Bolivian Recipes: Tantawawas
Tantawawas: The bread that serves as a connection between the living and the dead and is baked for the Día de Todos los Santos.
INGREDIENTS FOR TANTAWAWAS
-
2 cups of wheat flour
- ½ cup panela/raw sugar
- ¼ cup soft butter
- 1 cube of dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
-
½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground Anise or 1 pack of anise tea
- 1/8 teaspoon Vanilla essence
- 150 ml water
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- Caritas (Ceramic Masks)
Anise Entero (Pack. 50 g)
BUYClove / Cloves (30 g)
BUYVanilla Essence – Negrita (Vanilla essence, 90 ml)
BUYCaritas for Tantawawas
BUY
PREPARATION OF TANTAWAWAS
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1. Place 1 cube of yeast (42 g) together with a teaspoon of sugar in a cup with 150 ml of lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- 2. Add 1 teaspoon of anise. Alternatively, you can prepare 1 small glass of anise tea for the anise flavor, let it steep for 5 minutes, and add it.
- 3. Add 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon powder and stir well.
- 4. Add 2 cups of wheat flour and 1/2 cup of panela/brown sugar (alternatively: white sugar) to a bowl.
- 5. Grind 1/2 teaspoon of cloves into powder in a mortar and add it to the bowl along with 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of softened butter. Now add the cup with the yeast-anise-cinnamon mixture. For flavor, add a few drops of vanilla essence.
- 6. Knead the dough well for about 10 minutes and then let it rest covered for 30 minutes so that the dough can rise peacefully.
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7. Shape the dough into 3 equal-sized balls. Now it's time to get creative!
- 8. Roll the dough balls flat with a rolling pin and shape them into the three desired Tantawawa figures.
- 9. Carefully adjust the Caritas mask on the head of the shaped figure by gently pressing it into the dough.
- 10. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- 11. 1 Brush the dough pieces with egg yolk. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.
- 12. Let the Tantawawas cool down and enjoy (after Todos Santos). Carefully remove the Caritas beforehand. If the bread remnants are completely removed, the Carita can also be reused.