Koffiebroodjes (Dutch Coffee Rolls)

It's the 15th of the month, and it's time for this year's first Baking Partners Challenge. Unlike the challenges during the previous year, we only have two recipe choices for this month, both of which are Dutch recipes suggested and tried by Kaveri of Palakad Chamyal. Between the Dutch Apple Tart and Coffee Rolls, I chose to make the latter, the recipe of which was adapted from The Dutch Table. 

Koffiebroodjes or Coffee Rolls are sweet raisin and pudding field pastries that the Dutch love to eat during coffee break. These coffee rolls are covered with a  sweet glaze which can either be made of powdered sugar or apricot jam. I didn't have apricot jam so I used strawberry jam instead. I also didn't have sour cream as called for in the recipe, so I substituted it with cream cheese which I guess made the rolls even yummier! For a more colorful appeal, I used craisins (dried cranberries) instead of raisins. I tell yah, these Koffiebroodjes turned out really good!

I was able to make 30 pcs. from the given amount of ingredients...and guess what, they're all gone by now, considering that I just made them last Monday! Either these are really delicious or my family of 4 are just big eaters! You judge! ;)

Shaped Dinner Rolls

Thanksgiving Day is almost here...and because one of the favorites parts of every holiday feast is homemade dinner rolls, our host for this month's Baking Partners Challenge, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen chose Shaped Dinner Rolls as our theme.  Part of the challenge is making at least 3 shapes of rolls. We were given 7 shapes and two recipes to choose from...and I chose Lion House Rolls Recipe. I decided to make 4 shapes out of it which include small braid, rosette or kasier, clover leaf and lion house rolls. I was also able to make a small loaf pan of pull-apart garlic parmesan rolls.

I'm sure that to many of you, making dinner rolls from scratch is very intimidating (just as much as it was to me before)....but I have to tell you that it is way easier than one usually thinks. The best part is, they are much tastier and healthier than store bought ones.

It was actually my first time to make shaped dinner rolls and I'm glad to tell you how happy I was with the outcome. Though I was kinda disappointed that the shape of the rosette rolls didn't come out fully defined, everything else was good! These rolls have the perfect taste, texture and softness, and the secret is simple --- giving the dough enough time to rise. Now, I just have to practice my dough shaping skills so the that the next time I make shaped dinner rolls, I can really say it's PERFECT!

If you have time, you should try this! I tell you, homemade buttery dinner rolls are worth the time and effort and they'll surely make Thanksgiving dinner and other holiday meals even more special! Making dinner rolls is also a perfect way to spend time with the kids. You know how they love to get their hands in the dough! They will definitely enjoy helping out and creating their own shapes! :)

Cheesy Tuna Sandwich Spread

Though the Catholic Church only requires 14 years old and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, on all Fridays of Lent, and on Good Friday, my parents let me and my brother join the fun even when we were below 14. I really don't remember my exact age when I started doing seafood and veggie Fridays during Lent. All I remember is that my mom was very strict about it. There were even times when she made us abstain from meat for the whole period of Lent which means 40 days straight. But my brother and I have always loved seafood and veggies so it wasn't like a big torture for us. We were actually fine with that. 

It's very much the same with my daughters now. They love seafood and (some) vegetables so Ryan and I don't even have to force them to abstain from beef, pork and poultry. They've learned from church about the importance of this Catholic tradition and though they know that they are not yet required to observe it, they are very willing to. They are actually the ones who remind me that it's Friday so I will have to pack meat-free lunch for them.

Most of the time, my daughters prefer to eat sandwiches and fruits for lunch in school, and this Cheesy Tuna Sandwich Spread that I am sharing with you today is one of their favorite fillings. Like the Salmon Sandwich Spread that I have featured last year, this is not any ordinary fish sandwich spread.  It's very flavorful and it has cheese!!! Clarise and Cherlin love how cheesy and healthy this is...and they find eating it in sandwich rolls so much fun! I'm sure you'll love it too.

Pan de Coco and Pan de Ube (Coconut and Purple Yam Rolls)

I've been a bread lover since I was a little girl...but this is one thing I don't owe from my mother. As I've told you before, we didn't have an oven when I was growing up so my mother never baked bread. I owe my love for bread to The De Castro's, my childhood friend's family who owns Halina Bakery. This bakery has been selling the best tasting Filipino breads in the City of Calapan since I was a little girl until now. It is now being managed by my friend, and I must say that just like her parents, she's really doing a great job. I remember that there was this other bakery much closer to where we used to live, but we would rather go to Halina Bakery to buy pan de sal, loaf bread, ensaymada, pan de coco, monay, pan de lemon, pan de agua, kalihim, mamon, puding, spanish bread and hopia. All their bread really taste a lot better than those of the other bakery. I'm not saying this because it's owned by my friend. It's just how it is. 

One of my most favorite bread from Halina Bakery is the Pan De Coco which means Coconut Bread. It is a soft sweet roll with sweetened coconut filling which I loved having for afternoon snack. My mom would always buy it in dozens 'coz my brother and I never seem to get enough of it.

 

Last week, I thought of making Pan De Coco for the first time. I tried experimenting with my Pan De Sal recipe to transform it to a much softer and sweeter roll with a shiny finish. Was I successful??? Well, kinda. It's good...but I think I have to work on the softness more. I'm not sure if I just over baked it a little or I didn't knead the dough enough. But the rolls were delicious and soft enough though not as soft as I remember the Pan De Coco from Halina Bakery.  

I still have some Haleyang Ube (Purple Yam Jam) so I filled half of the dough with it, and half with sweetened coconut. I came up with 9 pcs. Pan De Coco and 9 pcs. Pan De Ube and they are all gone in 3 days! Clarise and Cherlin love ube so they both prefer the Pan De Ube more. Ryan, on the other hand, finds the Pan De Coco perfect for his coffee.

This Coconut and Purple Yam Rolls recipe is my entry to this month's Iron Chef Challenge at A Latte With OTT,A which is sponsored by Red Star, maker of high-quality baker's yeast in the country. For product updates and delicious tested recipes, visit their website or follow Red Star on twitter and facebook.

Pandesal

I still have a hangover from last week's spring break and Cherlin is a little sick (so she wants mommy by her side), hence I'm quite late for my post today...but better late than never, right?! Besides, I'm sure you'll love my recipe for today regardless of the time I post it. :) I made pandesal again last week, and they turned out really good! So I know it's time to share it with you...

Pandesal (Pan de Sal) which means salt bread in Spanish is a famous roll in the Philippines. It is usually eaten during breakfast to accompany a morning cup of coffee, but it is good for snacks too. It is made of flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, and salt. It is the most popular yeast-raised bread in the Philippines which can be eaten plain or with “palaman”(filling) like butter (or margarine), fruit jams, and peanut butter or anything your taste buds want. I love it with corned beef, sardines, scrambled eggs and Viena sausage.

In the Philippines, pandesal is sold everywhere: bakeries, market, grocery stores, and convenience stores…but here in Texas, you can rarely find it…so the only way to enjoy it is to bake it from scratch. I tried it twice already, and it came out good. I even put filling in some of my pandesal dough so I wouldn't have to slice it after baking. Yummy indeed!

It’s a little time consuming to prepare like siopao, but it’s worth it!

* I shared this on Let's Break Bread Together , Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Hearth and Soul Hop, Delectable Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesdays At The Table, Made From Scratch Tuesday and What's On The Menu Wednesday.

Yield 28 pcs.

Ingredients:

• 1 envelope active dry yeast (0.25 oz)
• ¾ cup warm water
• 1 Tbsp sugar (for activating the yeast)
• 4 cups bread flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup evaporated milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• ¾ cup bread crumbs
• about ¾ cup all purpose flour for dusting