I found Jesus! Okay, I’m actually referring to the white plastic figurines that are supposed to represent baby Jesus in the Rosca de reyes (King’s bread). I knew the East LA bakeries wouldn’t let me down. I found these at El Gallo Bakery. Now I have everything I need.

To make this bread, there will be a lot of mixing and kneading and a total of 3 rises. I was tempted to buy one of those Kitchenaid stand mixers on my way home, but I resisted the urge. That would have been way too much money to spend on something I’m not even sure I’ll end up doing on a regular basis. So instead I decided to just go about it the old-fashioned way. Mix and knead the dough with my bare hands.

It ends up being a bit of a workout. I have a renewed respect for bakers. Despite the work, I really enjoyed the process so far. There is something incredibly satisfying about creating something with your hands and watching it come together. So far everything is looking good and my dough is currently sitting in the refrigerator for it’s second and longest rise. I’m really praying, hoping, crossing my fingers that all of the ingredients pictures above magically turn into a beautiful and delicious bread.