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pan-demoniumText and photos by Taylor Byrne Dodge

Youve seen them sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, twisted and braided, sometimes with pink, yellow or white designs on top. Some are shaped like seashells, ears of corn or even little pigs. Certain kinds reveal fruit or savory !llings; others may have "aky and buttery tops; most leave a trail of crumbs. All will have you licking your !ngers.

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Were talking about pan dulce, of course, the sweet baked goods that are such a strong tradition not only in Mexico, but throughout Latin America.

Wheat was brought to Mexico by the Spaniards centuries ago. It was necessary in order to make communion wafers for the Catholic Mass. Settlers from France and Spain came, too, and wanted the baked goods of their homeland think croissants, baguettes and cookies. Soon local bakers were producing breads and sweets that harked back to Europe, but had their own distinct New World in!uences.

Mexican baked goods can be loosely divided into three types. "e savory breads include bolillo and telera rolls (both used for sandwiches), pan de anis (lightly scented with anise, giving it the aroma of black licorice) and pan de muerto (bread of the dead, made of egg dough similar to brioche).

"ere is the sweet dough pan !no that has a texture somewhere between white bread and a cookie. Its often made into pastries such as besos (kisses, two cookies held together with frosting) and the iconic concha (a domed bread that is coated with a sweet paste that hardens during baking into a crunchy shell decora-tion)."e third general type is !aky

laminated dough that is reminiscent of croissants. Mexican bakeries use the layering technique to produce orejas (ears, something like French palmiers), cuernos (horns) and tacos (cigar-shaped pastries with fruit #llings). "e milhojas (thousand leaves) is pu$ pastry #lled with fruit or Bavarian cream.

We recently dropped in at El Bolillo for a sampling of pan dulce. Its a serve-yourself spot. Pick up a

tray and a pair of tongs and make the rounds of the racks for a sweet feast. All are excellent for dipping in a cup of co$ee or hot chocolate.

We discovered that the pastry names are not nailed down. "eir names can vary depending on where youre from and where you buy them.

On the next page, you will see photos of specialty pan dulce from El Bolillo.Here are some of the most commonly found varieties:

BESOS (kisses) are two round dome-shaped cookies with a shmear of jam in the middle, forming a little cookie sandwich. "ey look a bit like rustic macarons.

CAMPECHANAS are rectangular glazed pastries. "eyre simple, brown and havea !aky shell. "e outside is sweetened, the inside is not.

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PANADERIAS OF HOUSTON

EL BOLILLO2517 Airline

713-861-8885elbolillo.com

LA VICTORIA BAKERY7138 Lawndale713-921-0861

lavictoriabakery.net

PANADERIA CENTRAL12788 Veterans Memorial

281-866-7630

LA REYNERA4120 McKinney713-224-1575

LA GUADALUPANA BAKERY & CAFE

2109 Dunlavy 713-522-2301

TAQUERIA Y PANADERIA DEL SOL

8114 Park Place Blvd.713 644-0535ilovedelsol.com

churro

empanada

panadero

magdalena

borracho

armadillo

PAN DULCE FROM EL BOLILLO

empanadas

inside the armadillo

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CHURROS are fried dough, often sold by street vendors in Mexico. !e surface is ridged, as the dough is piped from a churrera with a star-shaped nozzle. Churros may be thin or thick, twisted or even knotted. Delicious with hot chocolate.

CONCHAS (shells) are the Mexican pastry youve probably seen most often, maybe in the donut bin at H-E-B. !eyve got a thick sugary top layer pink, yellow or light brown with an etched pattern. Sometimes called pan de huevo.

CONOS (cones) are like cornuco-pia. !e open end is "lled with pastry cream.

CUERNOS (horns) are similar to a French croissant, sometimes with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top. Bigotes (mustaches) look like a true croissant.

EMPANADAS (turnovers) are common in Cuba, Argentina and many other Latin American countries. !ey may be "lled with savory meat mixtures, cheese, fruit or, well, just about anything. We liked the small cajeta-"lled empanadas at El Bolillo.

MARRANITOS, COCHINITOS and PUERQUITOS (little pigs) are some-times called gingerbread pigs, much to the irritation of Mexicans who note that the pu#y pig-shaped pastries contain no ginger at all. !ey are more likely a cousin to the Chinese piggy moon cake.

NINO EMBUELTO (wrapped-up child) is a rolled-up sponge cake, sliced so that you can see the interior swirls of the cake. Sometimes served with coconut, honey, condensed milk, fresh fruit or berry sauce.

OREJAS (ears) are shaped like an ear and are very $aky and light, similar to a classic French palmier.

Fresh is Lodged in Our Mind.

713.861.8666 rainbow-lodge.com

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2011 Ella Boulevard at East TC Jester In the Heights

Taylor Byrne Dodge is My Tablescreative director and associate publisher.