Cocol de Anís Hidalguense

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy saucepan or clay cazo for the piloncillo miel
• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Bench scraper for dividing and shaping the rombos
• •Two baking sheets or a preheated baking stone

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the miel

   Put the piloncillo, water, crushed semilla de anís, and canela in a small heavy saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat until the piloncillo dissolves completely and the liquid turns dark amber, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the canela and let the miel cool until it feels warm, not hot. Reserve 2 tablespoons for brushing the baked cocoles.

   Use semilla de anís, not anís estrella and not extract. The seed belongs in this bread. Extract smells like a candy factory.
2. 2

   Build the dough

   In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the softened manteca de cerdo and rub it into the flour with your fingers until the mixture looks sandy. This is how the crumb gets tender without becoming a cake. La manteca es el sabor. Add 2 eggs and the cooled piloncillo-anise miel, then mix until a shaggy dough forms.

3. 3

   Knead until smooth

   Knead on a lightly floured board for 8 to 10 minutes, or use a stand mixer with the dough hook for 6 minutes. The dough should be smooth, tacky, and elastic, with the smell of cane sugar and anise coming up from the board. If it feels dry and tears, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not drown it. Cocol is a firm pan dulce, not a sticky pastry dough.

4. 4

   Let it rise

   Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and let it rise in a warm corner for 75 to 90 minutes, until nearly doubled. Piloncillo slows yeast a little, so do not rush the clock. The dough is ready when a finger pressed into it leaves a soft mark that fills in slowly.

5. 5

   Shape the rombos

   Turn the dough onto the board and divide it into 10 equal pieces. Tuck each piece into a tight ball, rest them for 10 minutes, then flatten and pull each one into a rhomboid shape, wider at the center and pointed at the ends. This is not a hamburger bun. A cocol has corners. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

   If the dough fights you, let it rest five more minutes. Rest relaxes the flour. Force makes ugly bread.
6. 6

   Proof and dress

   Set the shaped cocoles on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving space between them. Beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water and brush the tops lightly. Sprinkle with ajonjolí and press the seeds gently so they hold. Cover loosely and let rise 40 to 50 minutes, until puffy but still holding their diamond shape.

7. 7

   Bake dark

   Heat the oven to 375 F. Bake the cocoles for 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the pan once, until the crust is deep brown from the piloncillo, the ajonjolí is toasted, and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. In a horno de leña, bake after the flame has settled and the floor heat is steady. The panadero watches color before he watches the clock.

8. 8

   Brush and rest

   Brush the hot cocoles with the reserved piloncillo miel for a thin shine, then let them rest at least 20 minutes. The crumb sets as it cools. Eat with café de olla, atole, or thick nata. No me vengas con atajos. This bread is cheap, generous, and exact when you respect the steps.

Chef Tips

• •Buy piloncillo in cones from a Mexican market. Brown sugar is flat compared with real piloncillo. If you use it in an emergency, know what you are losing: cane depth, bitterness, and that dark mineral sweetness.
• •Toast the semilla de anís for 30 seconds in a dry pan if it smells tired. Fresh anise should perfume your fingers when you crush it. If it smells like dust, it will taste like dust.
• •Use manteca de cerdo. Butter makes a different bread and vegetable shortening gives you texture without flavor. La manteca es el sabor, even in pan dulce.
• •There are cocoles rellenos de queso in Atotonilco el Grande. This formula is the plain anise and piloncillo version, the one you eat with nata or dunk into atole.
• •There are no chiles in this bread. That is not a mistake. Hidalgo's cocol is about anise, piloncillo, wheat, and the oven. Así se hace y punto.

Advance Preparation

• •The piloncillo-anise miel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently before adding it to the dough.
• •After the first rise, the dough can be covered and refrigerated overnight. Let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes before shaping.
• •Baked cocoles keep well for 2 days wrapped in cloth. Rewarm in a low oven or on a comal until the crust softens slightly and the anise wakes back up.
• •Freeze baked cocoles for up to 1 month. Thaw wrapped, then rewarm before serving. Cold cocol is punishment, not breakfast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)