Pan de feria, Larousse’s braid with pastry cream

A Mexican fair bread with regional forms

Larousse Cocina labels Irving Quiroz’s pan de feria as Mexican and cites his book Panes mexicanos. The particular formula here forms one large braid or closed zigzag, brushed with egg glaze and decorated with pastry cream and sesame. This description belongs to that recipe, not to every bread sold at a Mexican fair.

Larousse’s gastronomic dictionary describes pan de fiesta as a broad family whose finished shape depends on region. It names festive breads sold in Tlaxcala and Puebla and records a long sesame-topped form from San Juan Huactzinco and San Juan Totolac. Those facts show why a single photographed or printed version cannot stand for all regional forms; they do not place Quiroz’s braid in either town.

The enriched dough

This large batch combines 2 kg wheat flour, 20 g salt and 30 g dry yeast with 100 mL milk and 400 g eggs, followed by 50 g butter, 350 g cream, 360 g sugar and 10 mL vanilla. The method builds a flour well, keeps salt around the outside, and mixes the yeast in the center with some milk and flour. Milk and eggs are gradually incorporated, then butter and cream, with sugar and vanilla added afterward. Knead until the dough is smooth, soft, elastic and pulls away from the work surface.

The source specifies one hour or a doubled rise, a 20-minute rest after deflating, and a final 40-minute rise after shaping. No proofing temperature is stated. The 30 portions are made from the large recipe batch as a single decorative bread; this account does not divide it into smaller units or invent new bake times.

The braid, pastry cream and sesame finish

The dough is rolled and cut into strips about 2 cm thick. Join their ends to create one long strand, then lay it as a braid or close zigzag on a large greased tray. Brush with egg glaze. The companion Larousse glaze recipe beats one egg with a pinch of salt and sugar to make about 50 mL; this version uses pasteurized whole egg product in that same measure.

For the half batch used here, the complete Larousse formula yields 2 cups and measures 480 mL milk, 35 g cornstarch, 65 g sugar, 100 g yolks, 30 g butter and 15 mL vanilla. Half is 240 mL milk, 17.5 g cornstarch, 32.5 g sugar, 50 g yolks, 15 g butter and 7.5 mL vanilla. Boil the milk, whisk yolks with cornstarch and sugar, combine, and cook on low while stirring until thick. Remove from heat, mix in butter and vanilla, transfer to a shallow container, cover the surface and refrigerate promptly. This preserves Larousse’s surface-cover instruction while adding shallow-pan cooling and prompt chilling guidance. Once chilled, smooth the cream and pipe it along the braid or zigzag, then scatter sesame over the surface.

Egg handling and baking

The original dough and pastry cream include eggs, and both are held before the bread is baked. FDA food-service guidance recommends pasteurized egg products for procedures that hold eggs or egg-containing foods before or after cooking. This home adaptation uses pasteurized whole egg product for the dough and glaze and pasteurized yolks for the custard. Refrigerate the custard promptly in a shallow container after cooking and keep it cold until use.

Flour remains raw until cooked. CDC advises not tasting raw dough, keeping it separate from ready-to-eat food, and washing hands, bowls, utensils and surfaces after handling. Bake at the recipe’s stated 170°C for 30 minutes or until golden. The recipe does not specify an internal-temperature endpoint; no new number is added here.

After baking, the egg-and-milk cream filling makes this a perishable pastry. Divide the large loaf into smaller portions in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour if room temperature is above 32°C/90°F), keeping the refrigerator at or below 4°C/40°F. FoodSafety.gov says to discard cream-filled pastries exposed above 4°C/40°F for more than 2 hours; the one-hour limit applies in air above 32°C/90°F. General cooked-leftover guidance is to use food within 4 days; no validated storage duration specific to this bread was found. The source gives 170°C and 30 minutes or a golden cue but no measured internal endpoint.

Sources and limits

The 30-portion formula, braid/zigzag shape, proofing, oven setting and bake time follow Larousse Cocina’s Irving Quiroz recipe. Its egg-glaze and pastry-cream references supply complete measured methods; the full pastry-cream recipe yields 2 cups, and the half batch used here is measured in the ingredients. Larousse's pastry-cream page says the cream may be refrigerated for up to one week; this adaptation does not adopt that period for the finished loaf. FoodSafety.gov supports prompt cooling, refrigeration and discard instructions for the perishable filled pastry, while its four-day leftover period is general guidance rather than a product-specific validation. Larousse’s regional entry is used to show that pan de fiesta has several local forms, not to claim this braid is from Tlaxcala or Puebla.