November is Panama’s month. There are many celebrations in Panama during November, all of which are related to patriotism. November 3rd is Panama’s Independence Day from Columbia, November 4th is Flag Day, November 10th celebrates the country’s first cry of independence from Spain, and November 28th is the official Independence Day from Spain (with help from Columbia… IRONIC, right?) However, November 3rd is the biggest, most celebrated day of them all. So, here we are… a weekend of Panama!
Part 1? Yes, this is another two-parter week. Today’s post is Pan Micha. The next post this week will be Black Bean Tortilla Pie (tortillas AND pie crusts). The pie is a bake as well, and there are lots of pics and tips to share, sooooooooo…need two posts.
Panama = Bridge = World, huh? The Panama Canal in Panama is an engineering marvel that connects the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. Traveling through the locks allows ships (commercial, military, cargo, etc.) to avoid the long trek around South America (eliminating 8,000 miles of travel). The canal’s construction technically started with France but ended with the United States and was completed in 1914. At the height of construction more than 25,000 workers a day worked on the canal. As a result, many people from different countries and continents (China, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and the United States) were hired. While Panama has its own culture from various indigenous groups, the canal construction brought other cultural influences that have impacted today’s culture, particularly cuisine. That led us to this past weekend’s bread bake.
Bread honoring Panama… Pan Micha is a country white bread modified and in the style of Panama, but by way of France. During the French influence (yes, due to the canal) in the late 1800s, Panamanians discovered the French baguette and the miche bread (meaning round bread). The French baguette is a refined bread while the miche bread is a simple country-style loaf that has coarse grains and happened to be more appealing to the Panamanians. They changed the recipe slightly (only using basic white flour) creating a newer version they could claim as their own, thus the Pan Micha.
Pan Micha basics… The basic Pan Micha recipe includes bread flour, milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt, and butter. I used a combination of the following two recipes. Thanks to Kitchen Butterfly for the pictures and ideas on shaping and scoring the bread and CZBrats for an authentic recipe taken from 100 Recetas Tipicas Panamanas.
Yeast, sugar, and water (the starter); resting 5 minutes to grow
YES! We are alive!
Time to add milk, melted butter, the rest of the sugar, and salt
Ooooohhhh… still growing…
Whisking in some flour…
Stirring in more flour (too thick for the whisk)…
Adding in all but the 6th cup of flour since the dough is shaggy… need to knead 😊 in the “rest”…
Kneaded in about another ½ cup of flour totaling 5 ½ cups… NOT 6 as recipe directed
(I live at high altitude above 6,000 feet and in dry climate)
Kneading done… (indention bounced back)
Back in bowl and sprayed with cooking spray to keep from drying out and sticking to the plastic wrap covering the bowl…
After rising about an hour later (my doughs tend to rise fast… don’t know why…)
Shaped in a simple rectangle to cut in half to make two loaves
And two loaves…
One loaf half- flattened with hands to make a “flat” rectangle…
Folded over one time…
Final fold over, second time and pinched (to prevent opening during baking)…
Repeated with other half and placed seam-side down in two different loaf pans to rise again (I used a 9 x 5 and 8 x 4)…
Second rise complete… time for egg wash and scoring…
Egg wash…
Scoring (a little better than my Pan Rustica from Spain)…
Fresh out of the oven!
Final product after a rubbing of butter on top to make it glossy and even more tasty!
Final comments on the Pan Micha… The Pan Micha was good and works well as a sandwich bread, dunked in soup, with butter and jam, butter only, or just on its own. The crumb was stretchy like you would expect. There was a faint richness from the butter and milk. The bread wasn’t difficult to make; I would make it again. It looks cool with the scoring. I almost feel like an artist!
Remember!! Panama post #2 coming VERY soon! I’ll add my final thoughts on Panama in the next post.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, like, or consider following my blog as I continue to move through the world and learn more about cuisine and culture. More to come soon! Hey, I have another post with another bake to share.