Highlights
- Matagal ng magkasintahan sina Yanna at Jolo at marami na ring mga restawran at bakeries and kanilang pinagtrabahuhan ng magkasama.
- Kasama sa kanilang mga produkto ang pandesal, pan de coco, ensaymada loaf at piaya.
- Saad ng dalawa na kadalasan sa proofing nangyayari ang mga pagkakamali.
"In the Philippines, you pass by panederias [bakeries] in the morning and you smell the freshly baked pandesal [sweet bread rolls]. It's such a vivid memory from back home," saad ni Yanna Hermoso.
Hindi lang ninanais ni Yanna at ng kanyang partner na si Jolo Morales na ibalik ang mga alaala ng Pilipinas, nais din nilang maging bagong alternatibong tinapay sa almusal ang pandesal para sa Melburnians.
Chefs Jolo Morales and Yanna Hermoso Source: Yanna Hermoso
Ang pandemya
"Yanna and I are both chefs. We both worked in bakeries and fine dining restaurants like in the Philippines. When we saw the food scene in Australia...it was amazing!" saad ni Jolo.
Sang-ayon si Yanna, "I also wanted to make a difference with sustainability so we thought Melbourne would be a good place to combine that with food."
Lumipat ang dalawa sa Australya noong 2018 at nagtrabaho sa ilang mga fine dining restaurants at bakeries sa Melbourne.
"Then the pandemic hit and we had a second lockdown. We wanted to have that momentum of still being productive," saad ni Yanna.
Yanna and Jolo Source: Toyo Eatery / San Pellegrino
"We were so bored. We realised we couldn't just be idle. That's when our side hustle Alsa [rising dough] was born," saad ni Yanna.
Mga produkto
Ninanais ng dalawa na maging platform ang kanilang negosyo sa pagpapakilala sa pagkaing Pinoy sa mga Australyano at maipakilalang muli ang mga panibagong tinapay sa mga Pilipino sa Melbourne.
"We chose not to add desiccated coconut to our pan de coco [coconut bread] and instead use latik [formed from the curd of simmered coconut cream]. We finish it off with a two-month blackened paitom [burnt caramelised mature coconut common in Mindanao] and salt," saad ni Yanna.
Dagdag ni Jolo, "With our piaya [unleavened flatbread], we make the flatbread fluffier. We add root starch to it so it becomes gummier and it still stays soft the next day. Instead of just muscovado sugar, we took inspiration from banana cue [fried bananas with brown sugar] and made a banana panutsa [solid unrefined sugar] caramel filling instead."
Pan de coco and piaya Source: Yanna Hermoso / Jolo Morales
Gumagawa rin ang dalawa ng ensaymada, pero sa n loaf-form na may hamonado glaze at smoked aged cheddar.
"We usually just make ensaymada during Christmas; but when our friends make a special request, we'll make it," tawa ni Jolo.
Ensaymada Source: Yanna Hermoso / Jolo Morales
At siyempre, nandyan din ang kanilang pandesal.
"The edge of pandesal over sourdough is that it's soft," saad ni Yanna.
"Pandesal uses a hybrid yeast. It moves faster that yeast in sourdough bread so you have to be more attentive to it." dagdag ni Jolo, "But what we do with ours is we add tangzhong [rice culture]. It's like the Asian version of a sourdough starter."
Saad ni Yanna na ang gusto rin niya sa pandesal ay walang aksaya kapag gumagawa sila nito.
Pandesal Source: Yanna Hermoso / Jolo Morales
"We use the excess breads to make breadcrumbs we put on top of the pandesal."
Gawing tama
Ibinahagi nina Jolo at Yanna na naging mahalagang boredom-buster para sa mga Pilipino ang pandesal ngayong pandemya.
"You'd see Filipinos making pandesal at home during lockdowns and sharing them online. Baking products were so hard to find especially during the first few lockdowns. We had to search deep in Footscray to find ingredients," saad ni Yanna.
Para sa mga naghahanap pa ng magandang pandesal recipe, saad ng dalawa na kadalasan sa proofing nangyayari ang mga pagkakamali.
"You'd see Filipinos making pandesal at home during lockdowns and sharing them online." Source: Life Of Pix from Pexels
Ayon kay Jolo, "One of the first people to teach us how to make bread was a Filipino-Australian who worked for Tivoli Road. He said that it's not about following directions to a tee. Instead, you have to have a connection with your dough, to know when it's ready and when it's risen enough."
"Some people wait too long and want the dough to rise a lot; but that leads to overproofing which results in deflated bread," saad ni Yanna.
People often make mistakes during proofing [letting dough rest and rise]. Source: Klaus Nielsen from Pexels
"On the other hand, when you underproof, your bread becomes too dense."
Dagdag ni Jolo na kailangang lumaki ng 2/3 ang dough.
"It's really about doing things the right way - like any other Filipino dish," saad ni Jolo.
Jolo adds that perfectly risen dough rises to 2/3 of its original size. Source: webandi from Pixabay
"When you do food the way it's meant to be done, you change how even non-Filipinos view our cuisine. Like, if it's vermicelli sotanghon [noodle dish], make it al dente; or lechon [roasted pig], pre-roast it and don't overcook it.
"Basic principles can change a lot of people's perspectives. When you do Filipino food right, they'll see it in a better light."
Rockling tinapa with pandesal, a collaboration between Alsa and Lutong Lupa Source: Alsa / Lutong Lupa
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
