People in Yucatán — and across Mexico, for that matter — love pan dulce.
You would be hard-pressed to find someone in Yucatán who does not enjoy starting their day off with a nice fresh concha or heraldry at least once in a while. Dipping pan dulce into coffee, milk, or hot chocolate is something of a ritual in Yucatán and is known as hacer chuc.
Pan dulce is an umbrella term meaning sweet bread. But not all sweetbreads or pastries are pan dulce, nor is all pan dulce necessarily sweet. For instance, donuts are popular in Mexico and are often sold alongside pan dulce, but most people in Yucatán would not think of them as such. And it’s not necessarily because they are considered foreign. After all, despite its French origin and buttery flavor, the croissant — known locally as cuernito — is considered a pan dulce staple.
Confusing right? Well, perhaps that’s part of the magic.
Pan dulce purchased at local bakeries tends to be inexpensive, with most varieties ringing somewhere between 6 and 15 pesos. Packed versions sold in convenience and grocery stores tend to be more expensive and usually come in packages of four. But in all honesty, given all the great bakeries across Yucatán, why would you buy pan dulce from a convenience store?
In many neighborhoods, it is common for people to buy pan dulce from tricycle vendors who toot a little horn or sound a jingle to let you know that they are around. They will often pedal around the same block two or three times to give you time to find your money and get out the door to catch them.
The variety of pan dulce that you can find in Yucatán is immense. Although some have fairly standardized names, others vary widely depending on the bakery and region.
You would need an entire encyclopedia set to describe all of the pan dulce in Yucatán along with its many variations, but here is a list of some of our favorites.
Orejas are made of puff pastry and get their name because they resemble a human ear. They are almost always generously sprinkled with sugar and come apart when you bite into them. An average oreja fits in the palm of your hand, but many bakeries also make miniature versions.
Conchas are perhaps the most quintessential pan dulce out there. They get their name from their round shape and their striped, seashell-like appearance. They are a fluffy bread roll topped with a sweet and crunchy topping made of sugar, butter, and flour. Their distinctive pattern is made by pressing a bread stamp over the topping while the dough is proofing. They come in a variety of flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and strawberry.
Mantecadas are a type of cupcake likely based on the Italian panettone, though much smaller. Mantecadas have an extremely sweet and buttery flavor and are often accompanied by jam, raisins, sprinkles, or chocolate chips. Bakers sometimes add a little lemon or orange rind to the dough to achieve a citrusy flavor. A common variation on the mantecada is estrellas, which are basically just a star-shaped version of the original.
Cuellitos are a puff pastry molded into a round shape. They are glazed with sugar, and unlike orejas, tend to be quite dense and filling. As just about all puff pastries they leave crumbs everywhere, so avoid eating them in bed unless you want to get invaded by ants. Trust me, I speak from experience.
A polvorón (From polvo, the Spanish word for powder or dust) is a type of heavy, soft, and very crumbly shortbread made of flour, sugar, milk, and nuts. They come in a variety of shapes, colors, and flavors. As their name suggests, they are very crumbly. They also go extremely well with a nice tall glass of milk.
Hojaldras de jamón y queso are a puff pastry stuffed with ham and cheese. They are also topped with sugar and are sometimes sold in a shape that resembles an empanada. They are sometimes also filled with ground meat, jalapeños, or pate. Nowadays, they are usually sold in pizza-like triangles to eat on the go.
Pan de coco, meaning coconut bread, is dense bread rolls made with grated coconut. They are less sweet than many of the other options on this list and are sometimes filled with coconut cream. They come in a variety of sizes and go great with a horchata.
Hojaldras dulces are similar to their more savory counterparts but really knock up the sweetness up to 11. They are covered in sugar — either white or brown — and, despite their already sweet taste, are often enjoyed with honey or jam. They are extremely crumbly and often enjoyed at breakfast.
Rosca de Reyes, or king’s cake, is a seasonal pan dulce associated with the Three Kings, who traditionally bring gifts to children in Mexico on Jan. 6. Inside the pastry are two or three small plastic figures depicting baby Jesus. Finding the plastic figure in the pastry obliges one to offer up tamales on the day of Candlemas (Fiesta de la Candelaria) a Catholic festivity held Feb. 2. The pastry itself is not overly sweet when compared to most other items on this list but is topped with red, green, and yellow candied fruit. They are usually quite large, but in recent years, bakeries have begun to sell them by the slice or produce miniaturized versions.
Bolitas de queso come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from just a couple inches across to the size of a baseball. But regardless of their size, they are always flaky, sprinkled with sugar, and filled with cream cheese. They are extremely popular and can be found at breakfast buffets, kids’ parties, and baptisms and are for sale just about everywhere.
Conitos de crema are a rolled pastry filled with cream and topped with a little sugar. The cream filling is sometimes more of a meringue but is normally a custard. The pastry itself is usually not that sweet, as the sweetness comes more from the filling.
Saramuyos are a type of pan dulce made with wheat, eggs, and plenty of margarine. They are named after the fruit of the same name, but when I was a kid I used to call them volcanoes because I guess that is what they looked like to me. They are crunchy around the edges but much softer as you work yourself in. But the best part of the saramuyo is its sugar peak.
A budín resembles an English bread pudding and is usually topped with cinnamon and filled with raisins. Budín is not a favorite amongst most kids, because, unlike most pan dulce, it is not insanely sweet. But, at least in my opinion, they are delicious and have a fantastically thick texture.
A pastelito de guayaba is a crumbly pastry stuffed with guayaba, or guava, a paste made from the fruit of the same name. They are covered in powdered sugar and are often sold in a paper wrapper. They can be a bit hard to find, as they are not sold in most bakeries.
Rosca de queso de bola is a type of tort or cake topped with Edam cheese. Some recipes also mix in small amounts of the strong dutch cheese into the batter for an extra rich taste. If you have spent any time at all in Yucatán you know that Edam cheese is extremely popular here, but that is a story for another time.
Tutis are a traditional flaky cheese-stuffed pan dulce traditional to Yucatán. The name comes from the Mayan word tuut, which means filling. They are very crunchy and can be found in round or square shapes.
A triangulo is a puff pastry generously topped with white sugar. They obviously get their name from their triangular shape and can be found at just about any panadería in Yucatán.
Pastelitos de lomo are a type of small empanada-shaped puff pastry filled with minced pork. They are sometimes made to be sweet, but more savory variants can also be found. They can be nice, but don’t expect to find all that much pork inside.
Trenzas are buttery pastries weaved into the shape of a trenza, or braid. They are sometimes sold topped with chocolate sprinkles, cinnamon, or sugar.
Has your favorite pan dulce not made the cut? Let us know, and maybe we will include it in a future installment.
