No Secrets. It’s the New Kind of Pandesal: the Malunggay Bread

Malunggay bread is not just a trend in baking. It is now part of the healthy lifestyle of Filipinos who now prefer something delicious and nutritious.

Malunggay in the Philippines is commonly used in dishes like tinolang manok, monggo soup, utan bisaya and more but it’s going to a whole new level now. Who would have thought that this vegetable leaf is perfect for your favorite breakfast meal/snack? Now if you could spend some time, here is how to make your new kind of pandesal; malunggay bread.

You’ll need the following ingredients:
In activating the yeast

• 1 sachet Instant Yeast 7g
• 350 ml Lukewarm Water
• 1 tsp Sugar

In making the dough

• 500 grams Stong White Flour more for dusting
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 90 grams Shortening
• handful Dried Malunggay Leaves
• 1 tbsp Oil for greasing the bowl
• 1 cup Breadcrumbs for coating

Now, let’s do it!

ACTIVATE THE YEAST.

Dissolve yeast in warm water, then add sugar and let it stand for 10 minutes. Make sure that the water is at 100-110F. If water is too hot, it kills the yeast.

MAKING THE DOUGH.

Combine the flour, sugar, warm water, salt, dried malunggay leaves, and shortening in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the yeast mixture and mix again. If the mixture is too wet add more flour.

KNEAD THE MIXTURE.

The dough can be kneaded by hand or in a mixer with dough hook. To test the dough if it is ready, pinch a piece off and stretch it into a square. The dough is ready if it is elastic enough to be stretched into a translucent sheet of dough. If it tears continue kneading.

GREASE THE BOWL.

Grease a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the bowl with cling film and let the dough rise to about twice its size.

PUNCH THE DOUGH.

Punch down the dough and knead again to redistribute the yeast.

ROLL THE DOUGH.

Roll each piece of dough into a rectangular sheet and then roll the sheet into a log, about 20 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Let the dough rest for an hour.

Or you may use a rolling machine if you have.

CUT THE DOUGH.

Using a dough cutter or a sharp knife, cut the log into 1 inch thick pieces then roll each piece in breadcrumbs. Place on a baking tray with the cut side up, about 2 inches apart and let it rest again for an hour. Preheat the oven at 180C. This makes up to at least 35 pcs.

BAKE.

Bake the rolls for 20 minutes or until the rolls becomes lightly toasted.

COOL DOWN.

Put the rolls on the cooling rack for 10-20 minutes.

Then…

In the process of making you need to be patient. Let the bread rise and you will be rewarded with light and fluffy rolls. Not all ovens are the same, so always check your oven temperature for a perfect cook. You can seal and freeze the rolls once it is cooled and be kept up to a month. Reheat it on a microwave for 30 seconds then immediately serve again. Hopefully you made it perfectly right. Let us know how’s your version.

Just so you know, moringa or malunggay is rich with the following nutrients:

We can really say it’s crunchy and definitely something we will have on our breakfast daily.

Have you had your malunggay bread lately?

READ ALSO: The Healing and Health Benefits of Malunggay (Moringa Oleifera)