"Coca" is a usual term for a kind of flat bread, usually but not exclusively sweet, used in the East of Spain. This name has the same german word origin of the english word "cake". In the south of France is also popular under the name "fogassa". While cake usually has a sponge texture, coca is less soft and more near to bread texture.
"Coca de vidrio", typical of eastern Spanish where it takes different names according to the locality where is produced, is a sweet product of bakeries that are rarely found in pastries. In fact years ago, when bakeries served only bread, it was the only sweet thing you could find in them. It is a coca of little refined appearance, not very sweet, but very tasty caused because the anise it incorporates. Coca de vidrio means glass coca. Name refers to the resemblance to glass that the sugar takes after the action of the oven.
INGREDIENTS :
250 grams (8.8 oz) of force flour
50 ml (1/4 cup) whole milk
30 ml (1 tbsp and a half) of aniseed liquor
20 ml (1 tbsp) of olive oil
25 grams (1 tbsp) of butter
25 grams (1 tbsp) of granulated white sugar (the usual one)
10 grams (half tbsp) of powdered yeast
1 teaspoon salt
For the coating before and after baking:
Pine nuts or almond fillet (about 30-40 grams)
Anisette
Olive oil
Sugar
In a bowl we mix the sifted flour with the oil, milk, aniseed liquor, sugar and teaspoon of salt, mixing very well and then kneading for at least 20 minutes At that time we add the butter to the point of ointment and work the dough until it integrates. We dissolve the yeast in a little water and incorporate it when the dough has been homogenized with the butter, kneading another 10 minutes.
We let the dough levitate in a dry and dark place, covered by a cloth. Let stand half an hour.
After the resting time we make two halves of the dough - to get two coca of about 100 grams (4.4 oz) each - and with the roller we give them an oval shape.
We deposit the cocas on a baking paper and paint them with oil, sprinkling also sugar and adding the pine nuts or sliced almonds.
Let stand 15 minutes and while preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius (428 F).
We introduce in the oven and let do for 10 minutes (watch that they do not blacken too much, although at the edges there is always that danger, for some people that's "the good thing" of this type of coca).
Just out of the oven we paint them with anise. The alcohol in the liquor, in contact with such a hot coca, will evaporate immediately, so there is no danger of getting anyone drunk.