18 October, 2021
Estimated Reading Time : 1 minute, 4 seconds
The pichón bread is one of the gastronomic secrets of the state of Campeche. It evolved from a French bread into a delicious stuffed bread filled with chili, cheese, and ham, baked in the oven or on charcoal. The result is a crispy bread full of flavor.
The pichón bread was created in a bakery in Pomuch called “La Huachita”. One day, Uncle Jorge, who was the manager of the bakery, was suffering from a strong hangover and asked the baker to make him a bread with ham and cheese to soothe his stomach.
The baker, Gustavo García Chabelo, got to work preparing the requested bread. He took some dough he had made for French bread, added ham, jalapeño chili, and a typical Mexican cheese called Daysi, which is very similar to cheddar cheese.
It was common on the bakery’s roof for pigeons to build their nests. The baker was already preparing the stone oven to bake the bread when suddenly, a pigeon landed on the table where the bread was. It adjusted the bread, which wasn’t hurt at all, and took it to its nest.
This is how the name "pichón bread" originated. When the bread came out of the oven, everyone loved the crispy texture, which paired perfectly with melted cheese, ham, and of course, the spicy jalapeño chili. The preparation was so well liked that they decided to offer it to customers, gaining great acceptance. It became very popular in the region and is now one of the representative dishes of the state.
