PANADERIA TALK + AN ANCESTRAL HOME TOUR & MEAL
[including a visit to PANADERIA LOLA GLO]
Saturday, September 23, 2017 (2:00-5:00pm)
A lecture by award winning writers, Amy Uy and Jenny Orillos, co-authors of "PANADERIA--Philippine Bread, Biscuit and Bakery Traditions;" includes a visit to Panaderia Lola Glo and ancestral home tour & meal at the home of Tomas Mapua, the first registered Filipino architect.
STORY OF THE EVENT
(Narrative written by Regina Newport)
Tomas Mapua was the first registered architect in the Philippines, and he finished building this family home in 1930. After his death in 1965, the house was inherited by his daughter (the mother of Pia Lim-Castillo), and Pia spent her early years in this house. This impeccably maintained ancestral home, which is currently being managed by Pia’s sister, Laida Lim, has recently been opened to the touring public, but only by special appointment.
The participants assembled at Panaderia Lola Glo, Pia’s recently opened Panaderia (built in partnership with her sisters), also on Taft Ave. in Pasay. We enjoyed the opportunity to browse and taste—and purchase—Pia’s baked goods. She serves both traditional and modern bakery items with a twist (more on this in the menu below).
The group then walked over next door for the 3:00 pm talk about Bread & History, to be given by Jenny Orillos and Amy Uy, authors of the best-selling book, Panaderia: Philippine Bread, Biscuit and Bakery Traditions. It’s the first book on Philippine breads that is not just about recipes, and it has won several awards, including 2016 Best Book on Food, by the 35thNational Book Awards; 2016 Best in the World—Breads,by Gourmand World Cookbook Award; and 2015 Top 10 Books, by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Amy Uy took the first part of the lecture, which covered the history of bread in the Philippines, starting from the pre-colonial era, and proceeding to the Spanish and American colonization periods. Her research included the writings of Antonio Pigafetta, who came to the country with Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Pigafetta wrote that they found “some kind of bread” being made and eaten by the natives, a “wooden bread made from a tree resembling the palm,” and which was called saghu (sago); unfortunately, there was no further description of this “bread.”
We were introduced to bread through the sacramental host used during the first Catholic mass held in Limasawa, Cebu, in 1521. This became known as “tinapay,” which could only be made using wheat flour, which did not exist in the country. They had to ship the flour in from Mexico, and later on from China and Thailand. By 1613, the term “tinapay” would be used by the natives to refer to Spanish bread and sea biscuit.
The first bakeshop in Manila was established in 1625, a century after Magellan’s arrival, and among the breads sold were pan de sal and ensaimada; the latter was sold as a “delicious, unrivaled, butter-soaked ensaimada for Easter Sunday,” and advertised as “made exactly like the best in Mallorca.”
When the Americans came in 1898, they changed the way we baked our breads—they made baking part of the school curriculum and introduced new cooking methods, tools and equipment, and new baked goods like muffins, corn bread, hot cakes, biscuits, cookings, doughnuts, sponge cakes and jelly rolls. Pan de sal continued to be made and sold, but the Americans also introduced Pan Amerikano, the popular sliced loaf bread that quickly became known as “Tasty” bread (presumably from an actual brand of bread loaves called “Taystee”).
For the second half of the lecture, Jenny Orillos continued with the American era, explaining that the breakthroughs introduced by the Americans completely changed bread-making and bread traditions in the Philippines.
Flouris the main ingredient in bread-making. The Philippines imported flour from the United States and Canada before and after World War II, but the establishment in 1958 of the first flour mill in the country, Republic Flour Mills (RFM), made local flour available, even though the wheat was still being imported from the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Many other flour mills followed in many parts of the country, making flour easily accessible, including in the Visayas and Mindanao. This also led to the many advances in flour-making that helped improve the way bread was made.
Yeastis another important ingredient in bread-making—there were two kinds available before the war: compressed yeast(also known as fresh yeast), and active dry yeast. One interesting bit of information is that San Miguel Beer, because of its use of yeast in making beer, was contracted by Fleischmann Yeast in the 1930s to manufacture compressed yeast in the Philippines.
The bread-making industry further improved with the invention of instant dry yeastin France in 1973, which was first imported here by Sonlie International in 1981 (Jenny noted that, coincidentally, Sonlie’s office was just across the street from Panaderia Lola Glo). Instant dry yeast became very popular—it was convenient to use because it could be added directly into the dry ingredients, and it was a great time saver, allowing bakers to make more breads in a much shorter time.
Another important aspect of the history of bread-making in the Philippines is the decline of the pugon, or wood-burning oven, and its replacement by the gas or electric oven, which was much cleaner to use and was small enough to fit inside smaller bakeries. This marked the end of many pugon-baked breads, including the pan de suelo (pan de sal baked directly on the “floor” of the pugon). There are still some pugonsleft, most of which can be found in the provinces.
Learning the craft
Unlike in Europe, where they have bakers’ guilds which require a baker to undergo training and apprenticeship before meriting the title “master baker,” our local panaderos, especially in the early days, were usually trained on the job, and the skills were passed on to younger generations. This practice had its flaws, the biggest of which was the passing on of old and inaccurate habits, especially in measuring ingredients. That said, there were “maestros” or self-made master bakers who were exceptionally skilled, and who could train the next generation to become master bakers.
Starting in the 1960s, however, formal baking schools and baking programs have begun to be established, providing bakers, bakery owners and enthusiasts with a place to formally learn bread-making, thus raising the standards for local baking skills. The flour millers and baking suppliers also had their own training programs.
All these developments and advances have had an impact on the history of Philippine bread-making.
The Feast
Immediately after the lecture, the participants feasted on the following delicious dishes (the baked goods were made at Pia’s Panaderia Lola Glo):
Pugon Pandesal at Kesong Puti – the pandesal was traditional bakery fare which, in Pia’s words, “are baked in a brick oven to give it the nostalgic feel of traditional pandesal before the advent of gas ovens.” They use charcoal instead of firewood like most urban bakeries. The kesong putiis made from carabao milk in Marilao, Bulacan.
Pancit Palabok- was served in a unique way. The participants had fun “assembling” their Palabok, starting with the perfectly cooked al dentenoodles and a special palaboksauce (a family recipe), and topped with small shrimps, sautéed ground pork, baby squid slices, shredded tinapa, sautéed tofu, sliced hard-boiled eggs, crushed chicharon, fried garlic, chopped scallions, with sliced kalamansi and patis(fish sauce) on the side. The delicious and flavorful sauce is traditionally made with shrimp-head juice sautéed in garlic and thickened with egg and colored with atsuete(achiote seeds).
Tokwa at Baboy– Only the pig’s head, cheeks, and ears are used for this dish, which are boiled till tender and served with a special vinegar sauce mixed with soy sauce, onions and chilis.
Enseimada de quatro horas– Pia still uses her grandmother’s recipe from the 1930’s. “It takes 4 hours from when you start making it to the point when you can eat it, as the dough goes through 3 risings before it is put in the oven to bake; the longer the fermentation process, the better the flavor.”
Pandan Coconut Bibingcakes – Pia developed the recipe for this herself. It is basically a butter cake flavored with local ingredients, including their own home-made pandanextract. Freshly grated coconut is incorporated into the batter before topping it with kesong putiand itlog na maalat(salted egg). The baking tins are lined with fresh pandanleaves, which impart a wonderful flavor and aroma to the cakes.
Jamaica Juice, Santol Juice, and Blue Pea Flower (Ternate) Juice– Jamaica Juiceis made from dried gumamela (hibiscus) flowers; it has a subtle sour taste and the gumamela gives it a nice red cranberry color.Santol Juice– Pia grew up with this drink especially when santol was in season. The meat of the fruit is chopped, and the seeds and pulp crushed for their juice, before it is mixed with water and a bit of salt and sugar. Blue Pea Flower (Ternate) Juice– A dark blue syrup is made from the pea flowers; the anthocyanin-rich liquid turns into a light purple color when a citric ingredient is added, such as kalamansior lime or lemon. These drinks were served with ice, and made for a very refreshing afternoon drink accompaniment to all the delicious dishes served.
PHOTOS
