Marraqueta

Marraqueta
	Chilean Marraqueta
Alternative names	marraqueta; (See below);
Type	marraqueta, wheat bread
Place of origin	Chile. Distribution: South America Bolivia; Chile; ;
Associated cuisine	Chile Bolivia
Main ingredients	Wheat flour, salt, water, leavening agent
Food energy; (per 100 g serving)	267 kcal (1118 kJ)
	Media: Marraqueta;

A marraqueta (also known by other names) is a bread roll made with wheat flour, salt, water and yeast.

This type of roll has a crusty exterior.^[1] In Chile, the bread dates to the 1800s and it is considered a national food of Bolivia. It is served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is the most common bread found in Bolivia bakeries.^[2]^[3]

In 2024, marraqueta was listed as the third best bread in the world by Taste Atlas.^[4]^[5]

Regional varieties

Bolivia

The Bolivian marraqueta is consumed mostly in the metropolitan area of La Paz^[1] and El Alto. It is prepared in common ovens between midnight and dawn to be sold fresh and crunchy by vendors in the morning.

The marraqueta of La Paz, also known as marraqueta paceña, was declared cultural patrimony in 2006.^[6]

Chile

In Chile, marraqueta is a staple food eaten at every meal.^[7] Marraqueta is the most widely consumed bread in Chile and is used as toast,^[8] in sandwiches and as a binder for certain recipes such as pastel de carne (meatloaf). It is widely considered a national staple food and important to Chilean national identity.^[7]^[1] The bread is often consumed for breakfast topped with mashed avocado.^[7] The crust is considered the essential element of the bread; when used for sandwiches, the inner dough (the miga) is often scooped out and discarded, leaving the crust to be filled.^[7]^[9]

It is also called pan batido (whipped bread) or pan francés (French bread) depending on the region.^[10]^[11] The Chilean marraqueta is created by butting two rolls up against one another and slicing through both almost deeply enough to form four rolls, then baking.^[7]

Chilean marraqueta bread can be divided into four pieces with the hands.^[12] It does not contain fat and the proofing process takes longer than other breads. The unusual form of the four buns allows it to be divided very easily.^[12]

Many historians agree that the marraqueta originated in Valparaíso, Chile, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when major Chilean ports such as Valparaíso and Talcahuano received thousands of European immigrants.^[1] The story goes the bread was invented by two French baker brothers in Valparaíso whose last name was Teran-Marraquett, and the bread went on to become very popular among Chileans in a very short time.^[1] This story would explain both the marraqueta and pan francés names. In Valparaíso itself, somewhat confusingly, marraqueta means the four small rolls while half of this is called pan batido, the use of which is a shibboleth of the Port of Valparaíso (but is ignored by national supermarket chains). There is no clear agreement on what is considered one unit of marraqueta and while some bakers claim is the four pieces of bread, some others claim that a unit is only half (so they say that the four pieces are two marraquetas).

An alternative theory of the bread's origin was proposed by French naturalist and botanist Claude Gay, who suggested that marraqueta was first eaten in Chile in the 19th century.^[13]

Peru

In Peru, the term pan francés (or sometimes called pan francés peruano) is different from the marraqueta.^[14]

Gallery

Marraqueta paceña (La Paz-style marraqueta)
Chilean marraqueta
Marraqueta tacneña (Tacna-style marraqueta)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Panes del Mundo. Tradicional Marraqueta". Venezuela: Magazine del Pan. 2005. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
^ Umaña-Murray, Mirtha (1996). Three generations of Bolovian cuisine. Los Angeles: Lowell House. ISBN 1-56565-467-6. OCLC 35249500.
^ Sebess, Paulo (2014-02-15). Professional Bread Baking Techniques. ISBN 979-8487330185.
^ "La marraqueta es catalogada como el tercer mejor pan del mundo por Taste Atlas". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 2024-05-13. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
^ "40 Best Bread Rolls in the World". TasteAtlas. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
^ La Fuente, Elizabeth (2023-07-13). "La marraqueta paceña tiene sus secretos, un experto dice cuáles son". El Deber (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-05-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Smith, Eileen (2016-07-07). "In Chile, 'Marraqueta' Is The Daily Bread". NPR. Archived from the original on 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
^ Once: A guide to Chile’s oddly-named evening snack Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine www.thisischile.cl Monday, February 06, 2012 retrieved October 08, 2013
^ "Marraqueta | Traditional Bread From Chile". www.tasteatlas.com. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
^ Munsey, Lizzie; Munsey, Emily (2021-10-07). The Best Ever Bread Book. Dorling Kindersley Limited. p. 38. ISBN 9780241556573.
^ Romey, Jared (2010). Speaking chileno. A guide to chilean slang. Santiago: RIL editores. p. 132. ISBN 978-9562847308.
^ ^a ^b "Learn How to Make Delicious Traditional Chilean Bread". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
^ Gay, Claudio (1865). Historia física y política de Chile según documentos adquiridos en esta república durante doce años de residencia en ella y publicada bajo los auspicios del supremo gobierno. p. 57. Archived from the original on 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-10. En Chile hay varias clases (de pan) cuyas principales son el pan francés que es el común de la Europa, el pan inglés de forma redonda y un poco menos cocido que el anterior, el chileno sazonado con grasa y generalmente usado en las provincias, la talera que se da a los peones y a los mineros y amasada con la harina en hoja, y enfin la tortilla preparada como al tiempo de Abraham y como la preparan todavía los Árabes y otros pueblos de la África, es decir sin levadura y cocido bajo las cenizas poco antes de la comida.
^ Nolasco, Por Edwin Montesinos (16 October 2023). "El pan que le ha quitado protagonismo al 'clásico' francés y cuáles son los nuevos productos con granos andinos". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2023.