Pan de Resobado Coatepecano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Heavy wooden table or clean kneading surface
• •Cotton servilleta for covering the dough
• •Two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans or one baking sheet
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Stir the warm milk, grated piloncillo, and yeast in a small bowl. Let it stand for 8 to 10 minutes, until the surface looks foamy and smells faintly sweet. If it sits flat, your yeast is dead. Start again. Bread does not forgive sleepy yeast.

2. 2

   Start the dough

   Put the flour in a wide bowl. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, softened manteca de cerdo, butter, salt, crushed anise seed, and the foamy yeast mixture. Mix with your hand until the flour is hydrated and the dough looks rough and shaggy. It will feel sticky at first. Do not panic and bury it in flour.

3. 3

   Resobar the masa

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table. Knead for 18 to 22 minutes by hand, pushing forward with the heel of your palm, folding back, turning, and repeating. This is the resobado. The dough should go from rough to satin-smooth, with a soft slap against the table and a tight surface that springs back when pressed. If you use a stand mixer, knead on medium-low for 10 minutes, then finish by hand for 5 minutes so you understand the dough. Así se hace y punto.

   Add flour only by the tablespoon if the dough is unworkable. Too much flour makes a dry loaf, and then people blame the recipe instead of their impatience.
4. 4

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a cotton servilleta and let it rise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until doubled. In humid Veracruz kitchens this moves quickly. In a cold kitchen it takes longer. The dough decides, not the clock.

5. 5

   Shape the loaves

   Punch the dough down and divide it into two equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle, roll it tightly into a loaf, and pinch the seam closed. Set the loaves seam side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet or in greased loaf pans. The surface should be taut. Loose shaping gives you a lazy crumb.

6. 6

   Second rise

   Cover again and let the loaves rise for 40 to 55 minutes, until puffy but not collapsed. Press one gently with a floured finger. The indentation should fill back slowly. Brush the tops with milk and scatter sesame seeds if using. Sesame is common in Veracruz sweet breads, but keep it modest. This is bread, not confetti.

7. 7

   Bake the bread

   Heat the oven to 350F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating once, until the loaves are deep golden and sound hollow when tapped underneath. The crust should have a soft shine from the milk and the kitchen should smell of piloncillo, wheat, and anise.

8. 8

   Cool and serve

   Cool the loaves on a rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing. Hot bread tears and turns gummy under the knife. Serve thick slices with café lechero, cajeta, refried black beans, or a smear of butter. This is Coatepec table bread, made to be eaten across the day.

Chef Tips

• •Use real manteca de cerdo from a butcher or tortillería if you can find it. Shelf-stable hydrogenated lard tastes flat. La manteca es el sabor, but only when the manteca has flavor.
• •Piloncillo from Veracruz cañaverales gives the bread a mineral, molasses edge. Dark brown sugar works as a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •If your kitchen is very humid, hold back two tablespoons of milk at first and add them only if the dough feels dry. Veracruz doughs teach you to listen with your hands.
• •This bread is not a bolillo and not a northern flour tortilla. It is a sweet-leaning wheat loaf from Veracruz's panadería tradition. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Advance Preparation

• •The shaped loaves can be refrigerated overnight after shaping. Cover tightly, refrigerate, then let them sit at room temperature until puffy before baking.
• •Baked loaves keep well for three days wrapped in a cotton towel and stored at room temperature.
• •Day-old pan de resobado makes excellent toasted slices for café lechero or tortas with frijoles refritos and queso fresco.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 555g)