Name: Bread-Thickened Mole (Mole de Castilla)
Yield: 4 to 5 servings (about 7 to 8 cups)
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4½ teaspoons dried thyme; 15 whole cloves; 2 tablespoons dried Oaxacan oregano or 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, crumbled; 8 ounces coarse, rough-textured whole-wheat bread, sliced and allowed to stale for 1 to 2 days; 4 ounces guajillo chiles, tops and seeds removed; 1 small onion, coarsely chopped; 5 allspice berries; 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 1 head of garlic, unpeeled; 8 cups homemade chicken stock; 2 tablespoons cumin seeds

Preparation info

4 to 5
servings (about 7 to 8 cups )

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Life of Oaxaca

By Zarela Martínez

Published 1997

About

Though this unusual sauce is not among the seven classic Oaxacan moles, it has become one of my favorites. I learned it from Rufina Montoya of Teotitlán del Valle in the Valley of Oaxaca. Unlike some of the dishes where a small amount of pan de yema (sweet egg bread) lends a little body to a sauce along with other thickenings, this one is essentially bread-based. Like some of the Italian bread soups and salads, it’s a great way to use up leftover bread.

Rufina used