More Guatemalan Pan Dulce

Yesterday I wrote about finally finding recipes - or at least videos - that point to ingredients for Guatemalan Pan Dulce, or Pan de Manteca (Sweet Bread or Bread enriched with one or more of many ingredients, such as shortening, lard, butter, eggs, sugar). The amounts may not be there in the videos, or may only be partially complete in sites with a "recipe," but I can manage to figure amounts out on my own. What I'd wanted to know was what were the actual ingredients used. So after a long-winded story, yesterday's post was on a recipe I had long wished for, called Shecas, a bread that should be made with rapadura (pilon/piloncillo), a sugar cane product that is sold as a solid chunk, being grated for a recipe. Oh, and anise seeds. Those two ingredients were key.

Pan Tostada: Hojtas, Pan de Churro & Rosquitas

But Shecas, or Champurradas, or Molletes are only the tip of that particular iceberg. There are so very many types of Pan Dulce available there. Some of the types of breads are made crispy. Champurradas are one of those types, and their crispiness is most wonderful dipped into coffee or hot chocolate. Mmmmm. Another style of breads, and Champurradas can also be made from this same dough, fall under the general title of "Pan Tostado," meaning Toasted Bread. In this case, toasted just means baked until crisp. Under the umbrella of the title of "Pan Tostado" come quite a few options for shapes and styles, each shape with its own name. I opted to try these out as they are tasty, though they were not high on my most favorite list. I made the dough, which came out beautifully, and then proceeded to form them into three of the possible shapes: Hojitas (oh-HEE-tahs) or little leaves, Pan de Churro (so called, I imagine, as they look like they had been extruded like a churro) and roscas or rosquitas (rings, or small rings, respectively).

Pan Tostada in its various shapes, all seem to be dredged in sugar before baking, giving them a sweet exterior. That said, most of the time that I saw Rosquitas, they had no sugar on them. I made a recipe for those some time ago (see that recipe here) and they are good, too, though this new version is lighter and more crisp.

Pan Tostada

Made 24 breads

In a bowl, mix together the lard, sugar, salt, egg, vanilla and cinnamon, with about half the water until fairly well combined. Separately, stir together the flour and baking powder to distribute evenly, then add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring. Add the remaining water and flour and stir until the mass comes together. Continue to mix by hand until you have a cohesive dough. Divide the dough into 24 pieces, about 1-ounce each, then either make some of all three shapes, or make all into one shape. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a couple of baking sheets. Have ready a wide bowl or flat plate with sugar. Once any of the forms is shaped, dredge them in the sugar on both sides, then set on the baking sheet. They will not grow significantly, so an inch of space between them is sufficient.


To make Pan de Churro: Take the portion of dough and roll out into a log
about 12 inches in length. Take about a third of the length and fold alongside the main length of the log. Overlapping slightly, bring up the other end of the log and set over top, in the little space made by the first fold. Dredge in sugar and place on baking sheet, then continue with more shapes.

To make Hojitas:  Roll out the dough to an oval shape about 5 to 6 inches in length. Using one finger on each hand, begin pressing the dough towards the inside of the oval, enough to slightly overlap the dough in a crescent. Repeat this along the outer edge of the oval on both sides simultaneously, until reaching the bottom of the oval. Dredge in sugar and set onto baking sheet, then continue with more shapes.

To make Rosquitas: Roll out a portion of the dough into a log, then make into a circle, pressing ends together to seal. Use a small knife to cut halfway into the thickness of the ring, making a fringe. The fringe can be made all the way around the circle, halfway around the circle, or omitted entirely, leaving the circle smooth. Dredge the shape in sugar, set on the baking sheet and continue with more shapes, until the dough is gone. 

Bake the breads for about 20 minutes, or until lightly golden and crisp. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.