Learn how to make cheese pandesal at home! Soft, pillowy dough, melty cheese filling. These are absolutely irresistible fresh from the oven.
Pandesal stuffed with melty cheese is pure comfort food. This cheese pandesal is a riff on my classic pandesal recipe, but with a few key tweaks to the dough that make all the difference when you’re working with a filling.
Variation on Classic Pandesal
If you’ve made my original pandesal before, you’ll notice this version has a slightly different texture. This one a bit softer and more pliable. That’s intentional!
A standard pandesal dough doesn’t always cooperate when you’re trying to encase a filling; it can tear or spring back on you. So I adjusted the dough to be more forgiving and better suited to wrapping around cheese.
Think of it as somewhere between my classic pandesal and my ube cheese pandesal on Love Filipino Food (if you’ve made that one, you already know what to expect!)
For the filling, I went with American cheese. Processed cheese like Kraft Singles melt beautifully and they’re easy to shape into the dough. I’ve tired it with block cheeses (cheddar and mozzarella) and it just didn’t work out for me. I’m sticking with processed cheeses for this recipe.
Whether you’re making these for breakfast, merienda, or just because you need something warm and cheesy in your life right now, this is the recipe for you!
Kitchen Tools and Equipment
There’s no way around it. This recipe works BEST when you weigh out your ingredients. Do yourself the biggest favor and buy a kitchen scale. (That’s the one I recommend!)
You’ll need:
- Digital kitchen scale
- 9×13-inch baking sheet (quarter sheet tray with lid is even better!)
- Parchment paper
- Stand mixer is great (but you can also mix by hand)
Cheese Pandesal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoon dry active yeast, (see notes for instant yeast)
- ¼ cup water, warmed to 100-110℉
- ¾ cup whole milk, or 2% milk, warmed to 100-110℉
- 50 g granulated sugar, divided (set aside 5 g or 1 teaspoon)
- 406 g all-purpose flour, divided (set aside 16 g)
- 20 g whole milk powder , or nonfat milk powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg, room temp, whisked
- 28 g unsalted butter, softened room temp
- 170 g Kraft Singles American cheese, or other quick melt cheese*, divided into 12 equal portions (about 14 g each)
- 30 g plain breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Activate Yeast: Sprinkle yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar over warm water and warm milk. Whisk together and let sit for 5 minutes to activate.
- Set aside 16 grams (2 Tbsp) of all-purpose flour.
- Mix Dry. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in other flour (390 g), remaining sugar (45 g), milk powder, and salt. Add in activated yeast mixture. Attach dough hook to stand mixer. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute.
- Mix Wet. Add in whisked egg and continue to mix on low speed for another 2 minutes until dough starts to form. Add in softened butter. Increase to medium speed and knead for about 2 minutes.
- Add in remaining 16 grams all-purpose flour. Continue to knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, elastics, and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
- First Rise. Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about an hour, until dough as doubled in size.
- Portion. Punch down risen dough. Weight dough and divide into 12 equal portions (about 65 g each). Let portioned dough rest 5 minutes.
- Shape. Work with once piece of dough at a time. Flatten dough. Place one portion of cheese in center of dough. Pull up sides of dough to cover cheese. pinch seams together to encase cheese. Turn dough cover (seam side down) on clear work surface and roll into an oblong (oval shape).
- Coat. Turn dough over and dip the smooth top side into breadcrumbs. Place breadcrumbs side up (seam side down) onto parchment lined 9×13-inch baking sheet. Read with remaining dough.
- Final Proof. Cover assembled dough. Let proof at room temperature for about one hour to puff up and nearly double in size. (Timing is estimate, look at visual cues.)
- Bake. Preheat oven to 350℉. Remove dough covering. Bake for 20-23 minutes, rotating pan midway through baking, until tops of bread are lightly brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before pulling apart and eating.
Notes
- Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- To reheat: place on chilled cheese pandesal on microwave safe plate alongside a mug of water. Heat for 20 second intervals until bread is warm and soft.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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