Spanish Bread
Otherwise known as Pan de Kastila
“After pandesal, ensaymada, and pan de coco, Spanish bread got declared a popular bakery dish in the Philippines. Its soft and moist texture with a sugar and margarine filling, similar to cinnamon rolls, makes it loved by the masses.” — HICAPS Marketing Corporation
Can you believe in all the time I lived in Hawaii (1971-‘74, ‘77-1995), I’ve never had Spanish bread (Pan de Kastila)? The filled rolls are a popular Filipino classic, and easier to make than you’d think.
I bet you never saw them in any Mainland bakery. There’s nothing like it in Twin Falls, ID. That’s because they’re mostly found wherever Filipinos gather: Philippines, Hawaii, probably L.A.
In general, I tend to avoid most desserts, because they’re the opposite of what I crave (hearty, claggy, rough and tough European baked goods with very little sugar).
Bakeries were a joke in Hawaii, an excuse to sit around eating sugar, fooling ourselves that we were tasting different flavors. Desserts there weren’t very complex or interesting. That is, until I left in the late ‘90s. (The hot and humid weather isn’t very conducive to baking, I’ve found.)
With the exception of Leonard’s Malasadas, Hawaii restaurants and bakeries generally served forgettable, white-bread desserts…sickly sweet fluff balls, like Dobash, Chantilly, and Guava Chiffon cakes. Their “scones,” if you find any, were more like muffins, which I absolutely hate.
They’re not for me, but I’m definitely in the minority.
Nevertheless, I didn’t make Spanish rolls yesterday for myself. I made them for our Monday night Bible study group, for the first time, using Riverten Kitchen’s recipe, along with Emma Fontanella’s Big Bubble No-Knead Focaccia.
A recent Amanda and Felix Eats Filipino food vlog on YouTube inspired me to try my hand at making Spanish bread. I found the process easy as pie.
What distinguishes them from other rolls is bread crumbs, preferably the finer Panko. Not only do you add bread crumbs to the butter and brown sugar filling, but you also roll the filled little ovals in more bread crumbs.
I must’ve made 26 rolls. Everybody loved them. I saw people going back for seconds and thirds. By the end of the evening, nothing was left except one small square of pizza focaccia.
Next time, I will double the filling and overload the rolls. I will also watch the baking time. I need them to be a little less dry and ooze with more filling. Dominic suggested cardamom and cinnamon, maybe even almond paste.
Really, you can add anything as filling, even savory cheese or pistachios.
I like Janette of Pinoy Cooking's recipe better than Riverten’s. It’s more straightforward and inclusive. She doesn’t confuse readers with oven temperatures nobody has (356 degrees F?) either.
While looking up Spanish bread, I found Pandesal, another Filipino staple made with bread rolls, but less sweet (it still has sugar in it, though) and not filled. Foxy Folksy (Bebs) has an easy recipe.
Try them yourself.
