Ube Cheese Pandesal

     Maybe by now most of you are tired of seeing yet another post about the ubiquitous ube cheese pandesal.  Why exactly are people buying dozens of these purple buns and home bakers have their hands busy churning out boxes of them? Since some of my friends swear by how good they are, I set out to try and make my version based on my own egg pandesal recipe.

     I must say this recipe I came up with is a keeper. For some reason, ube with cheese in a bread works. You get a very soft bun with a sweet homey taste of ube which is interspersed with the saltiness of the cheddar cheese.  Does it mean the quintessential Filipino bread pandesal has been dethroned by its cheesy purple cousin?


Ube Cheese Pandesal

Ingredients
500 grams bread flour (about 3 1/2 cups)
100 grams sugar (1/2 cup)
9 grams yeast (2 teaspoons)
10 grams salt (1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 large egg (about 55 grams)
250 ml very cold water (1 cup)
1 tablespoon ube flavoring
40 grams butter (2 tablespoons)
fine bread crumbs

200 grams cheddar cheese, cut into 15 gram cubes
200 grams ube jam (1 teaspoon per pandesal)

Instructions
1. Combine first seven (7) ingredients in a mixer bowl.
2. Mix on low speed with a hook attachment mixing dough until it cleans the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
3. Add the butter. Continue mixing until you get a smooth and pliable dough about 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Transfer dough into a greased bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let dough rise about an hour or until it has doubled in volume.
5. Punch down dough to release gas. Divide into 28 pieces of about 35 grams each.
6. Round portioned dough into balls and let rest covered.
7. Flatten dough ball and put ube jam and cheese cube in the center.
8. Enclose the filling and round the dough into a smooth ball. Roll in bread crumbs.
9. Place on a tray lined with parchment. Let rise again until doubled.
10. Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake pandesal for 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.