Pan de Yema Oaxaqueño

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with dough hook, or a wide wooden artesa for hand kneading
• •Comal or small dry skillet for toasting the anise seeds
• •Molcajete or mortar for crushing the anise with the orange zest
• •Two parchment-lined baking sheets
• •Pastry brush for the egg glaze
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Molinillo and jícara for the chocolate de agua at the table

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the anise

   Toast the anise seeds in a dry comal over medium-low heat for about 30 seconds, until the kitchen smells faintly licorice. Crush them roughly in a molcajete with the orange zest. This is the perfume of Oaxacan bread. The anise is not decoration. It is what tells you the loaf came from Oaxaca and not from anywhere else.

   If you toast the anise too long it turns bitter. Pull it off the comal the moment you smell it.
2. 2

   Mix the wet ingredients

   In a wide bowl, whisk together the 12 yolks, 2 whole eggs, sugar, lukewarm milk, orange blossom water, and the crushed anise with orange zest. The mixture should look like a deep gold soup. That color is the whole point of pan de yema. The yolks are what give the crumb its yellow heart and its richness.

3. 3

   Combine flour and yeast

   In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flour, instant yeast, and salt. Pour the egg mixture in. Mix on low with the dough hook for 4 minutes, or stir by hand with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together into a shaggy mass. It will look ugly and sticky. That is correct. No me vengas con atajos: this dough needs the eggs and the lard and the time to become what it should be.

4. 4

   Add the manteca

   With the mixer on medium-low, add the softened manteca a tablespoon at a time. Wait for each addition to absorb before adding the next. La manteca es el sabor. The lard is what gives Oaxacan pan de yema its tender, almost flaky crumb that pulls away in soft layers when you tear it. Butter will not give you this. Vegetable shortening will not give you this. You need pork lard.

5. 5

   Knead until silky

   Once the lard is incorporated, knead on medium for 10 to 12 minutes. The dough will transform from sticky to smooth, glossy, and elastic. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl but still feel soft. If you press a finger into it and the dough slowly springs back, it is ready. By hand, plan on 20 minutes of kneading on a lightly floured artesa or wooden surface.

6. 6

   First rise, slow and cool

   Grease a large bowl lightly with manteca. Form the dough into a ball, place it in the bowl, cover with a clean cotton servilleta, and let it rise in a cool spot for 4 to 6 hours, or refrigerate overnight. Yes, that long. The slow rise is what builds the flavor. Bread that rises in two hours tastes like bread that rose in two hours.

7. 7

   Shape the panes

   Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 90 grams each. Shape each piece into a tight round by tucking the edges underneath and rolling under your cupped palm against the wood until the surface is taut and smooth. The panaderas in Mercado Sánchez Pascuas do this in three seconds without looking. You will get there with practice.

8. 8

   Second rise on the tray

   Arrange the rounds on two parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving 4 inches between them. They will spread. Cover loosely with a cotton cloth and let rise in a warm spot for 90 minutes to 2 hours, until almost doubled and the dough feels pillowy when you press it lightly. A finger dent should slowly fill back halfway, not all the way. That is when the dough is ready for the oven.

   If your kitchen is cold, set the trays on top of the warm oven while it preheats. Do not put them inside. The crust will form before the dough finishes rising.
9. 9

   Glaze and seed

   Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Brush each pan gently with the egg yolk and milk glaze. Be generous but careful. The glaze is what gives the crust its dark, lacquered shine. Scatter ajonjolí across the top of each piece, pressing lightly so the seeds stick. The sesame is not optional. It is the visual signature of pan de yema oaxaqueño.

10. 10

    Bake until burnished

    Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through, until the tops are deep mahogany and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. The crust should be dark, not pale. A timid color is the mark of a panadera who pulled too soon. Let the panes cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before tearing into one. The crumb needs the rest to set. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Save the egg whites. Twelve whites is a lot. Make merengues, or freeze them in an ice cube tray for the next batch of fideo seco that needs binding. A good cook wastes nothing.
• •The manteca de cerdo must be real pork lard, ideally from a carniceria that renders its own. The shelf-stable hydrogenated lard in plastic tubs is a different product entirely and will give you a waxy crumb. La manteca es el sabor.
• •Pan de yema is meant to be eaten with chocolate de agua, the Oaxacan way: stone-ground chocolate from Mayordomo or Guelaguetza dissolved in hot water, frothed with a molinillo. Not milk. The water lets the chocolate flavor stand on its own and the bread carries the richness. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and this is how Oaxaca takes its breakfast.
• •If you can find Oaxacan chocolate with cinnamon and almond, that is the pairing. If not, any stone-ground Mexican chocolate will do. Cocoa powder mixed with sugar is not chocolate de agua. It is hot chocolate. They are not the same drink.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be mixed and given its first rise in the refrigerator overnight, up to 16 hours. The cold ferment deepens the flavor and makes the dough easier to shape in the morning.
• •Pan de yema is best the day it is baked, but it keeps for two days wrapped in a clean cotton cloth at room temperature. Do not refrigerate. The fridge dries out the crumb.
• •Day-old pan de yema is what the panaderas use to make capirotada or to thicken the next pot of mole. It is never thrown away.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 95g)