About This Recipe
What is Pan de Cristal?
Pan de Cristal (also known as Spanish Glass Bread) gets its name from its open crumb/interior. This bread is similar to its Italian cousin, ciabatta, in many ways. Featuring a high hydration (very wet) dough, chewy interior, and crusty outside, this loaf is absolutely an advanced working loaf that will yield incredible results.
What I love about this recipe:
This recipe is simple yet advanced, all at the same time. Just four ingredients come together to create a fabulous bread consisting of a thin and crispy crust with an open and airy interior. I absolutely adore working with this dough through intervaled coil folds. The versatility of this dough makes its serving options endless: including, sandwiches, soups, or simply topped with olive oil and tomatoes.
Why this recipe works
Strong Bread flour
Bread flour is an incredibly important element that cannot be skipped over. Without a strong bread flour, the dough simply will not come together through the coil folding process. It will remain very wet, and will break and fall apart easily. I use King Arthur Bread Flour when I make this dough, but you can use any strong bread flour available to you. The protein content should be near 13% or higher for best results.
High hydration
High hydration simply means (by my own definition) “very wet dough.” The hydration of this recipe is 105%, meaning it contains more water, by weight, than flour. Read more about dough hydration here. The hydration of the dough has everything to do with the final outcome and is responsible for the open and chewy interior.
Gluten development
Gluten in this recipe is developed through a series of intervaled coil folds. Coil folds, which are most suitable for wet doughs, are the chosen method for this recipe due to its high hydration. Each fold develops and changes the dough even further, resulting in a strong dough that doesn’t fall apart and is able to puff up nicely in the oven.
Bulk Fermentation
After the folding process is complete, this dough is left to double in size. This is essential to obtaining the perfect crumb. A loaf left for less may end up with a big air bubble on top, while a loaf left longer will result in smaller holes. Allow the loaf to double, then refrigerate and bake the dough cold.
Cold Final Proof
The cold final proof could also be considered part of bulk fermentation, since the dough has not been shaped yet. The refrigeration step of this recipe is optional, but I find it helps set the flavors, make the baking schedule more flexible, and set a more even, open crumb. This is because a warm, room temperature dough popped into a hot oven will spring up like pita bread, and you may end up with a huge hole in the top of the bread.
Baking Method: Steam
The steam is crucial to the first few minutes of baking these loaves. Steam delays the formation of crust, allowing the Pan de Cristal to expand to its full potential before the outside forms. In addition, the steam will help improve the color and texture of the crust, helping contribute to the golden-brown color and thin, crispy exterior.
Baking Method: temperature
I played around with a lot of temperatures when baking this bread, and finally settled on a combination of two. 475 F, combined with the addition of steam, helps promote the best oven spring. You can watch these loaves literally pop up in the oven in the first ten minutes of baking! After that, 400 F for the remainder of the time perfectly cooks the loaves through without over-browning.
Suggested Baking Timeline
8 AM (Day 1)
+Mix the dough
8:05 AM - 11 AM (Day 1)
+Strengthen the dough
11 AM (Day 1)
+Bulk ferment the dough
5-6 PM (Day 1)
+Transfer to refrigerator
8 AM (Day 2)
+ Preheat oven to 475 F
+ Boil water
8:30 AM (Day 2)
+ Shape the dough
+ Bake and enjoy!
FAQs
Can I knead this dough in my stand mixer?
I would not recommend kneading this dough in a stand mixer. Due to the high, 105% hydration of this dough, it will take a kneading at a high speed for a good amount of time to achieve the desired results. This would also warm up the dough and affect fermentation. Altogether, I think four sets of coil folds is really the best, and simplest, way to go for this one.
Can I speed up fermentation using a proofer or warm oven?
You can absolutely use a proofer or warm oven to speed up fermentation, though you will need to keep a few things in mind.
First, you may want to reduce time in between folds or perform your folds at room temperature before placing the dough in your warm area. This is because fermentation occurs faster in a warm area, and you want to make sure you are able to gauge correctly. In you choose to reduce time between folds, fold every 20-30 minutes, instead of every 45.
Second, if you are using the refrigerator as a tool (overnight) and you are using something to heat up the dough for faster fermentation, you will want to stop bulk fermentation BEFORE your dough hits double in size. This is because a warm dough will continue to rise in the refrigerator until it cools. A 75% size increase might be better in this case. You can read more about the effects of dough temperature here. If you plan to bake the dough directly after it doubles in size, there is no need to stop bulk fermentation early, since the dough will be baked right away.
Last, I do recommend placing your dough in the fridge before baking, even if just for 30-60 minutes. Why? Room temperature dough will have a more substantial oven spring for this recipe. In some cases, such as when making baguettes, this is desired. But, in a recipe like this one, the effects can be negative. Especially if your Pan de Cristal dough is warm from the proofer upon entering the oven, it will spring up quickly and beautifully on the outside, but it may leave you with one large gaping hole on the inside. Cooling the dough in the refrigerator first will eliminate this potential problem.
Can you convert this recipe to volume measurements?
For this recipe, I have decided not to convert my ingredients to volume. The exact weights of each of the four ingredients in this recipe are very specific and intentional, and volume simply cannot be as accurate, leading to inconsistent results.
Pan de Cristal
Course: Lunch, Dinner, Snack, SideCuisine: SpanishDifficulty: Advanced30
minutes20
hours30
minutes4
loavesPan de Cristal (also known as Spanish Glass Bread) gets its name from its open crumb/interior. This bread is similar to its Italian cousin, ciabatta, in many ways. Featuring a high hydration (very wet) dough, chewy interior, and crusty outside, this loaf is absolutely an advanced working loaf that will yield incredible results.
Ingredients
500 g strong bread flour
525 g water
100 g active starter
10 g salt
Directions
Mix together all ingredients (any order you choose).
Let the dough rest for 45 minutes, then begin the strengthening process.
Strengthen the dough: Perform four sets of coil folds, 45 minutes apart. Lift the dough up from the middle, and allow it to fall over itself. Repeat 1-2 times in each cardinal direction. (To hear my commentary on this, see 1:05 in the video.)
Bulk ferment: Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size * (see note).
Shape and bake the dough right away, or refrigerate 8-16 hours.
Preheat your oven to 475 F (Optionally, preheat a baking stone. I do not use one in this recipe.) Set your oven racks so that one is on top and another is on the bottom.
Shape the dough: dump the dough out onto a floured counter and divide into four equal sections. Transfer the dough to parchment paper * (see note).
Boil some water in a tea kettle or on the stovetop.
Transfer the boiling water to a water-safe loaf pan, and place on the top rack of your preheated oven.
Transfer your loaves to the back side of a 9X13 baking sheet and place on the bottom oven rack. Or, transfer the loaves onto your preheated baking stone.
I can fit two at a time in my oven * (see note). Keep the other two loaves in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
Bake at 475 for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the steam and baking sheet * (see note). Transfer the loaves to the top oven rack.
Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F and bake 20 more minutes, until golden and the internal temperature registers at least 190 F. Add 5-10 more minutes if you want a darker crust.
Cool on a cooling rack 20-30 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!
How to store: Store in a sealed bag on the counter up to seven days.
To reheat: Toast in a toaster oven or air fryer until warmed through and crispy. DO NOT microwave.
Watch the Video
Notes
- Bulk ferment: It takes my dough about 6 hours to double on the counter at room temperature. You can also use a heating aid here (ex - proofer or dough mat). If you do warm your dough AND plan to refrigerate, do not let it get to double. This is because it will continue to rise in the fridge until it cools, and we do not want it to over-proof.
- Shaping: This dough is typically heavily floured, due to its high hydration. I do not find this necessary. I simply wet my hands and bench scraper. You can do as you like for this step.
- Baking: You can bake all four loaves at once, if your oven will allow it. I was able to fit two 9X13 baking sheets in the oven, one on the bottom rack and the other on the top rack beside my loaf pan of boiling water. You will need to add at least 5 minutes to the initial baking time (at 475 F, until the loaves are fully puffed up and the outside is partially cooked), then remove the steam (and both baking sheets) and transfer all the loaves to the top rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F and bake the remaining 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 190 F and the loaves are browned to your liking.
- Baking: Removing the stone or baking sheet is absolutely necessary, as I have found the bottom of the loaves will not brown properly if it is not removed. This is because the baking stone or sheet redistributes the heat (similar to what would happen if you placed one under a Dutch oven while making a country loaf of sourdough, which I do to prevent burning) and actually prevents the bottom from browning. I even struggled with even browning when using a preheated baking stone or sheet in the middle of my oven the entire time. I truly prefer this baking method best for this bread.
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