Baking

Ube Cheese Pandesal (The Purple Bread of Your Dreams)

3 min

Knead this dough past the point where it looks done and you'll watch it shift from sticky lavender to a smooth, almost glossy purple. That color comes from the half cup of ube halaya worked into the flour, with a teaspoon of ube extract if you want it to read violet instead of muddy mauve. A cube of quick-melt cheese goes in the center of each roll, so you get sweet purple crumb on the outside and a salty pull when you tear one open warm. The breadcrumb coat is the giveaway that these are pandesal and not just sweet rolls.

By Nora Calloway

A little backstory

Pandesal is the everyday Filipino breakfast roll, its name a worn-down version of the Spanish pan de sal, or salt bread, left over from the colonial era. The ube-and-cheese version is much newer, riding the wave of purple yam desserts that spread through Filipino bakeries and Instagram feeds over the last several years. The breadcrumb coating is a nod to classic pandesal, which traditionally gets rolled in crumbs before baking.

Pandesal is the quintessential Filipino breakfast bread. Soft, slightly sweet, and perfect with coffee. But this version? It’s a whole vibe. We’re adding ube (purple yam) for color and a hint of nutty sweetness, then stuffing it with melty cheese.

The result is pillowy, purple, and packed with gooey cheese pockets. Your morning coffee just found its soulmate. Let’s bake.

Makes 12 rolls.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Make the Dough

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
Add warm milk, melted butter, egg, ube halaya, and ube extract. Mix until a dough forms.
Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be purple and slightly sticky.

First Rise

Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Shape and Fill

Punch down dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces.
Flatten each piece. Place a cheese cube in the center. Seal tightly.
Roll each ball in breadcrumbs until coated.

Second Rise

Arrange rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam-side down.
Cover and let rise for another 30-45 minutes until puffy.

Bake

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown on top. The cheese might ooze—that’s a good thing.
Serve warm. Pull apart. Watch the cheese stretch.

Summary

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Rise Time: 1.5 hours | Bake Time: 18 minutes | Total Time: ~2.5 hours

Yield: 12 rolls

Difficulty: Medium (needs patience for rising)

Storage Notes

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat in a microwave for 10 seconds or in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes to bring back the softness and melty cheese. Freeze baked pandesal for up to 1 month. Thaw and reheat straight from frozen.

The Ingredients

Everything you need.

Prep

25 minutes

Cook

18 minutes

Total

~2.5 hours

Yield

12 rolls

Ingredients

For the Dough:

3½ cups (440g) bread flour or all-purpose flour
½ cup (65g) ube halaya (purple yam jam) or ube powder + water
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 packet (2¼ tsp) instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup (180ml) warm milk (about 110°F)
¼ cup (60ml) melted butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ube extract (optional, for deeper color)

For the Filling and Topping:

4 oz (115g) quick-melt cheese or mozzarella, cut into 12 small cubes
½ cup (50g) breadcrumbs (for rolling)

Instructions

1
Make the Dough. Make the Dough. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add warm milk, melted butter, egg, ube halaya, and ube extract. Mix until a dough forms. Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be purple and slightly sticky. 2 2
2
First Rise. First Rise. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, until doubled in size. 3 3
3
Shape and Fill. Shape and Fill. Punch down dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces. Flatten each piece. Place a cheese cube in the center. Seal tightly. Roll each ball in breadcrumbs until coated. 4 4
4
Second Rise. Second Rise. Arrange rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam-side down. Cover and let rise for another 30-45 minutes until puffy. 5 5
5
Bake. Bake. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown on top. The cheese might ooze—that’s a good thing. Serve warm. Pull apart. Watch the cheese stretch

Swaps & Substitutions

Ube halaya → swap in 2 to 3 tbsp ube powder rehydrated with a little of the warm milk; the color holds but the crumb is slightly less moist, so don't skip the extract
Ube extract → leave it out if you only have halaya, just expect a softer grayish-purple rather than bright violet
Quick-melt cheese → low-moisture mozzarella works; avoid fresh mozzarella since it weeps water and makes the center soggy
Bread flour → all-purpose is fine here and the recipe already allows it, you'll just get a slightly less chewy roll
Dairy milk and butter → oat milk and a neutral oil or vegan butter both work; the dough stays soft, though the flavor is a touch plainer
Breadcrumbs → panko, crushed cornflakes, or even plain flour will coat the rolls if you're out of standard crumbs

Questions & Answers

Why did my pandesal turn out grayish instead of purple?

Ube halaya alone tends to bake into a muted mauve, and heat dulls it further. Add the teaspoon of ube extract for a true violet, and don't over-bake past golden or the color goes drab.

Can I make the dough ahead of time?

Yes. After the first rise, punch it down and refrigerate overnight. Shape and fill the next morning, then let the rolls do their 30 to 45 minute second rise (a bit longer if straight from the fridge) before baking.

My cheese leaked out during baking. What went wrong?

The dough wasn't sealed tightly, or the cheese cube was too big. Pinch the seam firmly and turn it seam-side down, and stick to roughly 12 even cubes so each one is fully enclosed.

How do I know when they're done?

Bake at 350F for 15 to 18 minutes until the tops are golden and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. The purple will look deeper on the unbaked sides, so judge doneness by the browning, not the color.

How should I store and reheat them?

Keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze up to a month. Warm a roll for 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave to bring the cheese back to that soft, pullable state.

Ube Cheese Pandesal (The Purple Bread of Your Dreams)