

Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy

The Bread Baking Babes (BBB) is a closed group, but you’re most welcome to bake with us as a Bread Baking Buddy. Here’s how it works.

Bake this month’s bread using the above recipe and post it on your blog before the 28th of this month. Mention the Bread Baking Babes and link to this BBB post in your own post. Then e-mail me at aparna[AT]mydiversekitchen[DOT]com with your name and the link to the post, or leave a comment on her blog post with this information. I will include your bread in the Buddy round-up later this month.