Picón Poblano-Tlaxcalteca

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Bench scraper
• •Two parchment-lined heavy baking sheets
• •Pastry brush
• •Kitchen shears or sharp knife
• •Wire rack
• •Puebla talavera platter or plain barro platter for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Stir the warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Let it stand for 8 to 10 minutes, until the surface looks foamy and alive. If it sits flat, your yeast is dead. Do not try to save it with more sugar. Start again.

2. 2

   Mix the base

   In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, crushed anise seed, and orange zest. Add the eggs, egg yolks, agua de azahar, and the foamy yeast milk. Mix until you have a shaggy, sticky dough with no dry flour at the bottom of the bowl.

3. 3

   Work in butter

   Knead on medium-low with a dough hook, or by hand on a lightly floured table. Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, waiting until each piece disappears before adding the next. At first the dough will look greasy and stubborn. Keep going. After 10 to 12 minutes in the mixer, or 15 minutes by hand, it should be soft, elastic, and yellow from the eggs.

   Do not keep throwing flour at the dough every time it sticks to your fingers. Enriched dough is sticky before it becomes smooth. Too much flour gives you a dry loaf. No me vengas con atajos.
4. 4

   Let it rise

   Butter a large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The dough should look puffed and full, and a finger pressed gently into it should leave a slow dent.

5. 5

   Shape the picones

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table and divide it into two equal pieces. From each piece, pinch off a walnut-sized knob of dough. Shape the large pieces into tight round loaves. Press a shallow dimple into the center of each loaf, moisten it with a few drops of water, and attach the small knob on top, pinching it into a little peak. That pico is the name showing itself. Place each loaf on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. 6

   Proof the loaves

   Cover the shaped loaves loosely and let them rise again for 45 to 60 minutes. They should look swollen but still hold their round shape. If your kitchen is cold, give them time. Bread does not care about your schedule. It responds to warmth, yeast, and patience.

7. 7

   Sugar the crust

   Heat the oven to 350F. Brush the loaves gently with the beaten egg and milk, covering the peak and the shoulders of the dough. Pack the 1/2 cup sugar over the tops with your fingers. Use it all. The crust should look heavy with crystals before it goes into the oven. With kitchen shears or a sharp knife, make four shallow cuts around the little peak so the loaf opens cleanly as it bakes.

8. 8

   Bake until bronzed

   Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. The loaves are ready when the crust is deep golden, the sugar has fused into a crisp cap, and the bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath. If you use a thermometer, the center should read 190F. A few cracks in the sugar are correct. That is not a mistake. That is the picón breathing.

9. 9

   Cool and serve

   Move the loaves to a rack and let them cool at least 45 minutes before slicing. Cut thick wedges, not timid little pieces. Serve with chocolate de metate or a serious cup of hot chocolate in clay jarros. This is merienda bread from Puebla and Tlaxcala. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Use bread flour or harina panadera if you can find it. All-purpose flour will work, but the loaf will be softer and a little less structured. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Use butter, not oil. The flavor of this bread is dairy, egg, anise, and sugar. Oil gives you a greasy crumb and no proper aroma. This is not a lean bolillo.
• •Agua de azahar should smell floral and clean. If the bottle smells like cheap perfume, leave it out and trust the orange zest. Bad extract ruins more bread than no extract.
• •Do not be timid with the sugar crust. It should look excessive before baking. Some sugar melts, some grips the egg wash, and the rest becomes that crisp top people fight over.
• •Not every Mexican dish needs chile. Puebla and Tlaxcala have wheat-bread traditions shaped by convent ovens, market bakeries, and feast kitchens. This is a 32-state cuisine.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rise overnight in the refrigerator after kneading. Cover it well, chill up to 12 hours, then let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before shaping.
• •Picón is best the day it is baked, while the sugar crust is crisp. The cooled loaves keep wrapped at room temperature for 2 days.
• •To refresh day-old slices, warm them in a 300F oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Do not microwave them unless you enjoy rubber bread.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)