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Kamado Pan de Cristal (Glass Bread)

Catalan pan de cristal pushes hydration to the edge: an almost pourable dough that, baked on a stone with steam inside the kamado, turns into a glossy, wide-open crumb beneath a crust so thin it shatters like glass.

Quick answer

Pan de cristal bakes on a stone inside the kamado at 250 °C using indirect heat and steam. Mix strong bread flour at 80-85% hydration, cold-ferment for 18-24 hours, cut into rectangles without degassing, and bake for 20-25 minutes until the crust turns thin, golden and shatteringly crisp like glass.

Pan de cristal recién horneado con corteza fina y dorada y miga muy alveolada, sobre piedra junto a un kamadoSave to Pinterest
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Prep
50 min
Cook
25 min
Servings
6 servings
Temperature
250 °C

Ingredients

  • strong bread flour (W≥250)500 g
  • cold water (≈82% hydration)410 ml
  • fine sea salt10 g
  • instant dry yeast3 g
  • extra virgin olive oil15 ml
  • fine semolina or rice flour (for handling)30 g
  • ice cubes (for steam)150 g
  • extra bread flour for the bench20 g

Method

  1. 01

    Mix and autolyse

    In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the cold water (hold back 2 tablespoons of water). Add the flour and mix with your hand or a scraper just until combined, without kneading; the dough will be very wet and sticky. Cover and rest for 30-40 minutes to autolyse so the gluten develops on its own.

  2. 02

    Stretch and folds

    Dissolve the salt in the reserved 2 tablespoons of water and work it in along with the oil. Instead of kneading, do stretch and folds: with a wet hand, pull one side of the dough up and over the centre, turn the bowl and repeat 6-8 times. Do 3 rounds of folds spaced 30 minutes apart. The dough will go from soupy to silky and elastic.

  3. 03

    Cold ferment

    Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for 18-24 hours. The cold slows fermentation, multiplies flavour and, above all, makes the dough far easier to handle. Take it out when it has nearly doubled and the surface is full of bubbles. Do not knock it back.

  4. 04

    Set up the kamado

    Set the kamado for indirect cooking: light the charcoal, fit the deflector and, on top over spacers, the stone. Place an iron tray to one side for steam. Close it and stabilise the dome at 240-250 °C for at least 30-40 minutes: the stone must be properly hot, not just the air.

  5. 05

    Shape and load

    Tip the dough gently onto a bench well dusted with semolina, without touching the centre. Dust the top and, with the scraper, cut it into 2-3 rectangles, stretching them slightly. Work fast and decisively so you do not degas it. Move them to a floured peel and slide them onto the stone. Drop the ice into the hot tray and close immediately.

  6. 06

    Bake and cool

    Bake indirect with the lid closed for 10-12 minutes with steam; then crack it open for a second to release the moisture and finish another 8-12 minutes until the crust is golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Take the loaves out and cool them on a rack for at least 20 minutes: as it cools, the thin crust finishes crystallising and crackles.

About this recipe

Pan de cristal —*pa de vidre* in Catalan— is arguably the most spectacular Spanish bread to slice and one of the hardest to master. Its signature is a translucent crumb full of enormous holes wrapped in a crust so thin and brittle it breaks with the sound of glass. It all starts from a dough of extreme hydration that frightens you the first time you touch it.

It is not sourdough, focaccia or coca: it is pure geometry of water and time.

Unlike a rustic loaf, the goal here is not height but an open, glossy network of holes. The keys are a hydration of 80-90% (professional bakeries reach 100%), a long cold ferment that builds flavour and extensibility, and minimal shaping: the whole point is to not degas the dough so it keeps every bubble it has trapped.

Hot stone, ceramic walls and a hit of steam.

A kamado is essentially a miniature wood-fired bakery oven. The ceramic stores heat and returns it steadily, the stone delivers the thermal shock that drives the *oven spring*, and as a sealed chamber it traps steam far better than a home oven. That steam keeps the crust supple for the first minutes so the dough can expand before it crystallises.

The trick is to work indirect: deflector in, stone on top over spacers, and the dome stabilised at 240-250 °C. A small iron tray with water, or a few ice cubes added as you load the bread, gives you just enough steam. The sticky dough is handled with semolina, a bench scraper and plenty of conviction: the less you touch it, the better.

In 30 seconds

Dough at 80-85% hydration, built with folds and 18-24 h of cold proof. Stabilise the kamado indirect at 250 °C with a stone and a tray for steam. Cut into rectangles without degassing, load onto the stone, add steam and bake 20-25 min until the crust rings like glass. Cool on a rack.

Editor's tips

  • Weigh water and flour on a scale: in a bread at 82% hydration, an extra 20 ml turns the dough unmanageable. Precision is the only thing separating pan de cristal from a puddle.
  • Do not be shy with the semolina: dust the bench, your hands and the peel generously. The dough is so wet that semolina is your safety net so it neither sticks nor loses air.
  • Measure the stone temperature, not the air. An infrared thermometer aimed at the surface tells you whether it is truly at 240-250 °C; that is the secret behind the *oven spring* and the thin crust.

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FAQ

  • What hydration does pan de cristal need?

    Between 80% and 90%, and professional bakeries reach 100%. At home, starting at 80-82% already gives a very open crumb and is far easier to handle. The more water, the more open the crumb, but the harder it is to shape.

  • Can I make pan de cristal without a stone in the kamado?

    A stone is strongly recommended because it gives the thermal shock that opens the crumb. If you do not have one, use a well-preheated iron or steel tray over the deflector, though the *oven spring* will be a little smaller.

  • Why isn't my crust thin and crisp?

    Almost always from a lack of steam or baking with a cold stone. The steam in the first minutes keeps the crust supple so it can expand, and it only crystallises thin if the stone was at 240-250 °C. Cooling on a rack is also key.

  • Do I need sourdough starter?

    No. Classic pan de cristal is made with baker's yeast and a long cold ferment, which brings flavour and extensibility. If you prefer sourdough, swap out the yeast and lengthen the times, but it is not the traditional way.

  • How long does it keep and how do I store it?

    It is at its best the same day, freshly cooled. It keeps 1-2 days in a paper bag; to revive the crust, give it 3-4 minutes in a hot kamado or oven. Do not store it in plastic or it will lose its crunch.

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