Pan de monja

A plain, close-crumbed milk bread, creased deeply down the middle before it proves.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter), dairy (milk).

Ingredients

• 500 g strong white flour
• 60 g caster sugar
• 7 g fast-action yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 220 ml warm milk
• 1 egg
• 70 g butter, soft
• 2 tablespoons milk, for brushing

Method

1. THIS IS THE PLAIN ONE. No filling and no topping: a close, slightly dense milk bread, and the only shaping is the crease.
2. Mix everything but the brushing milk and knead 10 minutes to a smooth dough. It should be firmer than a pan de coco dough -- this bread is not meant to be fluffy.
3. Prove 1 hour until doubled, then knock back firmly. Knocking it back hard is deliberate: it gives the tight crumb.
4. Divide into 10 and roll each into a tight ball, then into a slight oval.
5. PRESS A DEEP CREASE down the length of each with the back of a floured knife, almost through to the tray. It opens as it proves and bakes into the split these are known by; a shy crease closes up and vanishes.
6. Prove 40 minutes, brush with milk.
7. Bake at 190C for 18 to 20 minutes until the tops are deep gold and the crease is pale inside.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes