Join us for a tour of the sweet bread of Mexico, Latin and South America as we take a new pastry each week to discuss and share history, our favorites, and other fun facts! Call store for availability.
The pan dulce (sweet bread) known as the moño (in English ‘bun’) is a lightly sweetened pastry, with a texture similar to a danish roll and dusted with a sugar topping. It is also called a corbata (tie) because of its bow like shape.
The moño is an adaptation of the French ornais – a bow shaped pastry that is filled with cream and often a fruit filling.
Although it was the Spanish who introduced wheat to Mexico, pastry making took off in the late 19th century thanks to the influence of the French bakers who arrived during the military invasion and occupation. (Last week we mentioned the legend of the local church official dipping his bread in hot chocolate. Well…this is definitely true!)
You’ll see the French (and Italian) influence in many of our pastries, thanks to the training our head baker, Alfredo, received during his early career in Mexico. European suppliers, who were eager to introduce their lines of products to Mexico, brought pastry chefs from France and Italy to teach the fine techniques of pastry making. Over time, Alfredo began to travel throughout Mexico giving seminars and hands-on workshops himself.
If you like the moño, look in future weeks for a similar version, but with a chocolate, instead of sugar, topping!
