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From sugary conchas to buttery empanadas filled with seasonal fruits like pineapple, pumpkin and apple, pan dulce — and the panaderías that sell it — are a mainstay throughout San Antonio.
Melissa Johnson is the vice president of Over the Top Cake Supplies, which offers baking classes in San Antonio through its Bake Lab workshops.
“Anywhere you go, you see some kind of Mexican pastry present," said Johnson."I feel that people are intrigued of wanting to learn how to put that pastry on their own tables.”
Pan dulce will take center stage during the Bake Lab's two-day workshop led by renowned pastry chef Alex Peña. Peña is the founder of Baking Evolution and the author of the cookbook The Mexican Bakery, the first complete guide to Mexican pan dulce for home and professional bakers.
Peña said pan dulce has deep roots in San Antonio, tracing all the way back to the city's founding in 1718.
"The reason pan dulce goes so deep in San Antonio was because it was already there — it's been there for so many years," he said. "It's been part of the everyday and culture. It wasn't brought in. It was inherited, really, through the parallel cultures there."
Peña said pan dulce is unlike any other other style of pastries and said it offers a wide variety that ties into many different cultures.
"You have some Moorish development there, so you actually have Muslim and Arab connection there with some of the polvorones. The Spanish, of course, brought in the concept of wheat and they did bring in that connection of the Moors as well," he said. "Then you have the French concepts there that are actually building the different categories using the French techniques.”
Day two will center on pan fino, or traditional Mexican sweet bread that is defined by a rich dough that is a cross between a bread and cookie. It's one of the few Mexican bread categories that was developed in North America as part of the Mexican panadería.
The Bake Lab’s Melissa Johnson says the workshop is open to all — from culinary enthusiasts to home bakers, to trained pastry chefs looking to expand their offerings.
“We have a local bakery that doesn't even have a Mexican pastry being offered as far as one of his products right now, and he is very excited also to want to take the course to offer a concha as part of one of his products.”
Peña said he's excited to share the techniques and history of pan dulce for students to redevelop the recipes in the comfort of their own kitchen.
"That’s what this vision is, is to cultivate a baking community. Whether you're a beginner or somebody who wants to refresh. Let's talk shop," said Peña.
Johnson said King Arthur Flour will also be sponsoring two seats for local high school students.
"(This) helps create meaningful pathways for students serious about pursuing careers in baking and pastry arts," she said.
Chef Peña will have a free cookbook signing of The Mexican Bakery on Friday, Feb. 20th at The Bake Lab off at 10731 I-35 Frontage Rd
The two-day pan dulce workshop is this Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21 and 22. Interested participants can visit click here to sign up or for more information.
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