A pretty comprehensive history of Mexican Bread (and why it matters)

With the caller cancellation craze sweeping the Mexican federation done societal media, I simply couldn’t deliberation of a much due infinitesimal to dive into the past of breadstuff successful Mexico. British baker Richard Hart faced backlash aft suggesting Mexico’s breadstuff civilization could payment from diversification — a remark that sparked heated statement astir taste appropriation and culinary colonialism (we whitethorn person mentioned this erstwhile oregon doubly ourselves.)

This breakdown follows the leavened wonder’s travel from — you guessed it — Spain, to the fertile cardinal valleys of New Spain astir 1520. In my ongoing quest to showcase Mexico arsenic a unsocial and interconnected civilization calved the infinitesimal Cortés shook hands with Moctezuma, 1 could reason that breadstuff civilization roseate the aforesaid way: done indigenous and European collaboration.

Mexico’s breadstuff culture: built connected taste exchange

Traditional bakery successful Coatepec, Veracruz. (Joseph Sorrentino)

Understanding bread’s travel done Mexican past reveals an important truth: Mexico’s breadstuff civilization has ever been a communicative of adaptation and exchange. If astir 80% of depletion is achromatic bread, possibly Hart’s reflection astir marketplace gaps was little taste insensitivity and much marketplace analysis. The question isn’t whether an expat tin lend to Mexico’s breadstuff scene, but alternatively wherefore cross-cultural culinary speech abruptly became arguable successful a state whose full breadstuff contented is built connected it.

Today, breadstuff makes its mode into the digestive tract of millions of Mexicans acknowledgment to an abundance of panaderías. One UNAM geographer calculated 9,806 bakeries successful Mexico City and its metro country alone. So yes, Mexicans marque breadstuff — but it’s mostly achromatic bread. CANAINPA (Cámara Nacional de la Industria Panificadora) reported successful 2019 that astir 70–75% of breadstuff consumed successful Mexico is achromatic breadstuff oregon pan blanco/pan de caja, including bolillo, telera, and sliced bread. Such statistic suggest determination was, indeed, a spread successful the breadstuff market, and possibly Hart wasn’t wholly off-base erstwhile helium said the breadstuff civilization could usage a boost.

The existent question is: does it truly matter? Can we person our widened assortment of breadstuff and devour it too?

How wheat came to Mexico: Juan Garrido’s 3 grains

Prior to the Spanish conquest, the closest happening Mesoamericans had to a sandwich was the mighty tamal. Maize dough played a cardinal relation successful regular consumption

In summation to maize dough’s cardinal dietary relation successful Mesoamerican society, autochthonal seeds similar amaranth were often crushed to marque alternate doughs and level cakes. The missing constituent — wheat — would sail its mode crossed the Atlantic with the Spanish, adapting rapidly to Mexico’s fertile cardinal valleys.

Agricultural geneticist Ravi Singh came to Mexico successful 1983 aiming to curb satellite hunger by processing wheat varieties that could thrive successful antithetic climatic conditions astir the world. (CIMMYT)

Documented petitions betwixt Hernán Cortés and the crown notation the grain, arsenic does section legend. Sixteenth-century chroniclers similar Alexander von Humboldt recognition Juan Garrido with wheat’s palmy cultivation. According to the story, the Kongo-born, Afro-Spanish worker recovered 3 stray grains of wheat mixed into a sack of atom during an expedition to New Spain. He planted the trio successful a plot adjacent Mexico City, which produced 180 much grains. Garrido replanted this seed, and earlier long, breadstuff was everywhere. Was wheat’s accomplishment communicative embellished to promote overseas investment? The reply is murky astatine best. Whatever the existent origin, what’s definite is that Puebla rapidly became “Mexico’s breadbasket,” supplying flour to Mexico City and beyond.

From Spanish elite to assemblage staple

In the beginning, it was lone the “upper crust” of society, successful this case, the Spaniards, toasting the bun’s arrival. Reports referencing humanities documents from 1559 amusement a viceregal decree forcing reluctant farmers to grow wheat accumulation by requiring a information of their taxes beryllium paid successful grain. Farming practices similar this made locals much comfy with wheat, and implicit the people of decades, they began incorporating breadstuff into their regular diets.

By the precocious 1700s, breadstuff was a large deal. A “gremio de panaderos” (bakers guild) was formally established and regulated by Viceroy Marqués de Croix successful 1770, establishing a licensed loaf monopoly. The caller regulations constricted baking and selling breadstuff to maestro bakers who had passed circumstantial examinations. This model imposed strict controls connected weight, price, and astir importantly, quality: selling reheated, spoiled, oregon underweight breadstuff was strictly prohibited. Anyone caught doing truthful would beryllium deed with a pan malo (bad bread) good astatine champion — guild expulsion astatine worst.

Yet it wasn’t conscionable bakeries churning retired loaves by day. Archaeologists person recovered breadstuff ovens successful convents dating backmost to the 16th century, showing that breadstuff served arsenic some a regular staple for nuns and alms for the poor. Early recipes, notably those for buñuelos from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s Convent of San Jerónimo, person been discovered successful convents from Mexico City to Querétaro.

The Industrial Revolution: From Stone Mills to Bimbo

The Bimbo carnivore dominates modern Mexican breadstuff accumulation to the exclusion of astir different large brands. (Grupo Bimbo)

During the precocious 19th century, Mexico’s breadstuff manufacture underwent a technological revolution. Roller mills, grinding systems, and aboriginal mechanical mixers replaced accepted stone-and-hand methods. Larger flour mills could present nutrient importantly much dough. Mexico City’s Porfiriato saw immense waves of European migration and municipality investment, and Basque entrepreneurs opened bakeries, including La Vasconia, the city’s oldest, combining accepted handwork with modern methods.

This aforesaid epoch saw cookware dulce detonate successful popularity. Sweet breads had started taking signifier successful convents, apt influenced by pre-Hispanic cakes made of maize and honey, but they truly took disconnected erstwhile French baking techniques met Mexican flavors successful the precocious 19th century, resulting successful pastry varieties similar cuernitos, conchas, and orejas.

Soon, businesses successful Mexico City started producing breadstuff connected a quasi-industrial scale. With the founding of Bimbo successful the 1940s came afloat concern accumulation lines with American-style passageway ovens, and the modulation to mass-produced, standardized packaged breadstuff was complete. Traditional panaderías stuck astir though, and adjacent contiguous they inhabit the artisanal broadside of a dual-sector industry.

Bread vs. tortilla: Who wins successful Mexico?

Without a doubt, maize inactive reigns arsenic the astir consumed atom successful Mexico, and successful the breadstuff vs. tortilla battle, the tortilla wins by a landslide. Industry reports citing CANAINPA enactment breadstuff depletion astir 35–36 kg per idiosyncratic per year, wherever astir 80% consists of achromatic breadstuff and astir 20% is cookware dulce. At 56–75 kg per idiosyncratic per year, tortilla depletion much than doubles breadstuff intake, and tin beryllium adjacent higher successful agrarian areas.

A determination twist tin beryllium recovered successful bluish Mexican states similar Sonora, Chihuahua, and Baja California, wherever wheat tortillas have each but replaced maize tortillas. Agricultural conditions successful Mexico’s bluish borderlands favour large-scale wheat cultivation, and the flour tortilla’s elastic texture makes it perfect for burritos and sobaqueras. If centuries of past thatch america anything, it’s that outsider techniques and perspectives are often precisely what’s kneaded – portion inactive suiting section palettes.  

In a onshore wherever wheat and maize coexist peacefully, 1 tin lone anticipation British and Mexican bakers tin excessively — aft all, there’s plentifulness of dough to spell around.

Bethany Platanella is a question planner and manner writer based successful Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine deed that comes straight aft booking a level ticket, exploring section markets, practicing yoga and munching connected caller tortillas. Sign up to person her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog or travel her on Instagram.