Pan de Sal ni Bubwit

Pan de sal - the ultimate bread for any Filipino especially me. "Bread of salt" is the best type of bread for my taste buds because it is bland enough for one to put filling in it or to be eaten alone. I've tried to make this bread twice (from different recipes) and this is the nearest one that I have done that mimics the one we have back home. The first recipe I tried - the bread was sweeter but it was so dense that if I were to make a business out of it, I'll be closed in a few months. This second recipe came out just "perfect".

As I sink my teeth into the pan de sal, it brings me back memories of Mama Luz. "Mama", as my siblings and I fondly call her, was our dearest mother surrogate. She took care of us as we grew up and as my parents were working. To others she was a nanny but to me, she is "Mama" who taught me how to read, to write, to count, to declaim, to dance, to play, and to dunk the pan de sal in steaming coffee with milk at breakfast. I sleep with her at night and in the morning, when we both woke up early we would stroll down the local bakery and buy pan de sal. When we got home, we'd open the bag of freshly baked pan de sal and dunk it in coffee that she made before we left. I was four or five years old then so my coffee consisted more of milk with a teaspoon or two of coffee. I'd sit in the kitchen having my own feast while she cooks the real breakfast that everybody would partake. Then one by one my siblings as well as my parents would come down and have breakfast. And just like Mama and me, they would dunk the pan de sal into their coffee and eat it. My Dad even had this habit of putting "mantequila" or butter in the pan de sal and dunk it in his coffee.

Most of the time, the breakfast pan de sal had leftovers. Since school started after lunch for me, I'd have the pleasure of having my own pan de sal sandwich with butter and sugar as filling. Nope, I didn't bring coffee to school but water was good enough to wash the treat down my throat. To me, bread meant "pan de sal" and "tinapay" meant "Tasty" - the white bread used for sandwiches.

How I wish Mama was here to taste my own pan de sal and I'd be delighted to see her dunk it in coffee. It may not taste or look the same as the pan de sal we bought from the local bakery back then but it tastes just as good or even better (I hope!).