Pan amasado - Chilean Country Bread

The pan amasado is the quintessential country bread that defines Chilean culture. It is the rustic country bread that conjures up the thought of home sweet home with its smell and taste. Every Chilean, those living in Chile and those living abroad, eat pan amasado. 

This bread was first made in the Chilean countryside and then spread to the entire country, becoming the most popular baked bread in every household and nowadays it is even served in restaurants. 

Originally, the bread was made with lard but through time this was replaced by vegetable shortening. The particularity of this bread is its size: it's a small or medium sized individual breads.

Here I’ll be sharing my mother's recipe, the one she has been making for over fifty years. I hope you will enjoy this easy to make bread recipe. This recipe will make five medium sized breads, but if you want more breads, you just need to double the quantities.

¡Buen provecho!

Ingredients:

2 Cups white flour

1 8g yeast envelope

2 TSP of vegetable shortening or lard

1/2 tsp of salt

1,2 tsp sugar

1/2 Cup of warm milk

1 egg room temperature

Flour a baking tray

If more liquid needed add a bit more of milk or water

Mix the liquid ingredients and the shortening or lard, it will melt in the warm milk. 

Next mix all the dry ingredients including the yeast, make a well and:

Add the lukewarm milk plus the egg unto the dry ingredients

Mix well and create a ball or until the dough loosens from your hands. 

Once the ball is ready transfer to a floured surface and knead the dough during five minutes or until the dough becomes silky to the touch and form a ball. 

Then roll the dough until it becomes a cylinder of about 30cm long and a circumference of about 10 cm or the size or your choice.

Now, cut the dough in little parcels (equal pieces) and shape each piece into a circle (smashing each one). Finally transfer unto a baking tray and make a few incisions (scoring) with a fork and then cover with a kitchen linen, let it rise in the tray in a warm part of your kitchen leave it for 1H30. After an 1H30 the bread should double its size. 

Bake in the over for 20-30min until lightly golden at 350C or 662 F

Enjoy this bread just coming out of the oven with a little bit of butter, cheddar cheese or jam and a good cup of tea or coffee.  This is a delicious treat for those rainy cold days.

Enjoy!

Mexican Cinnamon cookies - Biscuits Mexicains à la cannelle

I started to bake these Mexican cookies when I bought the Williams-Sonoma «Cookies» book seven years ago. Since then I have adopted these delicious cookies for Christmas for two reasons; easy to make and perfect as a Christmas gift. This recipe makes 4 dozens.

Ingredients:
1 Cup of room temperature unsalted butter
1 1/4 Cup of Icing sugar
1 tea spoon of Vanilla extract
1/4 t. spoon of salt
1 3/4 Cup of wheat flour (regular white flour)
1 Cup of almond powder
1 t. spoon of cinnamon
Preheat the over to 350 F  / 176.6 C

Start by beating the butter until it becomes soft and pale. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and continue beating until creamy and light. Add the Vanilla and salt, beat a little more.

Now sift together the flour and the cinnamon. Add the flour and cinnamon mixture to the butter mixture and beet on low speed until just blended. Stir the almond powder and blend then cover and refrigerate for fifteen minutes.

Once the dough is chilled shape it into 1- inch balls (ping pong balls) and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until the cookies are a little bit golden on the bottom. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cook for five minutes. Finally, roll each cookie in the remaining icing sugar and let the cookies cool completely on the wire rack.

Don't forget to share and give these cookies as a Christmas gift wrapped in cellophane paper with a nice ribbon.

Enjoy!

EN FRANÇAIS SVP!

Voici la recette de ces délicieux biscuits à la cannelle et aux amandes:

Ingrédients:

1 tasse de beurre à température pièce
1 1/4 tasse de sucre glace
1 c.  à thé de vanille
1/4 à thé de sel
1 3/4 tasse de farine de blé (farine blanche regulière)
1 tasse d'amandes en poudre
1 à thé de cannelle
Préchauffez le four à 350 F  / 176.6 C

1- Battre le beurre jusqu'à obtenir un mélange pâle et crémeux, ajoutez le sucre et continuez à battre jusqu'à obtenir un mélange onctueux et léger. Incorporez la vanille et le sel, battre un peu plus.
2- Tamisez la farine de blé et la cannelle, ensuite ajoutez ce mélange au beurre, bien battre à vitesse minimale. Incorporez les amandes en poudre et mélangez. Couvrez et réfrigérez pour quinze minutes.
3- Une fois la pâte froide, modelez la pâte en petites balles de ping pong (1 pouce) et déposez sur  une plaque à four (qui n'a pas besoin d'être beurrée). Enfournez pour 10 à 12 minutes, jusqu'à ce que le dessous des biscuits soient dorés. Transférez la plaque sur la grille et laissez refroidir pour 5 minutes.
4- Finalement, roulez chaque biscuit dans le restant de sucre glace que vous avez prélablement mis dans une assiette afin de faciliter cette étape, puis laissez les biscuits refroidir complètement sur la grille.

N'oubliez pas de partager ces biscuits pour Noël enveloppés dans du papier cellophane et un beau ruban!

Bon appétit!