Peruvian Bread - Receta de Chancay Recipe

By
Marian Blazes
Marian Blazes
Marian Blazes is a freelance writer and recipe developer with a passion for South American food. She wrote a cookbook focusing on the cuisine of Brazil.
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Updated on 08/15/19
Close up of bowl of flour with scoop
Alberto Guglielmi/Creative RF/Getty Images
Prep: 4 hrs
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 4 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 20 servings

Chancay is the name of one of the pre-Hispanic colonial civilizations in Peru. The Chancay lived in on the coast of Peru in the period before the Incan empire, around 1000 to 1500 AD. These wonderful sweet bread rolls are apparently named for those early Peruvians, who excelled at weaving and pottery.

Chancays are sweet, soft rolls, sprinkled with sesame seeds and flavored with a hint of anise. We found an article explaining that these rolls (sold everywhere in Lima) were invented and named by Don Manuel Santa Cruz, from the town of Chancay in Lima province, in 1883.

Ingredients

  • For the Sponge:
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups water (warm)
  • For the Dough:
  • 1 teaspoon yeast
  • 1/2 to 1 cup water (warm)
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon anise flavoring
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening (softened)
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds (for sprinkling on rolls)
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter (for brushing onto rolls)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Prepare the sponge: Mix all of the ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer, using the dough hook attachment, until well mixed. Stir ingredients together by hand with a wooden spoon, kneading with your hands if necessary, until you have a smooth dough.

  3. Cover bowl with saran wrap and let sponge rest in a warm spot for 1 to 3 hours.

  4. Finish the dough. Dissolve the remaining teaspoon of yeast in a 1/2 cup of lukewarm water.

  5. Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups flour, the salt, the brown sugar, the egg, the anise, cinnamon, and softened butter and shortening to the sponge.

  6. Knead the mixture gently with the dough hook, while adding the 1/2 cup of water (and yeast) gradually. Add more water if necessary in small amounts, kneading, to get a smooth dough. Knead until dough is smooth, shiny, and stretchy, about 10 minutes in the mixer, or 20 minutes by hand.

  7. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with saran wrap and let the dough rest for 1 hour.

  8. Punch down and divide dough into about 20 pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball, and place on a large cookie sheet, about an inch apart on all sides.

  9. Brush tops of rolls with half of the melted butter. Loosely cover with saran wrap, and let rolls rise in a warmish place for about an hour, or until they have risen 50% larger.

  10. Preheat oven to 400 F. Gently brush rolls with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle tops with sesame seeds.

  11. Bake rolls for about 20 minutes, turning oven down to 350 F after the first 10 minutes, or until rolls are deep golden brown.

  12. Remove from oven and let cool.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
152 Calories
10g Fat
14g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 20
Amount per serving
Calories 152
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 13%
Saturated Fat 4g 22%
Cholesterol 34mg 11%
Sodium 385mg 17%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Protein 2g
Calcium 42mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)