Pan y Dulce: The Latin American Baking Book

Afro-Honduran baker Ford (New World Sourdough) celebrates Latin America’s “world of bread and sweetness” in this comprehensive volume showcasing 150 sweet and savory baked goods drawn from Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Ford’s penchant for sourdough is featured throughout—he provides thorough instructions for converting commercial yeast options into natural sourdough leavening, as in the recipe for pan de coco, a pillowy coconut milk roll. Traditional recipes are followed by fun updates: classic concha, or sweet buns, get a chocolate cookie dough twist, and honey-dipped Honduran Semita rolls can be made either with traditional corn or using rice flour. Gluten-free recipes abound, celebrating “the way Latin America cooked before wheat” with indigenous flours including cassava, amaranth, sorghum, quinoa, and maize. Savory fare includes many variations on fugazzeta (pizza-like flatbreads) and empanadas. Novice bakers will appreciate Ford’s precise (if at times overwhelmingly detailed) step-by-step instructions for mixing and shaping methods while the more experienced will revel in the extensive variety of sweets on offer. Interspersed personal anecdotes and reflections on Latin American foodways, especially the impact of colonization, add texture. Ambitious home bakers will be thrilled. (Nov.)