{"id":168497,"date":"2026-02-17T19:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/168497\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T19:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:27:07","slug":"master-baker-alex-pena-to-teach-pan-dulce-classes-in-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/168497\/","title":{"rendered":"Master Baker Alex Pe\u00f1a to teach pan dulce classes in San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attention, aspiring pastry chefs. One of the best in the business, master baker Alex Pe\u00f1a<\/a>, is coming to the capital of pan dulce with instruction, excitement and a story.<\/p>\n

As a young boy in his parents\u2019 California bakery, Pe\u00f1a filled in for an absent employee. His first attempt at making Mexican sweet bread was a disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made the worst conchas you\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a learned from his mistakes and eventually rose to head pastry chef in the kitchen. He attended Le Cordon Bleu, became a master baker and authored \u201cThe Mexican Bakery<\/a>,\u201d a comprehensive cookbook and guide to Mexican pan dulce.<\/p>\n

On Saturday and Sunday, Pe\u00f1a will teach pan dulce classes at The Bake Lab<\/a>, a northeast side learning center offering instruction in baking, caking decorating and specialized pastry arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be a hands-on workshop for two days with in-depth instruction on modern pan dulce techniques,\u201d said Melissa Johnson, vice president of The Bake Lab and Over The Top Cake Supplies<\/a>, a baking and decorating supplier. \u201cWe have two pastry arts professors coming from Corpus Christi to learn and take their knowledge back to Del Mar College. A couple of students are opening bakeries. Others are coming to learn for personal use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saturday classes have sold out. Sunday classes begin at 10 a.m., end at 4 p.m. and are open to the public. The cost is $400. To register, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a will break down the science and techniques behind the baking of conchas, chilindrinas, volcanes, nubes, cuernos, elotes, cuernitos, troncos, alamares, chamucos and empanadas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at students who have signed up with different levels of experience,\u201d Pe\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make sure everyone leaves the class with the knowledge to make these breads at home. I want to cultivate a big network. San Antonio is not just another stop on the map. It\u2019s a city with deep Mexican roots. I\u2019m from Los Angeles, which has many of the same parallels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a grew up in Cypress Park, a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles, working in the family bakery, La Morenita. After his initial failure with conchas \u2014 \u201cI was 12 or 13-years-old,\u201d he said \u2014\u00a0Pe\u00f1a was driven to learn traditional Mexican and Central American baking.<\/p>\n

He learned the formal techniques of French cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu, then worked as a catering chef and a researcher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, Pe\u00f1a directs product development at Bellarise, a supplier of bakery ingredients, and creates solutions as a bread scientist for companies around the world. <\/p>\n

He will sign copies of his book on Friday at The Bake Lab, from 4-6 p.m. and on Saturday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The book signing is free. Copies will be available for sale.<\/p>\n

Kevin Johnson, Melissa\u2019s husband, co-founded Johnson Bros. Bakery Supply<\/a> in 1994. From that company Over The Top Cake Supplies emerged, followed by The Bake Lab in 2025.<\/p>\n

While attending an International Baking Industry Exposition in Las Vegas last year, Kevin Johnson met Pe\u00f1a. A connection formed. An invitation to teach was extended.<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Antonio is the pan dulce capital, right?\u201d Pe\u00f1a said. \u201cSo I\u2019m excited to be part of that community. It\u2019s a great feeling to know the deep Mexican roots are there. And to have the opportunity to plant the seeds to continue those traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Attention, aspiring pastry chefs. One of the best in the business, master baker Alex Pe\u00f1a, is coming to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[68301,54937,68302,57786,44796,68303,10764,82,84,83,68304,92,3028,3219],"class_list":{"0":"post-168497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-alex-pena","9":"tag-concha","10":"tag-johnson-bros-bakery-supply","11":"tag-kevin-johnson","12":"tag-le-cordon-bleu","13":"tag-melissa-johnson","14":"tag-pan-dulce","15":"tag-san-antonio","16":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","17":"tag-san-antonio-news","18":"tag-the-bake-lab","19":"tag-top-story","20":"tag-typedaily","21":"tag-wc-less-than-500"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}