Picones de Comala

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Bench scraper
• •Kitchen scale for even cones
• •Parchment-lined sheet pans or wooden peel for horno de leña
• •Kitchen scissors or small sharp knife for scoring

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the ferment

   Stir the lukewarm milk, yeast, one tablespoon of the sugar, and the masa madre de trigo or pata in a large bowl. Let it stand for 10 minutes, until the surface looks alive and lightly foamy. The pata gives the bread its deeper bakery flavor. Yeast alone lifts the dough, but it does not give the same memory.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Add the harina de trigo, remaining sugar, eggs, salt, crushed anise, orange zest, and vanilla. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead by hand for 8 to 10 minutes, or with a mixer on low for 5 minutes, until the dough starts to pull together. It should feel sticky but organized, not wet like cake batter.

3. 3

   Work in the fat

   Add the softened manteca de cerdo a spoonful at a time, then the butter. Knead until each addition disappears before adding the next. The dough will fight you, then suddenly become smooth and elastic. La manteca es el sabor. It gives the crumb tenderness without turning the bread greasy.

4. 4

   Proof overnight

   Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight, 10 to 12 hours. Picones are not rushed bread. The slow proof lets the wheat, anise, egg, and fat settle into each other. No me vengas con atajos.

   If your kitchen is very cold, let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before refrigerating so fermentation gets started.
5. 5

   Make the crust

   In a small bowl, rub together the sugar, harina de trigo, softened manteca, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt until you have a thick paste. It should hold when pressed between your fingers. This is not a concha topping. Picon crust is thicker, eggier, and scored by hand after it is laid over the cone.

6. 6

   Shape the cones

   Turn the cold dough onto a lightly floured table and divide it into 10 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball, then cup one side with your palm and taper the top into a rounded cone. The base should be wide and steady. Set them on parchment-lined sheet pans with room to grow.

7. 7

   Cover and score

   Brush each cone lightly with beaten egg. Press a generous cap of the sugar crust over the top and down the sides, leaving some dough visible near the base. Use scissors or a small knife to score shallow lines down the crust from top to bottom. The cuts open in the oven and show the panadero's hand. Machine-perfect rounds are not the goal.

8. 8

   Final proof

   Let the shaped picones proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffed and light when you touch the side. Do not wait until they collapse into themselves. Enriched dough rises slowly because eggs, sugar, and fat make it work harder. Patience is part of the bread.

9. 9

   Bake the picones

   Heat the oven to 350F. If you have a horno de leña, bake after the fierce heat has passed and the floor is steady, not blazing. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, rotating once, until the bread is deep golden and the crust is set, pale in the cuts, and lightly crisp under your fingers.

10. 10

    Cool before serving

    Move the picones to a rack and let them cool at least 30 minutes. The crumb finishes setting as it cools. Break one open and look for a yellow, tender interior with the scent of anise and egg. Serve with cafe de olla or hot milk. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use harina de trigo with enough strength for enriched dough, about 11 to 12 percent protein. Cake flour gives you softness but no backbone. Bread flour alone can make the crumb too tight. A good all-purpose Mexican or panaderia flour is the right road.
• •Pata is a piece of yesterday's dough kept alive for today's batch. If you do not have one, use a ripe wheat sourdough starter and keep the dough's overnight proof. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade, but it teaches your kitchen the rhythm.
• •Do not replace the manteca de cerdo with oil. Oil makes a flat, slick crumb. Lard shortens the dough properly and carries the anise. La manteca es el sabor.
• •The crust should be thick enough to crack and open where you score it. If you spread it thin like concha paste, you missed the point. Picon is a western pan dulce, not a concha.
• •If you bake in a horno de leña, load the picones after the bread oven has settled from fierce heat. You want strong, even heat, not flames licking the crust black.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough should be mixed the night before and refrigerated 10 to 12 hours. This is the proper schedule for flavor and control.
• •The sugar crust can be mixed one day ahead and refrigerated. Let it soften at room temperature before pressing it over the dough.
• •Baked picones keep well for two days wrapped in a cotton servilleta inside a bread box. Rewarm briefly in a low oven if the crust softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 155g)