A basic guide to Pinoy Breads

The local Panaderia has been a community landmark for generations. It started out as a Royal bakeshop of the Spanish Government catering to our Spanish Colonizers who missed the breads they had from their motherland. Now, every morning ordinary people line up to purchase the timeless classic the Pan De Sal (bread of salt) served hot and also from time to time buy other baked good unique only to the Philippines. In this two-part blog we will cover the most popular ones and include a bit of back-story to your favorite breads.

Ensaymada

Usually taken as an afternoon snack. This coiled bred sprinkled with sugar and cheese toppings is the perfect partner with hot cocoa. This treat we inherited from our Spanish colonizers and was called “ensaimada de mallorica” which is a yeast bun with sprinkled sugar.

Monay

An alternative to the king of Pinoy bread. The monay is a yellowish bread with a slightly hard crust but with a soft inside when opened. Enjoyed best by dipping into hot coffee. Originally called pan de monja( nun’s bread), it is said that the bread’s shape is a raunchy take on the nun’sbehind

Spanish Bread

Some say this soft-elongated bread with a sweet center made of butter and sugar and sprinkled with bread crumbs is a tribute to our Spanish roots though no mention of its exact origins are told in our history books.

Putok

Putok is made from extra monay dough and can have a soft-to hard outer crust. Grooves are purposely cut on top of the bread to allow the bread to expand further during the baking process. It is finally brushed with a sugar or sometimes milk glaze for the added flavor.

Cheese bread/rolls

This is a more modern creation encrusted with toasted cheese/bread crumb granules and has a soft, almost dry interior. No records of its origin has been found only that bakeries in Metro Manila started to introduce this product in their wares.

Pan de Coco

This bread is made with a very Filipino ingredient as its center. Inside the tender bun is sweetened coconut. The filling can be prepared in its natural state (so it retains its color), with yellow food color or as dark as a brown sugar bukayo.

This ends the first installment of the Pinoy Bread series. We will cover the rest of the popular pinoy breads on the Sunday installment of our regular blog posts. you can also check out our wonderful online classes that teaches most of the breads covered. Click on this link to view the classes.

As always please leave a comment or any suggestions of future topics you would like us to cover.

The Bailiwick Team