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Pan de Cristal

Pan de Cristal (Glass Bread)

1108kcal
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Prep 40 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Rise & Rest Time 19 hours 45 minutes
Total 20 hours 50 minutes
A highly popular Spanish artisanal bread celebrated for its shatteringly crisp, paper-thin crust and an incredibly open, translucent, and glass-like interior crumb structure. Achieving a true 100% hydration level, this recipe utilizes an overnight biga preferment and a meticulous mechanical bassinage water-incorporation method to build a remarkably strong yet light-as-air gluten network.
Servings 2 loaves
Cuisine Spanish

Ingredients

Biga (Preferment - Prepare Night Before)
The Main Dough (Next Morning)
  • 240 g Prepared Biga all of it
  • 150 g Bread Flour
  • 150 g Water
  • 60 g Extra water reserved strictly for the bassinage step
  • 6 g Salt
  • 2 g Dry Instant Yeast
  • Rice flour kept separate, used generously purely for surface dusting

Equipment

Method

Biga Preparation (Night Before)
  1. 5:00 PM: In your square container, dissolve the 0.2g of dry instant yeast into 90g of water. Stir in the 150g of bread flour and mix until it aggregates into an uneven, rough dough ball. Seal the container with its lid and let the preferment develop at room temperature overnight until the next morning.
Bassinage Mixing and Structural Folds (Day 2)
  1. 9:00 AM: Look inside the container; the biga should have more than doubled in volume and display a highly relaxed, loose, bubbly structure.
  2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the 150g of initial water, all of the mature biga, 2g of dry instant yeast, 6g of salt, and the remaining 150g of bread flour. Mix on low speed (or speed 3 on a KitchenAid) for 5 to 6 minutes until the ingredients are fully integrated.
  3. Begin adding your 60g of reserved extra water very gradually, just a splash at a time. This process is called bassinage. Do not add the next portion of water until the dough has fully absorbed the previous splash and wrapped itself back around the mixing hook. Mix on medium-high speed; this entire gradual incorporation process should take roughly 20 continuous minutes until the dough pulls together smoothly.
  4. Lightly coat a rectangular container with olive oil and carefully transfer the wet dough inside. Close the lid tightly and let it rest for 30 minutes at 78–82°F (26–28°C).
  5. 9:30 AM: Wet your hands thoroughly with water to prevent sticking, and perform your 1st stretch-and-fold directly inside the container.
  6. 10:00 AM: Perform your 2nd wet-handed stretch-and-fold session.
  7. 10:30 AM: Perform your 3rd wet-handed stretch-and-fold session.
  8. 11:00 AM: Perform your 4th and final stretch-and-fold session. Close the lid and let the dough sit undisturbed for 30 to 45 minutes. By the end of this period, the dough must increase by 100% to 150% in volume (at least doubling). If it hasn't expanded sufficiently, allow it to ferment slightly longer.
Preshaping, Flipping, and High-Heat Steam Baking
  1. Generously dust your clean work surface and the top of the puffed dough with rice flour. Gently invert the container to tip the high-hydration dough out onto the floured surface.
  2. Fold the dough cleanly in half, bringing the non-floured wet sections tightly against each other. Using a bench scraper, cut the dough cleanly down the middle into 2 equal loaves. Dust additional rice flour over the tops and raw cut edges.
  3. Carefully lift and transfer each shaped loaf onto a floured proofing couche. Cover lightly with a kitchen towel and let them proof for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Perform a gentle poke test: if the indentation bounces back slowly and leaves a tiny dimple, it is ready.
  4. While the loaves are proofing, place your baking stone on the center oven rack and your empty iron steam tray on the bottom rack. Preheat the oven completely to 500°F (260°C) for a full hour. Prepare 10 standard ice cubes.
  5. Once the oven is piping hot, flip the proofed pan de cristal loaves over directly onto a sheet of parchment paper so that the original bottom side is now facing upward on top.
  6. Working quickly, open the oven door and slide the parchment paper with the loaves onto the preheated baking stone. Immediately dump the 10 ice cubes straight into the hot bottom tray to create an intense cloud of steam, and quickly lock the oven door.
  7. Bake with steam at 500°F (260°C) for exactly 10 minutes. Drop the temperature down to 475°F (245°C), open the oven briefly to remove the water tray containing any un-melted ice, and bake dry for an additional 15 minutes until the crust turns golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Nutrition

Calories1108kcalCarbohydrates218gProtein41gFat5gSaturated Fat1gPolyunsaturated Fat2gMonounsaturated Fat1gCholesterol9mgSodium444mgPotassium409mgFiber8gSugar1gVitamin A14IUVitamin C0.2mgCalcium64mgIron3mg

Notes

  • The Science of Bassinage: Trying to add all 210g of water to the flour right at the start of mixing would result in a soup-like batter that could never develop a coherent gluten network. By establishing a strong dough foundation first using a lower hydration, you can gradually sneak the remaining 60g of extra water in using the bassinage technique. This systematic approach allows the developed gluten strands to stretch and hold the high water volume securely.
  • Why Rice Flour is Essential: High-hydration doughs like pan de cristal are incredibly sticky and liquefy easily on a counter. Traditional wheat flour absorbs into wet dough quickly, which can make it heavy. Dusting your table and dough generously with rice flour provides a protective, non-stick barrier that doesn't melt into the dough mass, allowing you to handle, shape, and cut the delicate loaves cleanly. It also creates a beautiful contrast and prevents burning under extreme heat.
  • Troubleshooting Flat Pancake Dough: If your dough looks like runny pancake batter and refuses to hold its shape during the stretch-and-fold stages, your flour's protein content is likely too weak or it hasn't been kneaded long enough. This recipe requires a very strong bread flour (ideally 12.7% protein or higher) to absorb 100% hydration. Be sure to spend the full 20 minutes on medium-high speed during the mixing phase until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides completely.
  • The Inversion Step Before Baking: Right before sliding the proofed loaves into the oven, you must flip them upside down onto your parchment paper. Flipping forces the large, delicate gas pockets that accumulated at the top during proofing down to the base of the loaf. As the intense 500 degree Fahrenheit stone heat hits the bottom, those trapped gas bubbles expand rapidly upward through the wet dough, creating the classic honeycomb structure.

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