Torrejas de Pinole de la Feria de San Marcos

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide cast iron skillet or shallow clay cazuela for frying
• •Small heavy saucepan for piloncillo syrup
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Clay platone from the Bajio for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the bread

   Lay the sliced bolillos on a tray for 20 minutes while you prepare the syrup. They should feel firm on the outside and still have a little give inside. Fresh bread collapses when it touches milk. Day-old bread holds its shape. That is not a detail, that is the structure of the torreja.

2. 2

   Make piloncillo syrup

   Combine the chopped piloncillo, water, canela, cloves, and orange peel in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes, until the piloncillo dissolves and the syrup coats a spoon in a thin amber layer. Do not boil it hard. You want a syrup that soaks the crust and clings to the pinole, not candy for charamuscas.

3. 3

   Set the coating

   Whisk the eggs, leche de cabra, and salt in a shallow dish until the eggs disappear into the milk. Mix the pinole and flour in another shallow dish. The flour helps the pinole grip the soaked bread, but the flavor belongs to the toasted corn. If the pinole is coarse, rub it between your fingers first so the crust fries evenly.

4. 4

   Soak and coat

   Dip each bread slice into the leche de cabra mixture for 8 to 10 seconds per side. Let the excess drip back into the dish. Press both sides into the pinole mixture, coating the edges too. The bread should be damp inside and sandy outside. If it drips milk into the pinole bowl, you soaked it too long.

5. 5

   Fry in manteca

   Heat the manteca in a wide cast iron skillet or cazuela over medium heat until a pinch of pinole sizzles immediately. Fry the torrejas in batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until the crust turns deep gold and smells like toasted corn and canela. Do not crowd the pan. Crowding lowers the heat and the bread drinks fat instead of frying cleanly. La manteca es el sabor.

6. 6

   Drain and bathe

   Transfer the fried torrejas to a rack for two minutes, then set them in a clay platone. Spoon warm piloncillo syrup over each piece, enough to gloss the crust and pool lightly at the bottom. Let them sit for five minutes so the syrup enters the pinole without turning the bread heavy.

7. 7

   Serve feria style

   Serve warm or at room temperature with toasted nuez pecana and a little queso fresco if your table likes the salty contrast. The torreja should cut cleanly with a spoon, soft inside, crisp at the edges, with the flavor of corn first and piloncillo second. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy pinole from a molino or mercado stall that moves product quickly. At Mercado Teran, ask for pinole de maiz tostado with canela, not a packaged drink mix full of sugar. The color should be beige-gold and the smell should be roasted corn.
• •Leche de cabra matters here because Aguascalientes and the surrounding Bajio have a strong goat milk sweet tradition. Cow milk will work in structure, but it is a compromise. It loses that clean tang that balances the piloncillo.
• •Use piloncillo, not brown sugar. Brown sugar gives sweetness. Piloncillo gives cane depth, mineral edge, and the dark syrup that belongs to feria sweets.
• •If you want guayaba de Calvillo on the table, serve a spoonful of thick guayaba conserva beside the torrejas, not on top. The dish is pinole first. Let the corn speak.

Advance Preparation

• •The piloncillo syrup can be made three days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it gently before spooning over the fried torrejas.
• •Slice the bread the night before and leave it uncovered on a tray. Dry bread behaves better than fresh bread.
• •Do not fry the torrejas ahead for a crowd unless you can re-crisp them in a 375F oven for 6 to 8 minutes before adding syrup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 195g)