Chilean holiday special: bread
September 14, 2015

Pan amasado is a mainstay of Chilean cuisine. These are delicious and rather heavy bread rolls which are served with the famous pebre in many restaurants and at special events, like Chile’s Independence Day celebrations in September each year. Thank you to Mercedes Hernández Urbina and Kerry Dudman for sharing their recipes and to Loreto Fuchslocher Arancibia for helping me try the recipes out.
Ingredients
- 1 kg of plain flour
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- ¾ cup of melted lard, shortening or olive oil (I used vegetable shortening for this recipe)
- 38g fresh yeast (you could use a small pack of dried yeast)
- Lukewarm water.

Preparation
Put the flour in a bowl.
Put the yeast in a little lukewarm water so it melts.
Do the same with the salt, but in a separate container – it’s not a good idea to mix it directly with the yeast.
Make a hollow in the centre of the bowl of flour and add the warm melted shortening and salt.
Mix a little, then add the yeast mix.
Add one cup of lukewarm water.
Start to unite the ingredients in the bowl, adding tepid water a little at the time until the consistency is sticking to your hands a little and starting to form a dough.
Transfer the dough to the surface where you will knead it.


Work hard with the dough, kneading it energetically until it is a smooth, wrinkle-free dough.
Cover with a dry cloth and leave to rise for around 30-45 minutes.
After 30 minutes, turn on the oven to a medium heat.
When the dough is ready, divide it into the number of bread rolls you want and shape them however you like. We made 14 rolls, some round and some long and thin.

Put the rolls onto a baking sheet.
Perforate each one three times with a fork, making sure it goes all the way through.
Brush egg onto each roll so it will go golden and put the tray into the oven.
Start checking on the rolls after about 30 minutes. They may need another 10 to 15 minutes, but it’s best to keep an eye on them. They will be ready when they make a hollow sound when you tap them or if you put a knife into the centre of one of them and it comes out clean.
Turn off the oven and leave the door open. Leave the rolls to cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a serving plate.
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