Marraquetas, Chilean Bread or Pan Francés (French rolls) or Pan Batido (whipped bread) is the most classic Chilean bread.
Marraquetas are an everyday bread, not shared with guests but always present on the family table for breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner.
This recipe is adapted from a recipe from Peter Reinhart: Baguettes published in his book “Crust and Crumb.” You need to start the day before, but the result is fantastic and authentic to the Chilean flavors.
Recipe originally published in March 2016.
You may also like the recipe: Pan amasado (Chilean Country bread).
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Marraquetas, Chilean Bread
A fantastic yeasted bread.
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 6
Ingredients
Units
- 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 2/3 cup cold water
- 1 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- vegetable oil spray
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, brown sugar, and yeast in the mixer, bread machine, or mixer bowl. Add water and mix until it forms a ball. Dump onto a floured counter and knead vigorously for 10 minutes. Place in a clean bowl, drizzle with vegetable oil, cover the bowl, and let rise for 30 minutes. Knead gently into a ball and rest 90 minutes or more in the bowl until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into six equal portions and make balls with them. Sprinkle lightly with vegetable oil spray, put them in a large Ziploc bag, and let stand 30 minutes.
- Prepare two baking sheets, cover with parchment paper, spray with vegetable oil, and coat with semolina or cornmeal.
- To shape the Marraquetas: Make a ball and stretch gently by hand, trying to make an oblong shape. Make a cross with a wooden or metal rod (the handle of wooden spoon works, for example). Then again, sprayed with vegetable oil spray and placed in prepared sheet, put them in the plastic bag and let them grow for 15 minutes. Refrigerate overnight.
- The day after taking from the refrigerator must have grown between 50-75% of its original size, let it stand 1 hour at room temperature. Remove from the bag 15 minutes before placing them in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 475F or 245C with a pizza stone inside. Put an empty pie pan on the oven floor. Put 1 cup of hot water into the pie pan. Put the Marraquetas in the oven over the stone, leaving the parchment paper. Sprinkle the loaves of bread and the oven walls with water slightly. Repeat 2 minutes later. And then one minute later. Reduce oven temperature to 450F o230C.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan. Continue baking for 10 minutes or until well browned. Turn off the oven and leave in for 5-10 minutes, until they look dark and seem to not stand another minute in the oven.
- Remove and let stand on a rack for at least 30 minutes. Eat!
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Chilean
Keywords: marraquetas, chilean bread
Thanks! I will try this recipe.
Thank you Pilar for sharing. Wow! this bread takes a loooong time to make. But I know it’s worth it. I have to make it one day.
Viva Chile!
Yes, is slow, but very delicious.
No sabes cuánto detesto el pan acá en usa! Apenas tenga tiempo lo hago! A mi marido le encanta la cocina así que lo voy a tener haciendo pan más seguido con tu receta! Gracias!
Excelente!!! Nosotros hacemos todo el pan en casa.
Hola, Pilar, from Phoenix, Arizona, USA, in the Sonoran Desert,
As a retired recent septuagenarian I regularly rise about 3am 1)to avoid the searing Sonoran heat 2)to watch the Tour de France and 3)most importantly, to bake bead three days per week.
I regularly keep a 750g to 850g of two to three day old batch of sourdough going in the refrigerator. This morning was a bread day, and just before going to shape today’s loaf, I scanned the NPR news site. And there was an article ‘In Chile, ‘Marraqueta’ Is The Daily Bread’, (http://www.enmicocinahoy.cl/chilean-bread-marraquetas/ ) that made my decision for today’s loaf of bread. American expat Eileen Smith featured your recipe, (if she wasn’t a friend before, she should be by now.)
The batch of dough that I had going was for a simple Rustic, so I shaped it for Marraquetas. Fantastic! I have a new ‘go to’ bread… with slight modifications. I occasionally give a few younger neighbors freshly baked bread on weekend mornings. They will be getting a surprise this weekend.
I know these tips will change the nature of Marraquetas, but I find that the finished flavor and texture in Rustic Breads to be preferble: a)If you have a large enough roasting pan of some type, pre-heat it on the baking stone, then remove it just before sliding the bread in, spritzing the loaf with water, then quickly cover the loaf with the inverted roasting pan (approximates the Dutch Oven method) for that toothsome, crackly crust that I can clearly see in your very scrumptious photograph, and promotes the custardy crumb development. b)Start the bake at 450F, ten minutes in drop the temperature to 375F, then 20 minutes in remove the roasting pan to finish the browning of the crust c)Add 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid (sour salt) for additional tanginess in flavor… I know! Not authentic! But I have been a sourdough afficianado since my first visit to San Francisco in 1969. Diastatic Malt can also finishthe loaf with a gorgeous golden sheen…. more apostasy, I know; but it’s all in search of the Perfect Loaf.
Thank you for your blog and this post. I shall be revisiting for more South American delights.
Thanks Richard for sharing here. I love all breads and I will be trying your variations.
Gracias Pilar por tu receta ,hace mucho tiempo yo quería saber cómo hacerlas ,pero ahora voy a tratar,hago pan amasado pero mi favorito siempre ha sido y será la marraqueta chilena ,
Suerte!
I love Chile. After spending 5 months here, I am looking forward to having a resource for all the Chilean foods I can’t get in the US and must make on my own!
Un Abrazo
Absolutely, I learn to cook because how much I miss the traditional food of my country. Abrazos,
Oh my goodness! Such a great experience with this recipe! I made this bread for a friend of mine who just moved to the United States from Chile. She always tells me how much she misses the bread. Having visited Chile before, I could understand why! I wanted to give her a taste of home for her birthday. The recipe is involved and takes a long time but I found it extremely fun to make! The instructions explain each step very well and were easy to follow. They turned out amazing! My friends reaction was priceless! She almost fell over when she saw the bread and kept saying, “I can’t believe it! It’s the same!” “Te quedó igual, el mismo sabor! Es increíble te quedo igual”. So thank you for this recipe and providing a little piece of Chilean happiness.
You are an awesome friend and baker. Thank you for telling me the whole story I can relate so much to your friend. I’m happy it was an outstanding success. Cheers to Marraqueta!
Thanks for the translation. I’m in Chile right now and wanted the recipe from a person who bakes.
You are welcome. Good luck.
Do I need to refrigerate overnight can I just let rise again and bake?
You could. It has less flavor, but still good.
Pilar, the recipe for Marraqueta is fantastic!!!!
I baked it today …. oh my goodness it tasted just Ethel ones in Santiago.
Thank you for compartir such a fantastic recipe.
I couldn’t go to Chile this year because is COVID….. but today I had onces con té y marraquetas con queso …. just like I do at my sister’s house in Santiago.
I’m so glad, Gloria. Thanks for commenting. I also couldn’t go to Chile this year, so sad.
Hello, I have a few questions. Do you keep the bread on the baking sheets with the parchment paper on top of the stone or you do keep them on the parchment paper but remove the baking sheets and then place them on the stone? How do you keep the bag from sticking to the bread overnight in the refrigerator? While they are in the refrigerator overnight they rise ?
The baking sheet does NOT go into the oven. The parchment paper can go, and it’s helpful to place them there.
Lift the bag with something, the idea is to form a tent.
They rise very slowly in the fridge.
He tratado encontrar un receta para Marraquetas por 20 anos. Yo Vive en Chile hace 20 anos y extrano los sabores de Chile. Yo Compre su libro inmediatamente. Gracias para esto tesoro.
★★★★★
Thanks Nik for buying the book and welcome to the blog!
I spent two years in Chile and I loved the bread there. Especially marraqueta. I searched the recipe and found this one. I was all excited to make it and I looked at the prep time and total time and it said two hours and I thought sweet I can do this in time for dinner. Then later in the recipe it says to leave refrigerated overnight. I love the recipe and the bread but maybe make that quick “FYI” to readers that this recipe takes way longer than two hours. If you add up the times in the recipe minus the overnight part it is 4 1/4 hours of prep and cook. Thanks for the recipe. And the book!
★★★★★
Marraquetas do take a long time, like all yeasted loaves of bread. Total time, in general, is active time making the bread and cooking, which doesn’t account for downtime in recipes. I will put a note at the start. Thanks.