Pan Dulce is a sweet bread made in a
Panaderia, or Mexican Bakery.It can be everything from a
Mexican style
doughnut to an all out
cake. They are usually eaten on
Sunday, before or after
Mass. There are many types of
Pan Dulce, but here is a quick list of my favorites;
El Conche- the most common pan dulce, a circular sweetbread with a sugar topping that has been imprinted with a spiral, mimicing a Conche shell.
El Yo-Yo- a pastry made up of 2 hemishpherical halves of sweetbread, filled in the center with a strawberry or rasberry jam, then combined to make a full sphere. The outside is then smeared with the jam, then the whole thing is rolled in coconut shavings. Looks a bit like a Yo-Yo.
Los Empanadas- a pastry that is made of a dough that does not rise much. It is formed by taking a circular peice of dough, filling it with a filling (usually pinapple, apple, pumpkin, cherry, etc, ) then folded in half and baked.
Doughnut- the same as an american doughnut, but with a few twists. First, the Pan Dulce doughnut is usually fatter than a normal one. Then, it is deep fried in a much sweeter oil, and when it is done frying, it is rolled in granulated sugar. Much richer and more flavorful than a normal doughnut.
Pan Dulce Del Ranchero- a large peice of a unsweetened bread toasted on the sides, then generously coverd in a mixture of butter and sugar.
There are many Pan Dulces that I have eaten, but I do not know the names for. There are little baskets made of a sweet dough that is placed in a muffin tin, then filled with a filling like an empanada.
There are large flat crispy pastries that are shaped like an ear, that I have heard called Elephant ears.
There are little Gingerbread pigs, and they have a very gingery edge to them.
There are cakes made with butter toppings, usually a white or a yellow cake batter.
Pan Dulce is one of my favorite parts of a Sunday, and it is a very enjoyable way to celebrate my Hispanic background.