Semitas Sonorenses con Piloncillo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wooden mixing bowl or work surface
• •Box grater for the piloncillo
• •Sharp paring knife or bread lame for scoring
• •Two heavy baking sheets
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Heatproof pan for the oven water bath

Instructions

1. 1

   Dissolve the piloncillo

   Place the grated piloncillo in a small bowl and pour the hot water over it. Stir until it dissolves completely into a dark, molasses-like syrup. Let it cool to warm, not hot. This is your sweetener. Refined sugar will not give you the same flavor. Piloncillo carries minerals and a smoky depth that white sugar lost long ago when the industrial mills took over. La panaderia ranchera lives on piloncillo.

   If your piloncillo cone is hard as a rock, wrap it in a clean towel and break it with a hammer, then grate the pieces on the large holes of a box grater. The vendors in Hermosillo's Mercado Municipal sell it already chopped if you ask.
2. 2

   Bloom the yeast

   Pour the warm milk into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface and add one tablespoon of the dissolved piloncillo syrup. Stir once and leave it alone for ten minutes. You should see a foamy raft form on top. If nothing happens, the yeast is dead. Start over with fresh yeast. No me vengas con atajos.

3. 3

   Build the dough

   Add the remaining piloncillo syrup, the eggs, the softened lard, the salt, and the canela to the yeast mixture. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and the half cup of wheat bran. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three additions, stirring with a wooden spoon between each. The dough will be shaggy and stiffer than a white bread dough. That is correct. Whole wheat absorbs more water and the bran adds texture you want to feel.

4. 4

   Knead by hand

   Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured wooden surface. Knead for ten to twelve minutes by hand. The dough will feel rough at first because of the bran. Keep going. It will smooth out into a firm, elastic ball that springs back when you press it. Do not add too much flour. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. The women in the Sonora ranch kitchens kneaded this on the same wooden table their mothers used, and that wood remembered every loaf.

   If you use a stand mixer with a dough hook, work at low speed for six to eight minutes. But the hand-kneaded version develops better structure and you can feel when the dough is ready. Trust your hands.
5. 5

   First rise

   Place the dough in a bowl greased with a little lard. Turn the dough once to coat. Cover with a clean cotton towel, not plastic. The towel lets the dough breathe the way it does in a panaderia. Let it rise in a warm spot for one and a half to two hours, until doubled. Whole wheat dough rises slower than white flour dough. Be patient. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo.

6. 6

   Shape the semitas

   Punch the dough down gently and turn it out onto a floured surface. Divide it into twelve equal pieces, about three and a half ounces each. Weigh them if you want them uniform. Roll each piece into a tight ball by cupping your hand over the dough and moving in a small circle against the table. The seam should pull underneath. Flatten each ball slightly with the heel of your hand into a thick disc about three inches across. The semita is a round, not a cone like a piloncillo and not a knot like a torcido. It sits flat on the comal of your palm.

7. 7

   Second rise and mark the tops

   Arrange the discs on two parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving two inches between each. Brush the tops with melted lard and scatter the reserved wheat bran across the surface, pressing it lightly so it sticks. With a sharp paring knife or a razor, score a shallow cross or a single line across each top. The cross is the old mark of the rancho bakers. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise for forty-five minutes to one hour, until puffed but not doubled.

8. 8

   Bake until deep brown

   Preheat the oven to 375F at least thirty minutes before baking. Place a heatproof pan of water on the bottom rack to create humidity. Bake the semitas on the middle rack for thirty to thirty-five minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. They should turn a deep, even brown. The bran on top will toast and crackle. When you tap the bottom of one, it should sound hollow. A pale semita is an underbaked semita. Sonora bakes them dark because that is what holds up to a long day in a saddlebag.

   If you have a horno de leña or a pizza stone, use it. The radiant heat from below gives the bottom crust the snap that an open rack cannot. The roadside panaderias along the Hermosillo highway bake these in wood-fired adobe ovens and you can taste the difference.
9. 9

   Cool and serve

   Transfer the semitas to a wire rack and let them cool for at least twenty minutes before tearing one open. The interior should be dense but tender, flecked with bran, fragrant with canela and piloncillo. Serve with cafe de talega, the cloth-strained ranch coffee of Sonora, or with cafe de olla brewed with piloncillo and canela. A semita with hot coffee at dawn before the work of the day. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy real piloncillo, the dark cones sold by weight at Mexican markets. The packaged 'panela' sold in some supermarkets is similar but lighter in flavor. If you can find the darker Oaxacan or Veracruz piloncillo, even better. Refined brown sugar is a compromise, not an upgrade, and you will taste the difference.
• •Stone-ground whole wheat flour gives the semita its proper texture. Supermarket whole wheat flour is too finely milled and the bread comes out softer than it should be. Look for harina integral at a Mexican market or a stone-mill bakery. The flecks of bran should be visible in the dough.
• •Manteca de cerdo from a butcher who renders his own is worth the trip. Industrial hydrogenated lard is not the same thing and the flavor falls flat. If you cannot find good rendered lard, render your own from pork fatback. It takes an afternoon and the resulting jar will serve you for months.
• •Semitas keep for three to four days at room temperature in a paper bag, not plastic. They are made to last. On the second day, split one in half, toast it on a comal, and spread it with butter and a little more piloncillo dissolved in coffee. That is the rancher's breakfast.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made through the first rise, punched down, and refrigerated overnight. Bring it back to room temperature for one hour before shaping and proceeding with the second rise.
• •Baked semitas keep for three to four days at room temperature in a paper bag. They also freeze well for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature and refresh in a 350F oven for five minutes before serving.
• •The piloncillo syrup can be made one day ahead and held at room temperature, covered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 108g)