Anne Cortz

Making this photogenic, Filipino ube bread is easier than you think. Check out this soft ube halaya bread roll recipe. It’s so simple, you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. Assuming you are an ube lover, of course, and that you have a stock of ube halaya (aka ube jam) at all times!

You will find that this recipe results in a super soft bread. Here’s why- (1) Gluten formation is what gives bread its chewy and sturdy structure. (2) Ube does not have gluten. (3) This recipe contains a lot of ube halaya, almost as much as the flour by weight. We have the flour in the recipe to create the gluten structure for our bread, while the generous amount of ube halaya softens it. Thus giving us this super soft bread roll, with its lovely purple hue.

If you’re going to try making this ube halaya bread roll, please do try to source good quality ube halaya, or at least, use one that you actually enjoy eating. It will come as no surprise that the yummier your halaya, the yummier your bread.

Soft Ube Bread Roll

This is an easy and simple recipe perfect for home cooks. Use good quality ube halaya- it makes a difference!

• 750 grams plain (all-purpose) flour (, or 6 cups)
• 500 grams ube halaya (ube jam)
• 120 grams milk (, ½ cup)
• 55 grams oil (¼ cup)
• 3 tsp instant yeast
• pinch salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C.
2. With the dough hook on your mixer, combine all ingredients- ube halaya, oil, milk, yeast, salt and flour. Add flour a cup at a time up to 8 cups as needed if the dough is too wet.
3. Knead dough until elastic. Leave to rest until doubled in size, around an hour.
4. Punch the dough to deflate then form into desired shape, leaving again to proof until doubled in size.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Bread

Filipino

ube

Where to get ube halaya?

• Good Shepherd – Baguio City, Philippines — Their Mountain Maid Ube Jam probably the most popular ube halaya in the Philippines. And for good reason.
• Pan de Manila, Philippines — A chain bakery that sells decent Ube Halaya in jars.
• If you’re outside the Philippines, your best bet would be Asian/Filipino groceries or independent online sellers.
• Your local supermarket and palengke, Philippines. You will usually find different brands, from small manufacturers. You can usually get the idea of the quality based on the price, but the only sure way to know is to try! You can also check the ingredients list, at least for those sold at reputable supermarkets such as SM Hypermarket. But elsewhere, I am not sure if you can trust that the ingredients list is true.

Did you try the recipe? I would love to know how it went, let’s chat on the comments below! As for your next baking adventure, why not try these unusual fudgy brownies?