As Christians mark the 40 days of Lent — a season of sacrifice that begins on Ash Wednesday and culminates just before Easter — one Los Angeles baker is returning to a dish layered as richly with meaning as it is with bread, syrup and cheese.
For Chef Alex Peña, the aroma of cinnamon and piloncillo simmering on the stove signals more than dessert; it signals capirotada, his mother’s Lenten bread pudding, a centuries-old recipe from Spain that first stirred his devotion to baking and now anchors his new cookbook, “The Mexican Bakery” (Baking Evolution).
“My mother’s recipe for capirotada was the first recipe I worked on as a child,” he told the food writers and bloggers at Melissa’s Produce headquarters in Vernon, gathered last week to learn about his new cookbook. This comprehensive book on the art of Mexican pan dulce (sweet bread) features more than 50 traditional recipes, such as conchas and bolillos, and detailed step-by-step photos with their historical context.
Chef Alex is a passionate artisan baker who started in his family’s bakery, La Morenita, in Cypress Park in L.A. and then trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. After a stint as head baker for the El Cholo chain, he worked for BakeMark Ingredients, a large dry mix and filling manufacturer, traveling through North America and training professional bakers, later joining their R&D team. Through his School of Baking and his platform, Baking Evolution, Chef Alex shares his passion and expertise.
“Capirotada, the bread pudding for Lent, comes from Spain,” he told us. “The word comes from capirote, the conical hat the Spanish wore during the Inquisition. At the time, it was a savory dish, so you would take everything from the pantry that you can’t eat during Lent and get rid of it before Lent.
“The bread itself represents the body of Christ, the syrup made from the piloncillo represents the blood of Christ, the cinnamon sticks represent the cross, the cloves represent the nails, the colorful sprinkles represent the resurrection, and the shroud is represented by the white cheese,” he noted of the treat today.
Making capirotada “felt like a sacred ritual — one that sparked my life-long passion for baking,” he writes. “This recipe has become a full circle for me — from learning it at my mother’s side, to adapting it for large-scale production at our family bakery, and now, over 30 years later, making it once again in my own kitchen. Capirotada is a dish layered with history and meaning. It’s a reminder of the past, of faith, and of the ties that bring people together.”
Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.
Capirotada
Note: Bolillos are oval-shaped Mexican bread rolls with a crunchy and golden-brown crust and soft interior. Another similar roll may be substituted. Piloncillo, sometimes called Mexican brown sugar, is raw, unrefined Mexican cane sugar molded into hard, dark brown cones, which are grated or dissolved to use in recipes.
Ingredients:
• 15 ounces bolillos
• 1 cup (two sticks) salted butter
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
• 1 1/2 cups queso Chihuahua or other white cheese such as Monterey Jack
• Piloncillo syrup (recipe follows)
• Rainbow sprinkles
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using bread knife, slice bolillos into 1/2-inch medallions.
2. Prepare piloncillo syrup.
3. Toast medallions on baking sheet until thoroughly dry and toasted, flipping them over halfway through and topping each with a slice of butter before toasting the other side.4. Transfer medallions to a casserole dish, arranging them in an even layer. Add small amount of melted butter, raisins, peanuts, and cheese over medallions. Pour piloncillo syrup over the layers.
4. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used.
5. Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees.
6. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake 60 minutes. Additional syrup, cheese and rainbow sprinkles can be added when plating and serving.
For the piloncillo syrup:
• 1 quart water
• 1 3/4 cups piloncillo
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
Combine water, piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves in a 2-quart pot and bring to a rolling boil for 4–5 minutes. Strain syrup through a sieve to remove cloves. Cinnamon stick can be left in syrup for a stronger flavor. Syrup can be prepared in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week.