Pan de Pula/Pan de Regla/Kalihim/Kabukiran

For a good story on how this tinapay's name evolved through time, read here.

Maybe, for me, the most apt name would be kalihim, in reference to bucaio's theory that it got that name from the sweet secret of using old rolls.

In my father's bakery (now gone), we did use stale breads to make this tinapay (which we simply referred to as "pula'). I have to confess that I never liked this tinapay, and it was not because of this secret (because we had another tinapay, "pudding," that used old breads also and was brown and chewy but I loved it very much).

However, in my compulsion to add to my list of Filipino rolls and breads in my kusina, I tried to come up with my own version. And while my own version did not taste at all like the pan de pula my father's bakery used to make, I actually ended up liking this version, and made me wonder whether other bakeries made theirs like this, because if they did, then there is no wonder anymore why lots of Filipinos love "kalihim" or "pan de regla." Even my kids loved them (this batch was gone within 24 hours). Having said this, please do not treat/expect this recipe as an authentic pan de pula or pan de regla or kalihim or kabukiran recipe. I will leave it up to you if you want to try this. My method is how I imagined it was probably done by my father's bakers back then. I did not know exactly how they prepared the filling, but I knew they wrapped it in dough, and proceeded pretty much like how I did. I also did not know their recipe for the dough, but one time I was talking to my mother about it, she said to have a dough that had a small amount of yeast so that it would not be thick. I got the dough recipe from breadworld.com, as usual, and liked it. As for the filling, I made a pudding recipe based on the usual ingredients: stale bread, milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. I used red food coloring mainly because that was what I knew we used in my father's bakery.

Ingredients:
Pudding Filling --
stale bread, cut into pieces (I used white bread, and filled a loaf pan 2/3 up)
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
red food coloring (or whatever color you prefer or none at all)

Dough --
1-1 / 2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope FLEISCHMANN’S RapidRise Yeast
3 / 4 teaspoon salt
2 / 3 cup very warm water (120o to 130oF)
1 tbsp oil
egg glaze (beaten 1 egg white plus 1 tbsp water)

Instructions:

Prepare the filling first. Place the cut up stale bread in a loaf pan up to 2/3 full. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Press the stale bread pieces then pour the mixture and let soak. Press some more with fork to make sure you release gas and bread pieces absorb the mixture. You may let this sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Puree the pudding in a food processor. Cook in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Stop when it is thick. Let cool down then form into a log using a cling wrap. Chill when cool enough to place in the fridge.

Prepare the dough. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, and salt. Gradually add very warm water and oil to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

Roll dough to 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Place the pudding log onto it and wrap with the dough. Pinch seams to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet seam side down. Flatten a bit. Brush with egg glaze. Pierce with fork tines on several spots for vents. Place in warmed oven (or a draft-free moist and warm place) to rise for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 400 deg F for about 20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing. Cool completely before placing in ziploc bags.