Soft buns are one of the best sellers when you have a bakery. I remember this bun or bread used way back when i was a child as a container for dirty ice cream in Baler. The soft bun is perfect for burgers and ham/cheese, tuna salad, chicken salad, and many other sweet and savory fillings.
The best thing about the bun is that it is soft and neutral. It is not sweet, but not too plain like a baguette. Getting the right proof is crucial. The photo below is from a bun brought by a special class student of mine, and this is what it looks like when opened.
The crumb structure inside is too open (meaning it is overproofed) that’s why there are holes inside. It could also mean that the dough was not shaped properly but judging from the open crumb structure, i say this has gone through more proofing.
My student bought this from a neighborhood bakery, notice how huge the bun is, but when there are holes inside when you open it.
These are the buns we make in class. The same dough is used to make the Pan de Coco below.
Once you have the dough, you can make any variations you want as long as you have a plan ready before you start mixing. Do not LET THE DOUGH WAIT. Do not think of what to do with the dough after you mix it, unless you have a retarder or plan to chill the dough for the next day like what i do with my baguette or pizza dough.
The same dough is used to make the Pandesal above. I mix a huge batch when there is company coming, and if i am press for time and cannot make up the whole lot, i chill the dough inside the refrigerator. My style is that i start early when i plan to bake a big batch, but there are times when my cooking beckons me so i have to continue the work the following day. When there is help around, no problem. I finish the whole batch to save on gas.
Commercial bread making lessons is now accepting reservations for June to August. It is my first time in 7 years to teach June and July because i always spend my summer in New York, so here it goes. I hope there won’t be too much heavy raining or storms. Please.
text 09495705091 for reservations..
Bake Pandesal 