The Mexican bakery: a popular bread culture deeply rooted in traditions

François VELTIN
Aug 12
5 min read

When we think of Mexican gastronomy, we spontaneously imagine tacos but there is another world, much less known in France, that deserves all our attention: the Mexican bakery or called in Mexico Panaderia Mexicana.

In Mexico, bread is not limited to bolillo or some pastries. The panadería mexicana is a world full of forms, textures, flavours and regional traditions. From the famous conchas to pan de muerto, through cuernitos, campechanas, orejas or roscas de Reyes, each bread tells a story.

When in 2025 the British baker Richard Hart based in Mexico City said that there really was no "bread culture" in Mexico, the reaction was at the height of the Mexicans' attachment to their panadería. This controversy finally made it possible to recall an obvious thing: Mexico does have a bread culture, but it has its own codes, history and identity.

A story born from the meeting between several cultures

The Mexican bakery is first and foremost a story of miscegenation.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mesoamerican civilisations already had an extremely rich food culture, based in particular on corn, cocoa, honey, vanilla. So many products without lesques our European pastry would be much poorer today.

Wheat bread, on the other hand, arrives with the Spaniards. Wheat was introduced to Mexico in the 16th century and gradually became part of the local diet.

But rather than simply reproducing European breads, Mexico will develop its own traditions. Over the centuries, European techniques will meet Mexican ingredients, eating habits and imaginations.

During the colonial period, bread gradually became a daily food. The pan dulce accompanies in particular the chocolate to drink or the atole during meals and snacks.

Spanish and French influences will then participate in the multiplication of forms and techniques. The Mexican bakery thus becomes a real culinary heritage, both European in some of its origins and deeply Mexican in its evolution.

The "pan dulce", a universe of its own

The expression pan dulce refers to a huge family of sweet breads and pastries.

This is probably one of the big differences with the French vision of bakery. In Mexico, entering a panadería can give the impression of discovering a real collection of pastries: each piece has its own shape, texture and sometimes even its moment of consumption.

Among the most famous are:

Concha: recognisable by its crispy cover and decorated in the shape of a shell.
Cuernito: a small pastry in the shape of a croissant.
Orejas: a caramelised, thin and crispy puff pastry.
Campechana: a puff pastry and caramelised.
Cochinito: a small traditional biscuit often prepared with piloncillo.

It is precisely this diversity that makes the richness of Mexican bakery. Bread changes according to regions, festivals, families and local habits. The Archivo General de la Nación also recalls that the history of bread in Mexico has given rise, over time, to specialties as different as bolillo, cemita, pambazo, bollo, pan de dulce or pan de muerto.

A bakery that accompanies the big Mexican festivals

In Mexico, some breads are not simply eaten: they are an integral part of a celebration.

This is particularly obvious with two essentials: el Pan de Muerto and the Rosca de Reyes.

El Pan de Muerto: When bread becomes memory

Pan de Muerto is probably one of the most famous Mexican breads abroad.

Consumed mainly around the Día de Muertos, it occupies a central place in the altars dedicated to the deceased. Its traditional shape is round and decorated with strips of dough representing bones, with a small ball at the top.

But there is not a single Pan de Muerto.

Depending on the region of Mexico, the shapes, recipes and decorations can vary considerably. Oaxaca, Michoacán, Puebla or Hidalgo have their own traditions of festive bread. Some regions even make breads representing people, animals or characters.

The Pan de Muerto perfectly illustrates what Mexican bakery is: a food that is both gourmet, symbolic and cultural.

La Rosca de Reyes: a family tradition

Another great rendezvous of the panadería mexicana: the Rosca de Reyes, tasted around Epiphany, on January 6.

Its circular and ovoid shape evokes a crown. Traditionally decorated with candied fruits and sweet dough, it hides inside small figurines representing the Child Jesus.

Whoever finds the figurine then becomes responsible for a new tradition: offering tamales on February 2, during the Candelaria fest.

Rosca de Reyes is therefore much more than a dessert: it creates a family and social ritual that is repeated every year.

Richard Hart and the controversy over bread cultivation in Mexico

This richness explains why the remarks made by British baker Richard Hart provoked such a reaction in Mexico.

In 2025, statements made in the PopFoodie Radio podcast, initially published several months earlier, went viral. In particular, Hart claimed that there was no real bread cultivation in Mexico, criticised the quality of Mexican flour and described the bolillo as an "ugly bread", while he reduced the pan dulce to something that would not really be bread.

The reaction was not long in coming.

The controversy went far beyond the question of taste. For many Mexicans, questioning the quality of bread was tantamount to not knowing part of their daily history and their gastronomic heritage.

A few months later, Richard Hart apologised to Mexico, acknowledging that he was wrong and saying he wanted to learn from this experience.

The episode is interesting because it finally reveals a cultural misunderstanding: judging the Mexican bakery only through the criteria of the European bakery is to miss what precisely makes its identity.

The panadería mexicana does not have to be French, Danish or British to be a great bread culture.

She is Mexican.

A popular, accessible and lively culture

The Mexican bakery also has a special social dimension.

In many Mexican cities, buying bread is part of everyday practises. We enter a panadería, choose our pieces, put them on a tray and bring them to the cash register.

This abundance is part of the experience.

Bread can be enjoyed for breakfast, accompanied by coffee or hot chocolate, shared with family or bought for a party. Traditional bakery thus remains deeply linked to daily life.

The Secretaría de Economía considers traditional breadmaking as one of the important sectors of the Mexican food industry, with a great diversity of products and consumption deeply rooted in the country's habits.

In Alegrias, we are looking to bring these Mexican traditions to life in Paris

At Alegrias, we are committed to discovering this richness of Mexican culture in Paris.

Our cuisine is contemporary, but it remains deeply attached to Mexican traditions. And this will does not stop at savoury dishes.

We also perpetuate certain traditions of the panadería mexicana by offering iconic breads that punctuate the Mexican calendar.

In the fall, el Pan de Muerto reminds us that cooking can be a link between the living and those who have left us.

At the beginning of the year, the Rosca de Reyes revives a family and festive tradition particularly dear to Mexicans.

These breads are much more than recipes for us.

They are a way of telling Mexico, of transmitting a story and allowing those who live in Paris to discover another facet of Mexican gastronomy.

The Mexican bakery, a heritage to discover

Next time you think about Mexican food, don't just think about tacos.

Think of the colourful windows of the panaderías, the still warm conchas, the scent of Pan de Muerto as the Día de Muertos approaches, the Rosca de Reyes shared with the family and this incredible diversity of breads that exists from one region of the country to another.

Mexican bakery is a culture in its own right.

It tells the miscegenation of Mexico, its history, its festivals, its regions and especially its deeply emotional relationship to food.

And it is this culture that we want to continue to bring to life at Alegrias, in Paris.