Ajijic Wedding Bread (Pan Tachihual)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Bench scraper or sharp knife for pressed scoring
• •Wooden peel or flat baking sheet
• •Baking stone or steel, or a properly heated horno de lena
• •Woven basket lined with a cotton servilleta for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the pata

   Feed your masa madre de trigo, the pata, 6 to 8 hours before mixing. It should be domed, bubbly, and smell cleanly sour, like wheat and fruit, not alcohol. If it has collapsed, feed it again. Wedding bread is not where you use a tired ferment.

2. 2

   Dissolve the piloncillo

   Stir the grated piloncillo into the warm water until mostly dissolved. Piloncillo brings mineral depth that white sugar does not have. If a few small bits remain, leave them. They will melt into the dough and give the crumb those small dark flecks that tell you the bread was made properly.

3. 3

   Mix the dough

   In a large bowl, combine the harina de trigo, harina de maiz, salt, anise seed, and cinnamon. Add the pata, piloncillo water, eggs, and instant yeast if using. Mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will feel sticky and heavy at first because the corn flour drinks slowly. Let it sit 20 minutes before kneading. No me vengas con atajos. Resting is part of the work.

   Use fine harina de maiz, not nixtamalized masa harina. Masa harina changes the texture and gives tortilla flavor. This loaf wants a gentle corn sweetness, not a tamal crumb.
4. 4

   Knead with manteca

   Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes by hand, or 6 minutes on low speed in a stand mixer. Add the soft manteca in three additions, kneading until each one disappears before adding the next. The dough should become smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky, with a soft sheen from the fat. If you dump in melted lard, the dough turns greasy and weak. Soft lard, patient hands. Asi se hace y punto.

5. 5

   Ferment overnight

   Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it well, and let it rise at cool room temperature for 8 to 10 hours, until expanded by about half and fragrant with anise and piloncillo. This is not a fast pan dulce. The pata needs time to season the dough. If your kitchen is hot, refrigerate after 3 hours and finish the rise in the morning.

6. 6

   Shape the loaves

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table. Divide it into two equal pieces. Shape each into a tight round, then flatten gently into a thick disk about 8 inches across. Place on parchment or a floured wooden peel. Press the top lightly with your palm so it is broad and steady, not tall like a brioche. Pan Tachihual should look generous and grounded.

7. 7

   Score the loom

   With a sharp knife or bench scraper, press shallow crossed lines over the top of each loaf, making a woven pattern without cutting too deep. Brush with egg wash, then scatter sesame seeds and coarse sugar over the surface. Let the loaves proof 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy and slow to spring back when pressed.

8. 8

   Heat the oven

   For a horno de lena, fire the oven until the clay floor is hot and the flame has burned down to clean embers. For a home oven, set a baking stone or steel on the middle rack and heat to 425F for at least 45 minutes. The first heat sets the shape. A timid oven gives you pale bread and a tight crumb.

9. 9

   Bake the bread

   Slide the loaves onto the hot stone or clay floor. Bake 10 minutes at 425F, then lower to 375F and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden, the sesame is toasted, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. The internal temperature should be about 195F. If the top browns too fast, cover loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.

10. 10

    Cool and serve

    Cool the loaves on a rack for at least 1 hour before cutting. Do not slice hot enriched bread unless you want a gummy crumb. Serve in thick wedges with cafe de olla, chocolate de metate, or at a celebration table beside savory food. This bread holds its dignity next to mole. That is why it belongs at weddings.

Chef Tips

• •Ask a serious panaderia for masa madre de trigo or pata. In Guadalajara, pata is the old sourdough culture used for breads like birote, but remember this: birote is a sourdough, not a bolillo. Do not flatten the categories because they both look like bread.
• •The manteca must be fresh and clean-smelling. If it smells stale, your bread will taste stale. Buy it from a butcher or render it yourself. Supermarket hydrogenated shortening is not manteca de cerdo.
• •If you cannot bake in a horno de lena, use a heavy baking stone and a long preheat. You will miss the clay floor and the faint smoke, but you can still make honest bread. A substitution is a compromise, not a tragedy.
• •Piloncillo varies. Dark cones taste deeper and more mineral. Pale piloncillo is sweeter and cleaner. Both work, but do not replace it with white sugar and expect the same bread.
• •Pan Tachihual is best the day it is baked and excellent toasted the next morning. Slice it thick. Thin slices are for nervous people.

Advance Preparation

• •Feed the pata the morning before mixing so it reaches peak strength by evening.
• •The dough can ferment overnight at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator after a short room-temperature start.
• •Baked loaves keep wrapped in a cloth for two days. For longer storage, slice and freeze, then toast directly from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)