Toña o Panquemao Valenciano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Heavy baking sheet
• •Baking parchment
• •Pastry brush
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Put the warm milk in a large bowl and dissolve the fresh yeast in it. Stir in 60g of the flour and 10g of the caster sugar, both taken from the measured amounts. Cover and leave for 15 to 20 minutes, until swollen and lightly bubbled. Instant yeast may make only a faint froth, so don't wait for a great cap of foam.

   The milk should feel barely warm, never hot. Heat above 40°C can weaken the yeast before the dough has begun.
2. 2

   Build the dough

   Whisk the three eggs with the remaining 115g caster sugar, the orange and lemon zests, and the orange blossom water. Add this to the yeast mixture, then mix in the remaining 440g flour and the salt. Knead for 5 minutes before adding any oil. Pour in the olive oil in four additions, kneading until each one disappears before adding the next, then continue for 10 to 12 minutes in a mixer or 15 to 18 minutes by hand. The finished dough should be smooth, elastic, and tacky, but it should pull into a thin translucent membrane when stretched.

   Don't bury a sticky dough under extra flour. The oil and a proper knead will make it manageable. Extra flour gives the finished loaf a dry, tight crumb.
3. 3

   Let it rise

   Set the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and leave it at 24 to 26°C until fully doubled, about 2 to 3 hours. Sugar, egg, and oil make the yeast work slowly. This rise decides the loaf: shape it too early and the crumb stays close and heavy, however well you bake it. In a cool kitchen it may need another hour. The dough decides, not the clock.

4. 4

   Shape the round

   Turn the risen dough onto an unfloured worktop and press it gently into a thick disc. Fold the outside edges into the centre, turn it seam-side down, and draw it across the worktop several times to tighten the surface into a smooth, high round. Set it on a parchment-lined heavy baking sheet. Cover loosely and keep it away from draughts.

5. 5

   Prove until light

   Leave the shaped loaf for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes, until nearly doubled, softly trembling, and visibly full of air. A light fingertip dent should return slowly and leave a shallow mark. If it springs back at once, wait. If it collapses, it has gone too far. Heat the oven to 180°C conventional or 170°C fan during the final 30 minutes.

6. 6

   Glaze the crown

   Beat the glazing egg with 5ml milk and brush it gently over the whole loaf without pressing out the air. Mix the granulated sugar with 5ml water until it forms damp, craggy clumps, then scatter these generously over the crown. That sugared, deeply browned top is part of the panquemao, not decoration added for show.

7. 7

   Bake deep gold

   Bake on the lower-middle shelf for 30 to 35 minutes, turning the tray once after 20 minutes. The loaf should be deep chestnut on top, sound hollow underneath, and register 92 to 94°C at the centre. If the crown is dark enough before the middle is baked, cover it loosely with foil for the remaining time. Panquemao means burned bread, but it wants a dark crown, not charcoal.

8. 8

   Cool before cutting

   Move the loaf to a wire rack and leave it for at least 1 hour before cutting. The crumb is still setting as it cools; slice too soon and you press those light strands into a damp band. When ready, the inside should be pale gold, tender, and fragrant with citrus. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

Chef Tips

• •Use strong bread flour with about 12 to 13 percent protein. It holds the eggs, sugar, and oil while still rising into a high dome. Plain flour works in a pinch, but hold back 15ml milk and expect a lower loaf with a less stringy crumb.
• •Fresh baker's yeast is traditional and easy to crumble into the milk. If you use instant yeast, weigh 7g, not 20g. Pésalo, no lo adivines. The two forms aren't exchanged gram for gram.
• •Buy unwaxed citrus because the coloured outer peel goes straight into the dough. Grate only that coloured layer; the white pith underneath is bitter and has no business in a sweet Easter loaf.
• •Use food-grade orange blossom water and measure it. Too much makes the bread taste medicinal. If you don't have it, leave it out and let the orange and lemon zests carry the scent.
• •The crown should be darker than an ordinary sweet loaf. If it is still pale after 30 minutes, give it a few minutes more. If it reaches deep chestnut early, cover it loosely with foil so the centre can finish.
• •Serve thick slices plain, with thick drinking chocolate, or toasted the following day. The loaf already has oil, egg, and sugar enough; it doesn't need icing or filling.

Advance Preparation

• •For an overnight dough, use 10g fresh yeast or 3g instant yeast. After kneading, leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. Shape it cold, then allow 2 to 3 hours for the final rise before glazing and baking.
• •The loaf can be baked one day ahead. Cool it completely, then wrap it closely and keep it at room temperature. The citrus settles overnight and the crumb remains soft.
• •Freeze the fully cooled loaf whole or in thick slices for up to 1 month. Wrap it well, thaw at room temperature, and warm slices briefly in a low oven if you want the crust crisp again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)