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

Anise Entero (Pack. 50 g)

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Clove / Cloves (30 g)

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Vanilla Essence – Negrita (Vanilla essence, 90 ml)

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Caritas for Tantawawas

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PREPARATION OF TANTAWAWAS

  • 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. 
  • 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.