the Mexican diet

Bread is actually a significant part of the Mexican diet, dating back to the arrival of the European colonizers. Their appetite for baked goods caught on, as you can tell by counting the bakeries in any neighborhood in Mexico City. When I opened Contramar, I wanted fresh-baked bread on every table alongside fresh-made tortillas, so next door, I also run a bake shop where I sell our bread as well as the kinds of pastries people typically eat with coffee or hot chocolate, like these patas. Patas translates to “hooves” (as in, the feet of a pig). This recipe comes from my paternal grandmother, Doña Concha, who was from Campeche, in southeast Mexico. The rolls are flavored with anise, and they are shaped by rolling flattened dough around the handle of a spoon that you slide out gently, letting the rolls rise in that baguette shape before baking them.
MAKES 20 ROLLS

2¼ tsp (1 package) active dry yeast
½ cup / 120ml warm water
1 tsp granulated sugar, plus ½ cup / 100g and more for sprinkling
4¼ cups / 530g all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
1 tsp sea salt
4 eggs
3 egg yolks
1½ cups / 330g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp aniseeds
½ cup / 120ml warm milk
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast, water, and 1 tsp sugar. Stir to dissolve the yeast, then let it rest for about 10 minutes, until bubbles form and it looks a bit frothy.
With the mixer running on medium speed, add the remaining ½ cup / 100g sugar, the flour, salt, eggs, 2 of the egg yolks, ¾ cup / 160g of the butter, and the aniseeds and mix for about 5 minutes, or until a soft and sticky dough forms. Add the milk and knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes more, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Lightly flour your work surface. Portion the dough into 20 balls. Using a rolling pin, flatten a few balls into very thin disks (about ¼ inch / 6mm). Spread about 1¾ tsp butter on top of each dough disk and sprinkle with flour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Butter two baking sheets.
Gently roll each flattened disk around the handle of your biggest wooden spoon, forming a long, baguettelike shape with the handle at the center of the cylinder. Ease the handle of the spoon out and place the roll on a prepared baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the dough balls, placing the shaped rolls approximately 2 inches / 5cm apart so they don’t stick together as they rise. Cover the pans with a dish towel and set aside to rise in a warm spot for about 40 minutes, or until they double in size.
Whisk the remaining egg yolk. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the rolls with the egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature the day they are baked.