Cover Story : Kisses for Breakfast, Lightning for Lunch

“This is cake ,” exclaimed a puzzled taster. He’d been expecting a quesadilla--a tortilla filled with melted cheese. He did get a quesadilla, but the way it is made in El Salvador. Unlike the Mexican tortilla snack, this quesadilla is a sweet, golden-brown cake sprinkled with sesame seeds. The names are identical because both contain queso (cheese).

Fifteen years ago, the Salvadoran quesadilla was unknown in Los Angeles. Now it is as easy to get as bagels and doughnuts--if you shop in neighborhoods where Central Americans congregate.

Look for panaderias (bakeries) that advertise “ pan Centro Americano ,” Central American bread. They’ll have quesadillas and also salpores , semitas , tortas , peperechas , relampagos , magdalenas , santanecas , viejitas and many other breads, cakes and pastries from El Salvador and Guatemala. Relatively new here, these delicacies came in the ‘80s with the waves of immigrants fleeing violence at home.

By 1990, according to the most recent census, the Salvadoran population of Los Angeles had grown to 184,514, more than twice the number of Guatemalans--86,078. Both outnumber by far inhabitants from other parts of Central America, and that is why their baked goods predominate.

The breads are sweet but different in style from Mexican pan dulce . Salvadoran salpores , for example, fall somewhere between a biscuit, scone and cookie. They come in three styles-- maiz (made with corn flour), arroz (rice flour) and almidon (cornstarch). The charming rice flour santaneca is much like a salpor but sits on a strip of cornhusk. It is named for the city of Santa Ana in El Salvador.

The quesadilla itself comes in a variety of shapes and sizes--large, small, square, round, scalloped, shaped into small loaves and cupcakes. Some taste strongly of tangy cheese. In others, the cheese is barely detectable. Some bakeries say they use cream cheese. Others say cotija , Parmesan or Petacones cheese imported from El Salvador. Some recipes call for rice flour, others for wheat flour, and home cooks may use pancake mix as a shortcut. Plain and not too sweet, the quesadilla is just right with a cup of coffee. Salvadorans eat it on any occasion, from breakfast to dinner.

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Also from El Salvador, the semita de pin~a , is a flat brown pastry with a layer of pineapple filling and a top crust decorated with slim strips of dough. The semita alta (tall semita ) has the same decorative top crust and pineapple filling but is thick with yellow cake. All of the bakeries make semitas , and El Turco market on Vermont Avenue carries Lido-brand semita de pin~a from El Salvador. A sign at Liborio market a couple of blocks away advertises “ La Tradicional Semita Salvadoren~a Cocida en Horno de Barro “ (traditional Salvadoran semita baked in a clay oven).

The golden torta de yema is an egg bread baked in loaf form and often glazed with crusty sugar. Salvadorans use it for torrejas --French toast drenched with cinnamon-flavored syrup--and it makes fantastic bread pudding. Pan Supremo (Chito’s) Bakery on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles sells two styles of torta . One is a deep-yellow, eggy loaf. A lighter loaf with fewer eggs is made for torrejas and budin (bread pudding). Most of the bakeries make budin . That’s the way they use up leftover bread. Firm enough to cut into slices or wedges, budin usually includes raisins and cinnamon. Guanaquita Bakery in Hollywood tops its version with pineapple. In North Hollywood, Las Americas bakery turns some of its torta de yema into torrejas that are sold by the slice. The bread soaks in syrup until it is as soft as a pudding.

Guatemala’s peperecha , which Salvadorans call enmielada , is a slim, flat bar filled with gooey brown sugar and sprinkled with brilliant pink sugar. The Guatemalan magdalena is a pretty tube cake without frosting. Relampago means lightning, but the pastry that goes by that name is an eclair with a crackly topping of melted sugar.

The only way to know which bread is from which country is to ask. However, Panaderia La Fiesta in the Rampart District makes the distinction easy. Breads from El Salvador are in one showcase; those from Guatemala are in another, placed at right angles on either side of the cash register.

Names can be confusing. Torta and semita , for example, seem to be generic. At La Fiesta, a glazed roll with a bit of decorative trim and sprinkle of sesame seeds is a torta . Big plain rolls at La Adelita in the Pico-Union area are also tortas , and a round loaf elaborately trimmed with pretty swirls and sugar paste is called torta de Guatemala at Las Americas.

La Fiesta sells a floury roll with a knob on top called semita Guatemalteca . At Chapinlandia on 6th Street, an elongated roll with pointy ends is a “diet roll” in English and a semita in Spanish. Neither is anything like the semita de pin~a .

It is interesting to observe how bread styles change from country to country. In Mexico, a campechana is a flat sweet bread, flaky like puff pastry and coated with shiny-brown melted sugar. But the Guatemalan campechana sold at Las Americas is an extra-large yeast bun coiled like a snail.

The same bread may vary considerably from bakery to bakery. El Quetzal makes a small, richly golden corn salpor indented with what looks like fingerprints. At Las Americas, the corn salpor is large, smooth, pale and topped with pink sugar. The dough contains bits of ground cinnamon stick. Along with sesame seeds, pineapple and pink sugar, most of the bakeries use cinnamon repeatedly, but always ground stick cinnamon, which is more delicate and complex in flavor than commercial ground cinnamon.

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Bread names can be whimsical. Besito (little kiss) is a yeast bun clipped at the top to make little points that resemble a mouth puckered for a kiss. Viejita (old woman) is a bread within a bread. Inside the elongated roll is a dark, sweet stuffing that resembles the nut fillings used in central European pastries. Instead of nuts, the filling is bread crumbs mixed with panela (brown sugar) and perhaps some chocolate or cinnamon.

In El Salvador, instead of stopping somewhere for afternoon tea, one might drop into a pasteleria (pastry shop) for coffee and reposteria , meaning a pastry such as the relampago or mil hojas (thousand leaves). The latter is a Central American-style Napoleon. At Panaderia El Salvador on Beverly Boulevard, the pastry layers are sandwiched with soft meringue, and the top is sprinkled with pastry crumbs.

Each bakery in Los Angeles has its own personality, and most offer more than bread and pastry. The Guatemalteca Bakery on Beverly Boulevard opens at 5:30 a.m. and serves breakfast in addition to Guatemalan hot dishes for later in the day. The restaurant area, with a counter displaying cooked foods, is at one side of the bakery. At the other is a mini-grocery store that stocks Guatemalan products such as Malher-brand canned refried black beans, Maya-Ik hot sauce, tamarind concentrate for drinks and slabs of cinnamon-flavored chocolate.

El Salvador’s Bakery on 3rd Street sells CDs of Salvadoran music. Panaderia El Salvador can supply basic ingredients such as Salvadoran cheeses, loroco (a popular spinach-like filling for pupusas ) and beans from El Salvador. The tiny beans come in two colors, red and white. The panaderia has no place to eat but sells food to go, including delicious plain corn tamales that taste of fresh corn; chicken tamales, and pastelitos de platano --plantain fritters stuffed with sweet cream. If you want something cold and sweet, there are choco-bananos --bananas dipped in chocolate coating and frozen. Both bakeries make volteado de platano , an upside-down cake topped with sliced bananas.

On weekends there may be live music in front of Las Americas. The bakery has indoor and outdoor seating and a menu of antojitos chapines --Guatemalan snacks ( chapin is a slang word for a native of Guatemala).

La Fiesta provides seating at a counter lined with windows. The bakery sells a variety of hot dishes including big, juicy tamales wrapped in banana leaves. Petacones-brand cheese and thick crema (cream) are available here.

In addition to breads, La Adelita in the Pico Union area manufactures tortillas and produces a large assortment of cooked foods including Guatemalan, Salvadoran and Mexican-style tamales to go or to eat there.

Guanaquita Bakery has a few tables for snacking, and Pan Supremo Bakery is next door to a Salvadoran restaurant, El Guanaco, that advertises a 99-cent pupusa special on Wednesdays.

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Guatemalteca Bakery and Panaderia El Salvador are on opposite sides of Beverly Boulevard in a neighborhood equipped with a pupuseria , Latino markets and a music shop. Here it is possible to spot inhabitants in Guatemalan dress, like the woman waiting for a bus one morning. Her blouse, brilliantly embroidered with red and yellow flowers and other motifs, was tucked into a black skirt trimmed with more embroidery. She had braided her long gray hair with shiny wide lavendar ribbon tied between the braids into a big bow that hung below her waist.

In addition to groceries, bread and pastries, El Quetzal on Hoover Street carries aceite de sapuyulo , an oil that is said to make hair grow. You rub it into your scalp or mix it with shampoo. This bakery has several branches and becomes a virtual sea of golden breads as rack after rack rolls out, ready for transportation to the other outlets. Around the corner on 7th Street is a Spanish-language religious bookshop that carries a few cookbooks. Among them is a leaflet of Guatemalan recipes including the sort of enchiladas available at Las Americas and Guatemalteca bakeries.

The bakeries typically open early and remain open as late as 10 p.m. That makes it possible to pick up a roll on the way to work and to stop by after dinner to select fresh bread for next day’s breakfast.

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A Few Good Bakeries

The following list gives the locations and hours of the bakeries named in the article on this page. Many of the bakeries also carry Mexican pan dulce and sell frosted cakes decorated for quincean~era (15th birthday) parties and other occasions.

* El Salvador’s Bakery, 262 S. Normandie Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 380-3878. Open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

* El Turco Market, 1111 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 388-5098. Open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

* Guanaquita Bakery & Pupuseria, 6242 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 962-3151. Open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

* Guatemalteca Bakery, 4032 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 382-9451. Open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

* La Adelita Food Co. No. 1, 1287 S. Union Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 487-0192. Open daily from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

* La Adelita No. 2, 5812 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 465-6526. Open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

* Las Americas Bakery, 12721 Sherman Way, North Hollywood. (818) 764-8430. Open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

* Liborio Market, 864 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 386-1458. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

* Panaderia Chapinlandia, 2420 West 6th St., Los Angeles. (213) 389-1181. Open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

* Panaderia El Quetzal, 713 S. Hoover St., Los Angeles. (213) 480-8215. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

* Panaderia El Salvador, 4015 W. Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 665-5890. Open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

* Panaderia La Fiesta, 280-A Rampart Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 386-6083. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

* Pan Supremo (Chito’s) Bakery, 5656 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 464-2166. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

TORREJAS

Torta de yema also makes terrific French toast, especially when drizzled with this wonderful cinnamon-flavored syrup.

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6 (1-inch thick) slices torta de yema or egg bread

2 cups sugar

1 quart water

2 sticks cinnamon

Oil

3 eggs, separated

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* Cut bread slices in half diagonally, forming triangles.

* Place sugar and water with cinnamon sticks in large skillet and bring to boil to make syrup.

* Heat oil 1/2-inch deep in skillet over medium-low heat.

* Beat egg whites in bowl until stiff. Beat yolks and fold into whites.

* Dip each bread triangle in egg, then fry in oil until browned. Bread will burn easily, so watch closely. Drain on paper towels.

* Place fried bread in syrup 1 minute. Drain and serve at once.

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Makes 6 servings

Each serving contains about:

474 calories; 302 mg sodium; 134 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 94 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0 fiber.

SALPORES DE ARROZ

A cross between a scone and a cookie, this rice flour version of salpores comes from El Salvador. Pink sugar, often used to decorate Latino pastries, is just ordinary pink sugar sold in the baking departments of most supermarkets, but white sugar may used instead.

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1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick

3 1/3 cups rice flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs, beaten

6 to 8 tablespoons lukewarm milk

Pink sugar, optional

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* Grind cinnamon stick in spice grinder until fine. Set aside.

* Place rice flour in large bowl. Make well in center and add cinnamon, sugar, shortening, salt, baking powder, baking soda and eggs. Stir to mix. Slowly add enough milk to make soft dough that will come together in ball, resembling tortilla masa. It is easiest to get texture right if you mix with your hands.

* Form dough into 16 balls. Place on wax paper-lined baking sheets. Press each down with 2 fingers, laid flat to make 2 ridges in dough. Sprinkle with pink sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until well browned, about 18 to 20 minutes.

* Makes 16 cookies.

* Each serving contains about:

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266 calories; 111 mg sodium; 27 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0 fiber.

BUDIN DE TORTA

Salvadorans have an advantage when they make bread pudding when they use torta de yema, a golden egg bread often crusted with sugar on the top. Plain egg bread may be substituted.

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6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained

2 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 stick cinnamon

2 1/2 cups, packed, 1/2-inch cubes torta de yema or egg bread, dark crusts removed

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

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* Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 8-inch square baking pan. Swirl to coat sides lightly. Spoon brown sugar evenly over bottom of pan. Top with even layer of crushed pineapple. Set aside.

* Combine milk, remaining butter, granulated sugar and cinnamon stick in saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove cinnamon stick. Place bread cubes in bowl, pour milk mixture over bread and let cool slightly. Stir in eggs, raisins, vanilla extract and salt.

* Gently spoon bread mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees until well set, about 1 hour. If top becomes too brown, cover loosely with foil. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into squares to serve. If desired, invert onto serving dish, like pineapple upside-down cake.

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Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

389 calories; 525 mg sodium; 123 mg cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0.22 gram fiber.

QUESADILLA

The best quesadillas we’ve tried are sold in local Central American bakeries. Still, we wanted to get a recipe that came close to the store-bought cakes. It wasn’t easy. Times Test Kitchen cook Mayi Brady made cake after cake trying to get the right texture and flavor. The problem was the cheese. At first we tried this recipe with 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. When the cake came out of the oven we were hopeful; the top was a lovely golden brown, just like the ones in the bakery and when we cut into the quesadilla the texture was perfect--crumbly and cake-like. But the flavor was completely wrong. The salty Parmesan flavor was too strong, not at all like the mellow cheese flavor you usually get. Next Brady tried 1 cup of cotija cheese, a mild, dry cheese available in many supermarkets and most Latino grocers. This time the flavor was wonderful, but the texture was dense and wet, not at all like a cake. Cotija cheese is crumbly, but nowhere near as dry as Parmesan cheese. For the next cake, we tried cutting down the amount of cotija cheese to 1/2 cup. This one had the best flavor of all. And while the texture still wasn’t authentic, it was acceptable, closer to a traditional New York cheesecake than to a cakey Salvadoran quesadilla. Before settling, however, we made one more cake, this one with 1/3 cup of Parmesan. The texture of this cake was almost right, halfway between the crumbly cake texture of the first try, without the too-strong flavor. A few tasters felt this was the best of all the test cakes, but others felt it was an unsatisfying compromise. The third cake, with 1/2 cup of cotija cheese, may not have been correct, but it was the most delicious and had a nice cheesecake-like denseness. We’ll leave the choice up to you. And if you decide to keep fiddling with the recipe and come up with something good, let us know. This recipe is a work in progress.

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3 cups pancake mix

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cotija cheese or 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups milk

4 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1 pint sour cream

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

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* Combine pancake mix, sugar, cheese and baking powder in large mixing bowl. Add milk gradually and blend. Beat in eggs.

* Place butter and sour cream in saucepan and heat over low heat until butter melts. Stir butter mixture into cake batter.

* Pour into well-greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 degrees until cake is golden brown, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool in pan. Cut into squares to serve.

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Makes 12 servings.

Each serving, with Parmesan cheese, contains about:

395 calories; 575 mg sodium; 114 mg cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.02 gram fiber.