Centuries of experimentation and influence from various European baking traditions has led to the current modern selection found in most Mexican bakeries. Most Mexican breads are unique, linked to Mexico’s history and culture. Mexico has since surpassed Spain in the variety of breads it makes and has one of the most varied bread traditions with estimates ranging from over 300 to over 1000. Traditional Mexican bakeries have inherited a set up and work system from the colonial period. Baking bread is considered a trade, learned through apprenticeship although child labor laws have limited how this system can be put into effect. Baking jobs are hierarchical, with bakers able to advance as they acquire more stills.
Leave bowl undisturbed in a warm area without a draft, spanish rotisserie chicken until dough is doubled in size, about an hour.
These are made with a simple flour dough with only a little salt and/or sugar for flavoring. These include españolas, bolos, pan de agua, violines, estribos, cuernos, pan de mesa, virotes, juiles, pambazos and teleras. The folklore of the panadero is a man on a bicycle balancing a large bread basket over his head.
The most famous Mantecadas are the ones prepared in Astorga town under the name Mantecadas de Astorga. There is a type of cake known as mantecada in Colombia and Venezuela where the whole is cut into pieces after baking. Certain brands commercialize packed mini-mantecadas in Mexico and Latin America.Mantecadas should not be confused with mantecados, a much denser, non spongy very different type of pastry. Mantecadas are baked in square or rectangular box-shaped paper “cajillas” instead of in the typical muffin round paper cups. The mantecada leaves a characteristic cross-shaped silhouette on the paper when it is removed. In the Alt Maestrat comarca the mantecada square paper cups are known as “caixetes”.
Inside the ring, there are small images of the infant Jesus and those who find one are responsible for providing tamales for Candlemas on February 2. This bread and tradition was brought to Mexico by the Spanish. One traditional festival bread is pan de pulque, which as its name implies, is made with the fermented sap of the maguey plant and most popular in the center and south of Mexico. It comes in various shapes and with various toppings and is generally sold by wandering vendors with their own bakery trucks that travel among the many town and religious fairs around Mexico. These breads are also sometimes called pan de burro because they were originally brought by vendors with these animals. The most common breads sold are still basic white breads for sandwiches and other meals.