Canilla Veracruzana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Kitchen scale for dividing the dough evenly
• •Large mixing bowl and cotton servilleta
• •Bench scraper
• •Baking stone or heavy sheet pan
• •Sharp lame or serrated knife
• •Small metal pan for oven moisture

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Stir the warm water, grated piloncillo, and yeast together in a large bowl. Let it stand for 8 to 10 minutes, until the surface looks foamy and smells faintly sweet. The piloncillo is not there to make a sweet bread. It wakes the yeast and gives the crust a quiet cane-sugar color, the kind you taste in Veracruz because the cañaverales are not decoration on a map.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Add the flour and salt to the bowl. Mix with your hand or a wooden spoon until no dry patches remain, then work in the tablespoon of manteca de cerdo. The dough should feel slightly tacky, not wet, and not stiff like pasta dough. La manteca es el sabor, but here it is used with discipline. Too much softens the crust, and canilla needs to crackle.

3. 3

   Knead until elastic

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Push, fold, turn. Do not bury it in flour. The dough is ready when it feels smooth, stretches without tearing right away, and springs back when you press it with one finger. If using a stand mixer, knead on medium-low for 6 minutes. A machine is allowed. Laziness is not.

4. 4

   Let it rise

   Grease the bowl with the teaspoon of manteca. Set the dough inside, turn it once to coat, cover with a cotton servilleta, and let it rise in a warm kitchen for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until doubled. It should look swollen and alive. If your kitchen is cool, give it time. Bread obeys temperature, not your impatience.

5. 5

   Shape the canillas

   Turn the dough out and divide it into 10 pieces, about 85 grams each. Cover them and let them rest for 10 minutes so the gluten relaxes. Flatten one piece into a small rectangle, roll it tightly from the long side, pinch the seam closed, then roll it under your palms into a long narrow loaf, 7 to 8 inches, with tapered ends. Canilla means shinbone. The shape tells you the name. Set each loaf seam side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

   Do not shape these like round bolillos. Bolillo is another bread. Canilla is longer, leaner, made for tearing, carrying, and dunking into café lechero without collapsing.
6. 6

   Proof and heat

   Cover the shaped canillas with the servilleta and let them rise for 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy but still holding their long shape. While they rise, heat the oven to 450F with a baking stone or heavy sheet pan on the middle rack and an empty metal pan on the lower rack. Give the oven at least 30 minutes. A weak oven gives you pale bread with no authority.

7. 7

   Score and bake

   Slash each canilla once down the length with a sharp knife or lame, about 1/4 inch deep, holding the blade at a slight angle. Slide the loaves onto the hot stone or hot sheet pan. Pour the cup of very hot water into the lower metal pan and close the oven immediately. Bake for 10 minutes at 450F, then lower the heat to 425F and bake 12 to 15 minutes more, until the crust is pale gold, crisp, and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.

8. 8

   Cool and serve

   Move the canillas to a rack and let them cool at least 20 minutes. Do not trap them in plastic while warm or you will ruin the crust you worked for. Serve them in a paper bag beside café lechero, with frijoles negros, or split for a small torta. This is Veracruz bread, not a French baguette in costume. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Use bread flour if you can. Mexican panadería flour has enough strength to hold a long roll. All-purpose flour works, but the crumb will be softer and the loaf will spread more. That is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Piloncillo matters here even in a small amount. Veracruz sugarcane is part of the state's pantry, and that little spoon gives the crust color without turning the bread sweet.
• •Do not replace the manteca de cerdo with butter. Butter brings milk solids and a different flavor. Canilla needs a clean, small amount of pork fat so the crumb stays tender while the crust stays crisp.
• •These are best the day they are baked. The next morning, split them and warm them cut side down on a comal, or put them in a 350F oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Never microwave them unless you like rubber.

Advance Preparation

• •After shaping the canillas, cover the tray well and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 12 hours. Bake directly from cold the next morning, adding 2 to 4 minutes to the bake time.
• •Baked canillas can be frozen once fully cool. Reheat from frozen in a 375F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust firms again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 76g)