Pan dulce, literally meaning "sweet bread", is the general name for a variety of Mexican pastries. They are inexpensive treats and are consumed at

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...

, ''

merienda Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (''merenda'' in Galician, ''berenar'' in Catalan), Portugal (''lanche'' or ''merenda'') and Italy (''merenda''), whence the word spread to Serbo-Croatian in, according to dictiona ...

'', or

dinner Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the biggest and most formal meal of the day. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around noon, midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, it gradually migrated to ...

. The pastries originated in Mexico following the introduction of

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

during the

Spanish conquest of the Americas The Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1493 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) after the initial 1492 voyage of Genoa, Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus under license from Queen Isabella ...

and developed into many varieties thanks to French influences in the 19th century.

Types

The creative contribution of French baked goods to Mexico's cuisine peaked in the early 20th century during the dictatorship of

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

. Skilled Mexican bakers adopted French techniques to create new bread designs with colorful names. Today it is estimated that there are between 500 and 2,000 types of bread currently produced in Mexico. Among these are: *Alamar *Almohada *Antaño *Barquillo *Barra para rebanadas *Beso *Bicicletas *Bigote *Bísquet *Bocado *Budín *Burrita *Calabaza *Calvo *Calzón *Canasta *Caracol *Cemita *Chafaldrana *Chamuco *Chicharrón *Chilindrina *Chimistlán *Chirimoya *Chirindolfo *Cocoles *Colchón *Concha *Congal *Coyota *Cuerno de mantequilla *Cuerno de vapor *Donas *Doroteo *Elote *Empanochada *Galletas de coco *Gendarme *Guarapo *Gusano *Gusarapo *Hojaldra *Ladrillo *Manita *Mexicano *Moño de danés *Mundos *Neblina *Nopal *Novia *Ojo de Pancha *Oreja *Pachucos *Pan catarino *Pan de caja *Pan de elote *Pan de feria *Pan de muerto *Pan de pueblo *Pan de pulque *Pan de royal *Pan de yema *Pan decorado con letras *Pan en forma de corazón *Pan en forma de tornillo *Pan mestizo *Pan redondo bordado *Pan redondo o moreliano *Pan típico de nuez *Panquecito *Pechuga *Piedra *Polvorón *Puerquito de piloncillo *Rebanada *Regañada *Reja *Rehiletes *Rieles *Rosca de reyes *Roscas de canela *Soles *Tanas *Tecoyota *Trenza *Yolanda *Yoyos

Besos

A beso (kiss), from Mexico, is made by creating round domes on the top with a drop filling of jam in the middle.

Campechanas

Campechanas are rectangular or round glazed Mexican pastries (referred to as hojaldre, Mexican millefeuille). They are crisp, flaky, and have a shiny caramel colored finish. Champechanas are a very common pan dulce.

Conchas (shells)

Conchas (shells) are known for their shell-like shape and sugar shell pattern on the top. This is the most common of a genre of bizcocho (egg dough) that is topped with a plethora of toppings elaborated out of sugar crust. Although the classic shape is shell-like, it can also be shaped like a snail and the cookie-dough topping can be stamped to be in the pattern of squares as well. Some are sprinkled with different types of sugar or sesame. Each shape and presentation has a different name; there are dozens. Classic colors are chocolate, vanilla, egg, or pink, but they can be made in any food color available. The dough is traditionally flavored with vanilla or orange blossom (flor de azahar), and can be mixed with anise seeds or cinnamon. Other names include arracadas, potosinas, and novias. The concha is a Mexican creation from the 19th century. It is not related to Japanese melon pan or Hong Kong

pineapple bun A pineapple bun () is a kind of sweet bun predominantly popular in Hong Kong and also common in Chinatowns worldwide. Despite the name, it does not traditionally contain pineapple; rather, the name refers to the look of the characteristic to ...

s, but is visually similar. This is one of the most famous Mexican pastries and widely recognized in the United States. It is also referred to as "pan de huevo" (egg bread) in other Latin American countries, such as Chile, where they are eaten during tea time or at the beach. They are known as cemitas in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, and as bizcochos in Spain.

Cuernos (horns)

Cuernos (horns) are a Mexican pastry that is known for their horn-like shape. This pastry has garnered many comparisons to the French

croissant A croissant (, ) is a French cuisine, French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, ''viennoiserie'' pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian cuisine, Austrian ''Kifli, ...

Empanadas (turnovers)

Empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover (food), turnover consisting of pastry and stuffing, filling, common in Culture of Spain, Spain, other Southern European countries, North African countries, South Asian countries, Latin American c ...

s (turnovers) are a pastry more commonly served in Cuba and South America but also have a place in Mexican cuisine. They are filled with meat or other ingredients such as cheese or vegetables of different sorts. They are also filled with fruit such as pumpkin or apple.

Marianas

Marianas are small vanilla sponge cakes that are coated with raspberry jam and coconut along the outside. The top part of Marianas are usually filled with icing or fruit filling.

Marranitos / cochinitos / puerquitos (little pigs)

Marranitos/ cochinitos/puerquitos (little pigs) are pig-shaped pastries sweetened with

piloncillo Panela () or rapadura (Portuguese pronunciation: ) is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. Panela is known by other names in Lati ...

and spiced with cinnamon. The bread has erroneously been called "gingerbread pig" because the finished result looks similar to

gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...

. However, ginger isn't used to make the pastry.

Orejas (ears)

Orejas (ears) are flaky and sweet Mexican pastries that are shaped like an ear and are very common at bakeries. They are very similar to a French

Palmier A palmier (, from French, short for ''feuille de palmier'' 'palm tree leaf'), pig's ear, palm heart, or elephant ear is a French pastry in a palm leaf shape or a butterfly shape, sometimes called ''palm leaves'', ''cœur de France'', ''French ...

Piedras (rocks or stones)

Piedras (rocks or stones) is a pastry made of old bread and is known to be as hard as a rock. Many people eat this with very hot drinks.

Polvorones (wedding cookies)

Polvorones (wedding cookies) are shortbread cookies, often eaten at weddings.

Yoyos (yo-yos)

Yoyos (yo-yos) are a Mexican pastry named after the yo-yo toy, and is shaped exactly like it, but does not have the string. It has a filling which usually consists of raspberry jam.

Religious and seasonal pastries

With the invention of in Mexico, other significant breads were produced to celebrate special occasions and traditions, such as and . These special breads are part of the traditional customs that have been around for centuries. The stories behind these special occasional breads derive from religious beliefs, the dominant being

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Rosca de reyes

("kings' crown") is a treat in addition to a gift that is given on

Three Kings Day Epiphany ( ), also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally ...

, , which is held twelve days after Christmas, the celebration date of the birth of Jesus Christ. This bread is symbolic in many ways, the most illustrative being its round shape which signifies the crown of the

Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

. Baked inside is a small white plastic or ceramic figurine which represents the baby Jesus. The hidden baby Jesus symbolizes the secrecy of the location of Jesus as a child. The ruler of Jerusalem, King Herod, upon learning about the birth of the prophesied King of the Jews, ordered that all male infants be killed so that he could keep his crown. Whoever finds the small figurine is obligated to host a party for the celebration of the – – which occurs on February 2.

Pan de muerto

('bread of the dead') is a special bread that is consumed and offered as a part of the celebration in October and November.

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

is a lively and communal commemoration of the dead. The bread takes many different shapes, from skulls to animals to crosses and mummies. The traditional is shaped like a skull, round, with a little ball at the center top to represent a cranium. Following are the four bones to symbolize the four courses of the universe. consists of ingredients such as dry yeast, all purpose flour, eggs, butter and salt.

Cultural significance

is considered to be a Mexican cuisine. Other countries in Latin America and even Europe have adapted some of Mexico's pastries, but it is in Mexico that the creative new shapes originate. Today, pan dulce is seen in many parts of the United States, especially in places like

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, as a result of migration.

Mexico

In Mexico, is typically consumed at breakfast or evening supper. It is usually accompanied by hot chocolate, milk (often warm), or coffee, and is dipped into the drink for better taste. It can also be eaten alone.

United States

can be found in Mexican markets in many U.S. states. Though may not be consumed as frequently, it is commonly consumed in Hispanic or Latino homes.

References

External links

* {{Mexican cuisine Mexican breads Mexican pastries Latin American breads Sweet breads