Pan de Xico Veracruzano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Wooden spoon or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Baking stone or heavy sheet pan
• •Clean cotton servilleta
• •Sharp lame or thin knife for scoring

Instructions

1. 1

   Make piloncillo tea

   Combine the piloncillo, water, and anise seed in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat until the piloncillo dissolves completely and the liquid smells like sugarcane and licorice. Do not boil it hard. You want an infusion, not a syrup that turns too thick for the dough. Let it cool until warm to the touch, about 100F to 105F.

2. 2

   Wake the yeast

   Strain the warm piloncillo tea into a large bowl, keeping the anise seeds if you like them in the crumb. Stir in the yeast and let it stand for 8 to 10 minutes, until the surface looks foamy. If nothing happens, your yeast is dead or your liquid was too hot. Start again. Flour is not cheap, and neither is your time.

3. 3

   Build the dough

   Add the eggs and softened manteca de cerdo to the yeast mixture and beat with your hand or a wooden spoon until broken up. Add the flour and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on the table for 10 to 12 minutes. At first it will feel sticky because of the piloncillo and lard. Keep working. The dough should become smooth, elastic, and lightly tacky, not wet.

   Do not replace the manteca with butter if you want pan de Xico. Butter gives a different crumb and a different smell. Manteca keeps the loaf soft and lets the anise come through clean.
4. 4

   First rise

   Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a clean cotton servilleta. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled. In the mountains around Xico, dough moves slower on cool wet mornings. Watch the dough, not the clock. When you press it with a floured finger, the mark should slowly spring back.

5. 5

   Shape the loaves

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table and divide it in two. Shape each piece into a tight oval or round loaf, pulling the surface smooth and tucking the seam underneath. Set the loaves on a parchment-lined sheet pan dusted with flour or on a peel if you are baking on a stone. Cover and let rise 45 to 60 minutes, until puffy but still holding shape.

6. 6

   Prepare the oven

   Heat the oven to 425F with a baking stone or heavy sheet pan inside for at least 30 minutes. A horno de leña gives bottom heat and a dark, fragrant crust. Your home oven has to work harder, so give it time. Place a small empty metal pan on the lower rack if you want a stronger crust.

7. 7

   Brush and score

   Stir the milk with the panela or dark brown sugar until dissolved. Brush the loaves lightly with this mixture. Scatter sesame seeds over the top if using. Score each loaf with one shallow slash across the crown. The cut lets the bread expand cleanly instead of tearing wherever it feels like it.

8. 8

   Bake the bread

   Slide the loaves onto the hot stone or set the sheet pan in the oven. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then reduce to 375F and bake 22 to 25 minutes more. The crust should be deep golden brown with darker edges, and the bottom should sound hollow when tapped. If using the metal pan, pour in 1/2 cup hot water when the bread goes in, then shut the oven door immediately.

9. 9

   Cool and serve

   Let the loaves cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before cutting. Hot bread tears and turns gummy under the knife. Serve in thick slices with café de olla, lechero, or a little more panela on the table. This bread is better when the crumb has settled and the anise has had time to speak.

Chef Tips

• •Buy piloncillo that smells like cane, not dusty brown sugar. In Veracruz the cañaverales are part of the bread's identity. A flat sweetener gives you a flat loaf.
• •If you can find local manteca from a butcher, use it. Supermarket lard often tastes neutral because it has been processed until it forgot it came from pork. A good manteca smells clean and faintly savory.
• •Anise seed is not decoration here. Crush a few seeds between your fingers before buying. If there is no perfume, there is no point.
• •A wood-fired oven will mark the bread with a deeper crust and a faint smoke from leña. A baking stone in a very hot oven is the home-kitchen compromise. A compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Do not confuse this Veracruz bread culture with Puebla's. Veracruz hojaldra is a sweet Day-of-the-Dead bread with ajonjolí, not Puebla puff pastry. Veracruz cemita is sweet with piloncillo and nuts, not the sesame sandwich roll from Puebla.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be mixed and given its first rise overnight in the refrigerator. Let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes before shaping.
• •The baked loaves keep well for 2 days wrapped in a cotton cloth. Toast day-old slices on a comal and serve with coffee.
• •The piloncillo and anise infusion can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently before adding the yeast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)