Putok

A hard close-crumbed roll slashed in a cross so it bursts open in a hot oven.

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

Ingredients

• 500 g plain flour
• 5 g fast-action yeast
• 60 g caster sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 30 g butter, soft
• 240 ml warm water
• 4 tablespoons caster sugar, for the tops

Method

1. SLASHED IN A CROSS AND BAKED HOT, 220C, so it bursts open along the cuts. That burst is the whole look of the roll and it needs three things: a stiff dough, a deep cut, and an oven hot enough to force the rise before the crust sets. At 180C it opens slowly and seals itself.
2. A STIFF DOUGH AND LESS YEAST than a pandesal. This is meant to be hard, close-crumbed and dry -- a roll for dunking in coffee, not a soft one. 240 ml of water to 500 g of flour is deliberately tight and the dough will feel firm.
3. Yeast, sugar and the warm water, 10 minutes until foaming.
4. Flour, salt and butter in. Knead 12 minutes. It will fight you more than a soft dough does; that is correct.
5. Prove covered 1 hour 15. It will not double -- half again is what to expect with this little yeast.
6. Knock back and divide into 10. Shape each into a tight ball, dragging it under a cupped hand until the surface is taut.
7. Second prove only 25 minutes. Over-proved, there is no spring left and the cuts gape instead of bursting.
8. CUT A DEEP CROSS in each, 1 cm down, with a sharp blade in one stroke per line. A shallow cut closes in the oven.
9. Dust the tops heavily with the remaining sugar, letting it fall into the cuts.
10. Bake at 220C for 15 to 18 minutes, until deep gold and the cuts have opened into four peaks. Cool on a rack -- they harden as they cool and are meant to.

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