Monay, also known as pan de monja, is a dense

bread roll Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made food ...

from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

made with

all-purpose flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

, and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

. It has a characteristic shape, with an indentation down the middle dividing the bread into two round halves. It is a common humble fare, usually eaten for ''

merienda Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (merenda in Galician, berenar in Catalan), Portugal (lanche or merenda) and Italy (merenda), as well as Hispanic America, Philippines (meryenda/merienda), North Africa (Morocco), ...

'' with cheese or dipped in hot drinks. It is one of the most basic bread types in the Philippines and is sometimes known as the "mother of all Filipino breads" as it can be modified to give rise to various other bread types.

Etymology

The name ''pan de monja'' means " cloistered

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

's bread". This evolved into the colloquial name ''pan de monáy'' or simply ''monáy'' in Filipino.

Description

Monay is made with

or bread flour

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

, mixed with

(usually

powdered milk Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example be ...

s, and a small amount of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

, and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condim ...

. The dough is kneaded into a ball and allowed to rest for a couple of hours until the dough doubles in size. It is then rolled into a cylinder and cut into small chunks and shaped. It is usually brushed with an egg wash on top before being baked. Monay is traditionally slightly yellow or yellow-brown in color, but modern commercial variants are paler brown. File:09714jfFilipino cuisine foods desserts breads Landmarks Bulacanfvf 19.jpg, '' Pinagong'' File:Putok bread (Philippines).jpg, '' Putok'' File:Pinagong (monay bread) - Philippines.jpg, A large version of ''Pinagong'' Monay is one of the most basic bread types in the Philippines and is sometimes known as the "mother of all Filipino breads" as it can be modified to give rise to various other bread types. These include breads like '' pinagong'' and '' putok''.

In popular culture

The distinctive shape of the bread has often been compared to the shape of the

buttocks The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...

or female

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

. In certain regions in the Philippines, "''monay''" is used as slang for the latter. Some modern versions omit the indentation for this reason or change the name.

References

Philippine breads Yeast breads Southeast Asian breads {{Filipino food

Etymology

Description

In popular culture

See also

References