Pan de Cristal — Photo:
Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle

Active Time:

1 hr

Stand Time:

5 hrs

Total Time:

8 hrs 45 mins

Yield:

2 loaves

This wet, thin dough is not for beginning bread bakers, but if you have experience with high-hydration doughs, this recipe will reward you with a beautifully browned loaf of bread perfect for eating with a bit of oil or using for sandwiches.

Frequently asked questions

What is pan de cristal?

Pan de cristal is a Spanish bread from the Catalan region. It is also known as “glass bread,” for its wonderfully crisp crust and open crumb. Pan de cristal is made with a very thin high-hydration dough that requires some extra time and patience, but the results are worth it.

What is high-hydration dough?

Wet bread doughs with a higher ratio of water to flour are known as high-hydration doughs. The doughs are looser — they can seem more like a pancake batter when first mixed — and stickier. But the patience and effort that goes into mixing and folding the dough and letting it rest are worth it when loaves of bread with crackly crusts and open, airy crumb inside are worth it. As recipe developer Nicole Hopper from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen says, “This bread is definitely a labor of love but it is such a satisfying bread to make. To see it come together from a sloppy mess into a workable dough and then into these beautifully crusty rustic loaves feels pretty magical.”

How do you work with a high-hydration dough?

This bread can be tricky because it’s hard to develop gluten with so much water. We used a couple different techniques to help with gluten development: a 30 minute autolyse (a resting period) at the beginning of the process helps jumpstart the hydration of the dough. Adding the rest of the water in steps allows the dough to develop some gluten before all the water is added. After mixing, the sets of coil folds during bulk fermentation further develop gluten and give the dough structure.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

The measurements in this recipe require enough precision that we weighed them in grams, so if you don’t already have a kitchen scale, get one. You want the dough when mixed to be about 75°F, so adjust the temperature of the water according to the ambient temperature of your kitchen; a cooler room temperature means the water should be a bit warmer.

You’ll need to keep your hands wet when handling the dough. To make it easy, keep a bowl of water on your work surface so that you can wet your hands as needed. When folding the dough, be firm yet gentle. Keep your fingers together (imagine your hands are like paddles); if you spread your fingers out, you’re more likely to rip the dough. You don’t want to risk tearing the dough, so if you start feeling resistance, stop and let the dough rest a few minutes.

Ingredients

300 g (about 2 1/2 cups) bread flour, plus more for work surface and dusting (such as King Arthur)
300 g (about 1 1/4 cups) lukewarm tap water (90°F to 100°F), divided
2 g (3/4 teaspoon) active dry yeast
6 g (2 teaspoons) kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
8 g (2 teaspoon) olive oil, plus more for greasing
2 cups ice cubes

Directions

Beat flour and 200 grams of the water with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment on low speed just until a shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Stir together yeast and 25 grams of the water in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Stir together salt and 25 grams of the water in a separate small bowl until salt is dissolved. Place remaining 50 grams of water in a small measuring cup with a spout; set aside.
Add yeast mixture to flour mixture, and beat on low speed until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add salt mixture, and beat on low speed until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium, and beat until dough looks smooth and wraps around dough hook, 4 to 5 minutes.
Reduce mixer speed to medium-low, and very slowly add reserved water in measuring cup, drop by drop, beating until water is fully incorporated before next addition; continue beating until all of water is incorporated (5 to 8 minutes total). Gradually add olive oil, and beat at medium-low speed until incorporated, about 1 minute. (Dough will be very loose, wet, and sticky, almost like a batter.)
Generously grease a 2-quart rectangle or square baking dish with oil. Transfer dough to prepared baking dish using a bowl scraper. Cover with a sheet of lightly oiled plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Perform a set of bowl folds using wet hands: Gently grasp 1 edge of dough; gently stretch it upwards, and fold it over into center. Repeat process all the way around dough. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Perform a set of coil folds using wet hands: Place hands on each side of dough; lift up from underneath center of dough, stretch, and fold forward so loose end tucks under center. Repeat motion with opposite end of dough so loose end tucks under first folded side. (The aim is for folds to very loosely mimic a spiral.) Rotate dish 90 degrees, and repeat folds once. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Repeat coil folding and resting process 4 more times. (The dough will initially feel very loose but will develop more structure as you continue to fold it.)
After final set of coil folds, cover dough, and let stand at room temperature until nearly tripled in bulk, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Generously flour a work surface, and dust top of dough with flour. Very carefully tip dough out onto surface, loosening it from dish using a bowl scraper or wet hands, if needed. Dust top of dough with additional flour. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, halve dough lengthwise into 2 even portions. Dust cut edges with flour. Hold 2 bench scrapers, 1 under each short end of 1 dough portion; bring bench scrapers inwards to meet in center, scrunching dough slightly and supporting it underneath. Lift and transfer dough portion onto a sheet of parchment paper; carefully move bench scrapers outward restoring dough portion to its original length. Repeat process with second dough portion and a separate sheet of parchment paper. Loosely cover dough with a lightweight cotton or linen towel, and let rise at room temperature until puffy and surface is covered in bubbles, 1 hour, 30 minutes to 2 hours.
About 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 475°F with a baking steel or stone on center rack and a metal baking pan on lower rack.
Trim parchment to about 1/8 inch from dough following shape of loaves. Quickly slide dough and parchment onto preheated baking steel using a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet, spacing loaves at least 2 inches apart. Carefully add ice cubes to baking pan in oven, and quickly close oven; bake loaves in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Quickly open oven, and carefully remove baking pan with water. Close door, and reduce oven temperature to 450°F. Continue baking until bread is a deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. (If your oven has a convection setting, switch to convection for final 5 minutes of baking for an extra crispy crust.)
Remove from oven, and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, about 30 minutes.

Pan De Cristal