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Guaguas de pan
Sweet bread babies
Guaguas de pan: Quito's sweet bread babies with a guava filling and iced faces
Guagua means baby in Kichwa, and in late October Quito's bakeries line their windows with these swaddled bread figures, each with a sugar-iced face and blanket, made to eat with colada morada for the Day of the Dead on 2 November. The bread is soft, buttery and lightly sweet, often hiding a strip of guava paste, and children love decorating them. The common mistake is shaping thin heads and arms, which brown and dry long before the body is baked; keep the shapes plump. Chef's tip: let the shaped figures rise fully before baking, so they puff into round, friendly babies rather than cracking at the seams.
- Total time
- 62 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour
- 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup whole milklukewarm
- 2 eggsbeaten
- 2 ⅞ oz buttersoftened
- 1 tsp aniseed (optional)lightly crushed
For the filling and glaze
- 5 ½ oz guava pastecut into 8 strips
- 1 egg yolkbeaten with 1 tbsp milk
For the icing
- 5 ½ oz icing sugar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 drops food colouring (optional)pink, yellow or blue
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp aniseed in a large bowl. Add ¾ cup whole milk and 2 eggs and mix into a shaggy dough.
3 minStep 2: Knead for 8 minutes, then work in 2 ⅞ oz butter a piece at a time and knead for 5 minutes more until the dough is smooth, silky and springs back when pressed.
13 minStep 3: Cover and leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
60 minStep 4: Knock back and divide into 8 pieces. Roll each into an oval about 15 cm long, press a strip of 5 ½ oz guava paste along the middle, fold the dough over and pinch to seal.
Step 5: Turn seam-side down and shape: pinch in a neck a third of the way down to make a round head, and press gentle folds across the body for the swaddling blanket. Keep the shapes plump. Set on lined baking trays, cover and rise for 40 minutes until puffy.
40 minStep 6: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Brush the babies with 1 egg yolk and bake for 18–22 minutes, until deep golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
22 minStep 7: Cool completely on a rack. Mix 5 ½ oz icing sugar with 2 tbsp lime juice into a thick icing, colour portions with 3 drops food colouring, and pipe or spoon on faces and blankets. Leave to set for 20 minutes.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 400 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does guaguas de pan take?
- About 62 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 22 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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