Monay (Filipino Bread Rolls)

I'm in a baking mode... baking breads that is. You see, while two of my kids are still home for their winter break, baking bread in the morning is a sure way of waking them up. And we all know how college kids are with their sleeping schedule, or lack there of. This is a good mom-strategy sans nagging LOL!

You'll love the bread that I'm going to share with you.  It's called monay, another local bakery staple back home. A few posts ago, I shared with you pan de sal. I collected a lot of memories eating pan de sal as I was growing up, but I couldn't immediately identify a monay story because I don't remember eating much of it as a kid. Oh boy, did I miss out...

This monay story began a few days ago during a New Year's eve party at my sister's house in Orlando. My sister and brother-in-law usually host New Year's eve parties, where around fifteen families gather to wait until the clock strikes midnight.

As the night progressed, the topic of conversation was, of course food, but more specifically the monay. Everyone raved about the monay of Raffy, one of their friends. "Oh you have to try his bread, you'll love it!" the guests would say to me.

During the party, Raffy was busy in the kitchen prepping his monay. He set the dough aside to rise, and timed it so that the rolls were freshly baked right before midnight. The pleasant smell consumed the entire house and excited all the guests. Soon enough, everyone found their way to the kitchen and the monay was devoured within minutes. Not even the Disney fireworks, which were clearly visible from my sister's backyard, distracted people from getting the freshly baked bread. Everyone grabbed the rolls soon as they were pulled out of the oven.

So when we returned home from Orlando, my kids could not wait for me to  make my own version of it.

So this morning I baked a batch... and the smell of the freshly baked bread wafted through my kitchen, found its way into the bedrooms, and my kids were up and around the dining table in no time.

These bread rolls are a must try... they are buttery, tasty and dense. Just like with any bread, it is best to eat the rolls as soon as they get out of the oven.

Monay ala Raffy (Filipino Rolls)

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c powdered milk

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 pack of yeast
2 tbsp butter
2 egg yolks

Set the oven at 375 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.  Set aside.
Meanwhile mix yeast with warm water.  Make sure that your yeast is active, meaning bubbles should be visible.  Add sugar and give it a stir.  On a small bowl, mix the melted butter with the yolks. Now, mix both the yeast mixture and the butter mixture together.

Slowly mix the wet and dry ingredients together until it becomes a dough.  Knead the dough and form a ball  Put the dough in a bowl and cover it with a kitchen cloth. Leave it for 2 hours until the dough doubles its size. (another alternative is put the dough in 180 degrees oven for 30-40 minutes.

When the dough doubles in size, knead it again for about 5 minutes.  Form a log and slice it into your desired size.

Arrange the rolls in lightly oiled pan.  Brush an egg wash on top. (eggwash: egg yolk and a little water) Bake for 20 minutes or until the top turns golden brown.

ENJOY! 

P.S.

Thank you Raffy for sharing your recipe and for making monay during the party.  And thank you Nangnang for assisting me throughout the process.