Ube Pandesal (Soft Filipino Bread Rolls)

Pandesal is the everyday bread of the Philippines: soft, slightly sweet rolls with a light breadcrumb coating, traditionally bought warm from the neighborhood bakery first thing in the morning. This ube version keeps everything you love about the classic and adds a gentle lavender color and a mellow, vanilla-nutty flavor.

The dough is soft and easy to handle, and you can make it by hand or with a stand mixer. If you like, tuck a cube of cheese inside each roll before baking. Ube and cheese is a much-loved Filipino combo for a reason: sweet, salty and melty all at once.

Make a batch on the weekend and you'll have warm, pillowy rolls for breakfast, with plenty left to freeze for busy mornings.

Makes: 16 rolls · Prep: 30 minutes (plus 1 1/2–2 hours rising) · Cook: 15–18 minutes · Difficulty: Moderate · Diet: Vegetarian

Why this recipe works

• An enriched dough stays soft. Milk, an egg, butter and a little sugar give pandesal its tender, slightly sweet, cotton-soft crumb.
• Bread flour gives structure. The ube powder doesn't contain gluten, so higher-protein bread flour keeps the rolls tall and springy even with ube in the mix.
• Ube replaces a little flour. We use 30 g of ube powder in place of 30 g of flour. That's enough for color and flavor without making the dough heavy.
• Moderate oven, short bake. Pandesal is traditionally baked to a pale golden color. A 350°F (175°C) oven and a short bake keep the crust soft and protect ube's natural color, which dulls with long, high heat.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 470 g (about 3 3/4 cups) bread flour, spooned and leveled, plus a little for dusting
• 30 g (about 1/4 cup) Pure Ube Latte Powder
• 60 g (1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons) granulated sugar
• 7 g (2 1/4 teaspoons / 1 packet) instant yeast
• 8 g (1 1/4 teaspoons) fine salt
• 280 ml (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) whole milk, warmed to 105–110°F (40–43°C)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 55 g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, very soft

For coating and filling

• 40 g (about 1/2 cup) fine plain breadcrumbs
• Optional: 160 g (about 5 1/2 oz) cheddar or quick-melt cheese, cut into 16 cubes of about 10 g each

Notes on key ingredients

• Ube powder: 100% purple yam with nothing added. Because it absorbs liquid like flour, it's counted as part of the dry ingredients. Learn more about ube and where it comes from.
• Bread flour: About 12–13% protein. All-purpose flour works, but the rolls will be a little less tall and chewy; hold back 2 tablespoons of milk and add it only if needed.
• Instant yeast: Mix it straight into the flour. If you only have active dry yeast, use the same amount but dissolve it in the warm milk with a pinch of sugar for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy first.
• Milk temperature: Warm, not hot. Above about 130°F (55°C), yeast starts to struggle. If it feels comfortably warm on your wrist, it's right.

Easy substitutions

• Dairy-free: Use unsweetened oat or soy milk and a plant-based butter block.
• Cheese options: Mild cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack or Filipino-style processed quick-melt cheese all work. Cream cheese also makes a lovely filling; chill the cubes first so they're easier to wrap.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), whisk the bread flour, ube powder, sugar, instant yeast and salt until evenly lavender.
2. Add the liquids. Add the warm milk and the egg. Stir with a spatula or mix on low with the dough hook until a shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Knead. Knead on medium-low for about 5 minutes, or by hand on a lightly floured counter for about 8 minutes. The dough will be slightly sticky. If it feels stiff and dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Add the butter. Add the soft butter a tablespoon at a time and keep kneading until fully absorbed, another 4 to 6 minutes in a mixer or 6 to 8 minutes by hand. The dough is ready when it's smooth, elastic and tacky but not sticky, and a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing.
5. First rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot, ideally 75–80°F (24–27°C), until doubled, usually 60 to 90 minutes. A cooler kitchen can take up to 2 hours.
6. Divide. Gently press the dough to deflate it. Divide into 16 equal pieces, about 60 g each. A scale makes this easy and helps the rolls bake evenly.
7. Shape (and fill). Roll each piece into a smooth, tight ball by cupping your hand over it and circling on an unfloured counter. For cheese-filled rolls, flatten each piece into a disc, place a cheese cube in the center, pinch the edges together firmly to seal, then roll seam-side down into a ball.
8. Coat in breadcrumbs. Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate. Lightly mist or brush each ball with water, then roll it in the crumbs to coat.
9. Second rise. Arrange the rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet (or in a 9x13-inch pan for pull-apart rolls), about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Cover loosely and let rise until puffy and about 1 1/2 times larger, 30 to 45 minutes. When you poke one gently, the dent should spring back slowly.
10. Bake. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the rolls sound hollow when tapped underneath. An instant-read thermometer in the center of a roll should read about 190°F (88°C).
11. Cool slightly. Let the rolls cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving. Cheese-filled rolls are very hot inside, so give them a few extra minutes.

Pro tip: To keep the color vibrant, pull the rolls as soon as they reach about 190°F (88°C) inside. Ube's natural purple fades the longer it sits in a hot oven, so a slightly pale pandesal is a prettier pandesal. If the tops color too fast in your oven, tent loosely with foil for the last 5 minutes.

Tips for success

• Watch the dough, not the clock. Rising times depend on room temperature. Doubled in size and a dent that fills back slowly is what you're looking for.
• Keep the dough a little tacky. A soft, slightly sticky dough bakes into a softer roll. Resist adding lots of extra flour while kneading.
• Seal cheese rolls well. Pinch the seams tightly. Any gap will let cheese bubble out during baking.
• Brush with butter for extra softness. A quick brush of melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven keeps the tops tender.

Common mistakes (and how to fix them)

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Dough didn't rise	Milk too hot, expired yeast or a cold kitchen	Check milk is 105–110°F (40–43°C), use fresh yeast, and rise in a warm spot such as an oven with just the light on
Rolls are dense and heavy	Under-kneaded dough or too much flour	Knead until the dough passes the windowpane test; weigh flour
Rolls flattened and spread	Over-proofed on the second rise	Bake when the rolls are puffy and spring back slowly, not when they collapse at a touch
Color is dull or brownish	Baked too hot or too long	Bake at 350°F (175°C) and pull at 190°F (88°C) internal
Cheese leaked out	Seams not sealed, or cheese cubes too big	Use 10 g cubes, pinch seams firmly and place seam-side down

Variations

• Ube cheese pandesal: The cheese-filled version above. Cheddar gives a sharper contrast; quick-melt cheese gives that classic gooey center.
• Ube cream cheese rolls: Fill each roll with a teaspoon of chilled, lightly sweetened cream cheese.
• Ube halaya-style filling: Fill with a spoonful of thick ube jam if you have some on hand.
• Pull-apart ube rolls: Bake the balls snugly in a 9x13-inch pan for soft sides that tear apart. Add 2 to 3 minutes to the bake.

Make-ahead & storage

• Overnight dough: After kneading, cover the dough and refrigerate for up to 18 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then shape. The second rise will take a little longer, 45 to 75 minutes.
• Plain rolls: Store cooled rolls in an airtight bag or container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• Cheese-filled rolls: Enjoy within a day at room temperature, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Rewarm before eating.
• Freezing: Freeze cooled rolls in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, then warm in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.

What to serve with it

• Butter, coconut jam or a smear of cream cheese
• A cozy cup of ube latte; see how to make an ube latte at home
• A cold creamy ube banana smoothie for a quick breakfast
• Scrambled eggs, longganisa or a simple fried egg for a savory Filipino-style breakfast

FAQ

Can I make ube pandesal without a stand mixer?

Absolutely. Kneading by hand takes about 15 minutes in total. The dough starts sticky but becomes smooth and elastic as you work it, especially once the butter is fully absorbed.

Why are my ube rolls not very purple?

Natural ube powder gives a soft lavender crumb, and the color mellows a bit in the oven. Many bakery-style ube breads use extract with added coloring. Baking at a moderate temperature and not overbaking keeps the color as bright as possible.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?

Yes. Your rolls will be slightly softer and less tall. Start with 260 ml of milk and add more only if the dough feels stiff.

How do I know when the rolls are fully baked?

The bottoms should be lightly golden and sound hollow when tapped, and the center should read about 190°F (88°C) on an instant-read thermometer.

Warm, fluffy, naturally purple bread is closer than you think. Grab a pouch of our Pure Ube Latte Powder and bake a batch this weekend. Then explore more breakfast ideas in our ube recipe collection.