How to make
Typical of the Alicante area, loved and consumed throughout the year, and on Easter combined with painted or chocolate eggs. We're talking about Mona de Pasqua. It is also called Pan Quemado depending on the area where it is prepared with slight variations in the products.
Similar to Easter bread, but somewhat airier and with a hard slightly burnt crust, hence the name Pan Quemado, which means Burnt Bread. Orange water is used for its preparation, which gives it a slightly different taste.
The first step is to activate the yeast in the slightly warmed milk with a spoonful of the sugar and two or three of the flour. Mix into a smooth thin mixture and leave it to activate.
During this time, sift the flour into a bowl, if possible - twice. Make a well and beat 2 of the eggs into it, pour the sugar, olive oil, salt, orange water, finely grated citrus peels (without the white part) and yeast when it activates.
Knead the dough, to which we sprinkle a little flour at the beginning or grease our hands with olive oil, because it is quite sticky. Knead with quick movements and by the 20th minute of working with it, it will be perfect and will have peeled off everything that was stuck to your hands and the counter.
The kneading is long, but worth it for the end result!
Grease the dough and shape it into a smooth ball, which is placed in a baking pan with a diameter of about 9.4″ (24 cm). and covered with baking paper. Leave it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour and a half. Don't cover it because our goal is for it to puff up nicely and rise.
Even though we have greased the dough, a hard crust will form, which will even be better for us, because this way we will get the typical for this bread crispy and harder crust contrasting with the airy fluffy interior.
After it rises well, spread it with an egg beaten with a little milk and sprinkle with moistened sugar (for moistening, I use anise liqueur or rum instead of water for more flavor). Place it in an oven heated to 360°F (180°C) and bake for 35 minutes or until it is fully baked and at the end you can wrap it with aluminum foil so that the crust does not burn too much.
Cool it on a wire rack and it will then be completely ready! Enjoy!
