Pan Amasado Chilean Country Bread

Versión en español

Chilean Country Bread or Pan Amasado (literal translation kneaded bread) is what country ladies bake daily at home for their families or to sell. It never tastes the same if you buy it at a bakery.

Most Chileans enjoy this bread on vacation: at the lake or the beach. Sometimes is improved with pig cracklings (chicharrones) kneaded into the dough. You can use fried bacon if you feel indulgent.

The rolls have a sturdier interior than American rolls.

Tips for delicious Pan Amasado bread:

Why don’t yeast doughs rise? What differences and types of fresh or dry yeast?

The first thing is to ensure that the yeast’s activation has succeeded: yeasts are living organisms “asleep.” To wake them up and allow them to grow and produce the gases that make the dough rise, they need a warm environment (around 24C, if your kitchen is below 21C, it will be difficult for the yeast to do its job, and if it is above 30C it will grow too fast and that also affects the final result).

If your kitchen is cold, you can turn the dough in a bowl in the oven OFF with hot water. That small sauna is ideal for yeast.
The water you add to the yeast to hydrate and wake it up should be 35-37C. You can put a few drops of water on your wrist if it’s lukewarm. That’s fine. If it burns, it will kill the yeast.
You must wait 8-10 minutes. If you don’t see bubbles, the yeast is dead, and you must start the process from scratch.

The most reliable yeast is granules. Fresh yeast is more erratic.
It is better to use filtered water than tap water. Do not use distilled water.
Also, read below. You need to use wheat flour that develops gluten.

Why is it important that the yeast does not touch the salt?

Because salt inhibits yeast growth, primarily if it is concentrated, it does not have much influence after the dough already has all the flour.

Can I replace or eliminate sugar in the bread recipe?

No, yeasts need sugar to feed and grow. Artificial sweeteners cannot be digested by yeast. Granulated refined sugar can be substituted for honey, but the proportions and circumstances depend on the recipe.

Do all flours rise the same: wheat, integral, oats?

No, the doughs rise because they develop the gluten (a net) that traps the gases produced by the yeast. Wheat flour doughs can make gluten. Most other flours (gluten-free) fail to do this mesh.
So, use specific recipes to make bread without wheat flour.
This also happens with whole wheat flour, which requires more water, and the harder elements of the grain that are preserved to make it whole interfere with gluten formation.

Why does homemade bread go stale so quickly?

Because it has no preservatives, I recommend cutting and freezing it as soon as the bread is cold, then toast it, and it is ready to be enjoyed.
Bread with more fat (brioches) naturally lasts longer and softer.

How Chileans eat Pan Amasado?

• For breakfast with scrambled eggs, avocado
• Serve cut for an appetizer with Pebre
• On sandwich: with ham and cheese for picnics, or at restaurants in sandwiches such as Chacareros (steak, tomato, green beans) or Barros Luco (steak and melted cheese)

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