We brought together master bakers from the city of El Alto, who make battle bread daily, to evaluate the qualities of Alicorp's Masapan butter. They discussed its pros and cons, kneaded plump, golden 'Sarnitas' and came to the conclusion that Masapan is perfect for all their recipes, passed down from generation to generation.
"The bread is good. The butter has improved. We make bread for people and we ask for quality," said Eduardo Rios, a master baker with more than 40 years of experience. On the other hand, Angelica Vargas, a third-generation baker, said: "The bread is delicious, we loved the experience with this butter."
Masapan is a vegetable shortening that has been on the Bolivian market since 2011, and was recently presented in its new version, whose main characteristics are its ease of kneading and its lower price, according to Jaime Hamel, Alicorp's Marketing Manager.
Alicorp, the leading agro-industrial and mass consumption company in Bolivia and manufacturer of the emblematic FINO oil and Masapan butter, organized this meeting between the small and medium-sized bakers of El Alto, which included a 100% practical workshop led by the food engineer , chef and gastronomy professor Ricardo Guaraz.
Masapan overcame the challenge of the bakers
After the initial words and presentation by Ricardo Guaraz, the master bakers began to give their opinions on Masapan. First they mentioned the difference they found in the butter when it came to heating it and incorporating it into the dough. Then they referred to how the product behaves in the kneading of the traditional caucas.
An assistant teacher stood up and said, "We'll try!" He approached the machine to make the dough and emptied half a quintal of flour, added Masapan, the yeast and the rest of the ingredients. The bakers chose the flour that they consider less efficient for their work. "If 'butter' is good, it sure works with this one," they challenged.
Once the dough was ready, they divided it, rounded it, and shaped it with impressive speed. They put the breads in the oven and after a few minutes they checked the quality of Masapan. "Today we show that Masapan butter is quite useful for making Bolivian bread at affordable prices," the expert Ricardo Guaraz finally evaluated.