Cinnamon Sugar Pan de sal

Pan de sal is a sweet dinner roll from the Philipines which I've found my Philipino friends love. This is my cinnamon sugar version but you could easily omit the last step to have a more classic recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups luke warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all-purpose flour - I used bread flour.
1 egg - for the egg wash
cinnamon sugar ( a teaspoon of sugar to half a cup of white sugar)

Directions:

Combine warm tap water in a small mixing bowl with the yeast and sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining sugar and the oil and mix until smooth. Add the salt, 1 cup of flour and the yeast mixture; stir well.

Add the remaining 5 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, supple and elastic, about 10 minutes. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in it and turn to coat the dough with oil.

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prerise

Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume; about 1 hour. Our house is cold so I heated the oven to the lowest setting, then placed a damp tea towel under the metal mixing bowl, and another covering it, and let it rise in the oven. Don't be impatient. It really does take atleast 1 hour and does not rise as quick as cinnamon buns or pizza dough. You cannot skip this step.

The dough risen and doubled in volume.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. The dough is warm and soft like baby skin and feels great! Form into a log 2 inches in diameter. Using a knife or string, I cut the log into 1 inch sections, rounding lightly in my hands before placing on an ungreased cookie sheet.  You could put down a piece of parchment paper if you like.

I recommend laying them in a pattern so that the finish product looks more professional. I left only .5 inches between each dough ball so they would crowd each other a bit. Brush with an egg wash then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume again, about 30 minutes.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Enjoy immediately out of the oven with a cuppa. The buns should be soft like brioche, with a slightly crispy crust. It's a simple recipe that only requires time.