Spanish Bread
Filipino Spanish Bread is something that you should really try baking. These log-shaped bread with butter and sugar paste filling is truly hearty comfort food. Having one is nostalgic and reminiscent of fond childhood memories!
You might know by now that I really love sharing baking recipes especially traditional Filipino bread from local bakeries like pan de coco. This post is no different cause I’ll show you how to make soft, fluffy Spanish bread filled with butter and sugar then coated in breadcrumbs.
What is Spanish Bread?
When you think of meryenda or afternoon snack in the Philippines, this bread rolls with butter and sugar filling is among one of the choices you have. Displayed in glass stands at local bakeries, These delicious Filipino bread rolls are simply irresistible. A bread like no other and definitely every Filipinos favorite meryenda.
Just like pandesal, it is dredge in breadcrumbs before going into the oven. The breadcrumbs gives it a delightful texture making it more enjoyable to eat.
Enjoy it fresh out of the oven with tea, coffee or your favorite beverage! Heck, I even enjoy having it as a midnight snack!
What is the filling of made of?
Sugar and butter are the main ingredients of the filling but I added vanilla extract which is optional. The sweet and buttery filling compliments the soft bread that every mouthful is just so satisfying .
Tips for Spanish Bread
Do not let the dough rise for too long if proofing in a warm place. The maximum should be at least 1 hour. Otherwise, the bread will end up having a yeasty taste. The trick is to let it rise until it doubles in size and volume.
To make the dough a day ahead, proof bread overnight in the refrigerator. cold temperatures slows down the rise.
Knead dough until smooth and elastic, it should spring back when poked. Add more flour only when the dough is too wet and clings heavily to the sides of the bowl.
Use light brown sugar or white sugar for a lighter colored filling.
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
You might also like:
- Pandesal – especially when freshly baked is the best way to start your day! This Filipino bread roll that is soft and fluffy has a mildly sweet and salty taste that goes well with you favorite spread!
- Star bread (Putok) – A sweet bun with sugar sprinkled on top that has a shiny crust, a bit hard outside but soft inside.
- Pan de Coco – yummy soft roll filled with sweet desiccated coconut
- Ube Bread – These delicious breads pack TONS of ube (purple yam) flavor!
- Cheesy Ensaymada – with salted egg on top to make this sweet bread more special.
Spanish Bread
Ingredients
Ingredients for Bread
- 500 grams or 3 ⅓ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- ¼ cup sugar or ⅓ if you want it on the sweeter side
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup warm milk or warm water
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 whole egg
- 1 cup fine bread crumbs for coating
Ingredients for Filling
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cups powdered milk
- ¾ cups brown sugar
- 2 tbsp milk or water
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- ¼ cup softened unsalted butter (or Margarine)
Instructions
Making the bread dough
- In a mixing bowl place bread flour, sugar, instant yeast and salt. Mix with a wire whisk to incorporate all ingredients. Add egg, vegetable oil, and warm milk then mix with a spatula until rough dough forms.500 grams or 3 ⅓ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, 2 tsp instant yeast, ¼ cup sugar or ⅓ if you want it on the sweeter side, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ¼ cup warm milk or warm water, 4 tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil, 1 whole egg
- Fix mixing bowl in the mixer with dough hook attachment and beat at low-medium setting for 12 minutes or until dough is smooth, elastic and doesn't break when pulled.
- Grease clean counter top or flat surface with a bit of oil and place dough on top to avoid dough sticking. Knead for a couple of seconds then shape it into a ball. Transfer in another greased bowl and coat with thin layer of oil so it will not dry out while rising. Let it rise for 1 hour or until double in size.
Making the filling – You can do this while dough is proofing.
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl except the water.⅓ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cups powdered milk, ¾ cups brown sugar, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp vanilla extract, ¼ cup softened unsalted butter
- Mix until well incorporated. Gradually add water to the mixture 1 tbsp at a time until pasty in consistency. Set aside.2 tbsp milk or water
Assembly
- When dough doubled in size you know you achieved a good rise. Lightly press on the dough to release the air/gas inside. Dump the dough on the counter top and roll into a log shape. Cut and using a kitchen scale, weigh 50 grams of dough.
- Roll into a ball shape and flatten using a rolling pin (approx. 2 mm thick). Take1 to 1½ tablespoon of the filling and spread on top of the flatten dough.
- Roll the dough to make a log then lightly pinch the end part of dough to secure. Repeat the process until you finish the dough.
- Dredge with breadcrumbs and shake off excess then arrange in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (end part sits at the bottom so it won't open up while baking). Make sure that the dough is arranged two inches apart. Cover with a towel or cloth and let it rise for 20mins.1 cup fine bread crumbs for coating
- Preheat oven at 180° C or 356° F 15 minutes before the dough rises.
- Bake spanish bread for 18 to 20 minutes until the top turns golden brown. If you're using two racks, switch the trays after 12 minutes so all the rolls will brown evenly. NOTE: baking time may vary according to oven used.
- Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes on a tray or rack. Bon Appetit!
Have you tried using APF for this recipe?
Hi Duchess,
I haven’t tried APF for this recipe but it’s an alternative if you bread flour is not readily available to you.
I hope this helps. Cheers!
Hi!
How much is 500 grams of bread flour into cup?
Hi shey,
500 grams is approximately 4 cups of bread flour
It’s not really great at the first time but I know I could do it! Thank you much for very detail recipe!
Hey Jimmy,
Just let us know if you need any help but I’m sure you’ll do great! Good luck!
Thank you much for very detail recipe!
This looks like what a local bakery calls “Señorita Bread” and I’m really excited about this.
Thank you for sharing
I finally found the perfect recipe for spanish bread!!! Thank you for sharing it!!! My family love it!!!
These are so good. The only change I made was not to put breadcrumbs on the outside of the buns. Instead I brushed the buns with butter prior to baking and then again right after they came out of the oven and then rolled them in cinnamon sugar. I took them to work and they disappeared. Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you.
This recipe is deserving of commendation for precision, details, and choice of food products used. I have tried twice at making these Spanish breads and have failed because of either too much yeast or not the right type of flour—-bread flour has the right texture. Also, measuring by grams is much more precise. I tried this recipe and accomplished the goal of making at home Spanish bread that a local bakery calls Senorita bread and it is very close to the one bought from the bakery. The only difference was that I left out the milk powder and bread crumbs and used white sugar instead of brown. Thank You for this recipe. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for a great and detailed review.
Thank you for this superb tasty recipe. My first time to make your recipe and turned out into yummy and irresistible. Will do the rest of your recipe soon. I just don’t know how to share the photo of the outcome.😊
Hi Chelsea,
Thank you for the kind words! Happy that you liked it.
Hi! Thank you for sharing your recipes. I tried this today and came out really good. It’s so soft, fluffy and not too sweet. My husband & the kids loves it. Thank you so much!
Hi Kelly,
I’m thrilled that your family likes it! Cheers to more baking.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. My family loves it and will be making it again. 🙂 I’m new into baking and this guide helped me a lot.
I love your recipe.. I just recently started baking and have tried few spanish bread recipes online but they all turned out to dry easily and not fluffy,as well as,i feel like something was lacking to their recipe.. so i kept looking for other recipes and found yours. Wow! they turned out perfect, soft,moist, and fluffy as well as delicious, which i like the most..
Got confused. On the recipe above it shows 1/4 sugar and 3/4 powdered milk, while on the video its say 1/3 sugar and 1/4 cup powdered milk. Which one is correct? Thank you. Btw, the bread was so fluffy i tried it on pandesal.
Hi Kaye,
Thank you for your positive feedback on the bread. If you are asking about the the sugar for the bread, you can either use 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup depending on how sweet you want the bread to be.
For the powdered milk in the filling, it’s 1/4 cup. Hope this helps and keep safe. Cheers!
Another easy to follow recipe from amiable foods!👍 I love the taste of the filling… this is an all in one bread for breakfast and in between! Our personal favourite !!🥰 happy baking 😍
Hey Alo,
Thank you for trying the recipe and I’m very happy that you like the bread. You’ll be a pro in no time!
Super yummy and easy to follow recipe! Thanks again, Mia! ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Claire,
Thank you for the great feedback. Happy baking!
Can I use coconut powder instead of milk powder in the filling thank u
Hi Cora, I haven’t tried coconut powder yet. Normally spanish bread doesn’t use coconut powder for the filling unlike pan de coco. Hope this helps. Cheers!