Arepas Andinas, Venezuela’s Other Daily Bread

Just thinking about these arepas Andinas makes Liliana Hernandez’s mouth water. Traditional to the Andes region in northwest Venezuela, where wheat is plentiful, these golden arepas are slim and made with flour. That makes them muy diferentes from the corn flour arepas Venezuelans homecooks like Caracas-born Liliana make sure to have always on hand. This is true even in Illinois, where she lives with her family today.

Liliana craves both kinds of arepas, she is quick to say. But Andes-style are the ones she prefers to dip into her pisca Andina, the beloved milk and potato soup served for breakfast in Venezuela. This comforting, creamy sopa is one of her favorite dishes. You can see how Liliana make these arepas in her step-by-step master class on Mi Show de Cocina, her YouTube cooking channel.

What makes these toasted arepas even more special for Liliana is her childhood connection to them. Liliana’s mother is from the state of Mérida, in the Andes region. These arepas take her on a Proustian road trip, says Liliana. “It gives me great pride to make these arepas, in honor of my mother. Making these arepas brings back childhood memories when we went on vacation in Mérida and spent time with my aunt. I can never forget waking up early those mornings and seeing my aunt making arepas Andinas with such ease and so amazingly fast.”

This recipe is just like her aunt’s, says Liliana. ”They are incredibly delicious.” How do you eat them? Same as the classic corn arepas, she says. Grab one or two hot off the budare, the traditional Venezuelan griddle. (Don’t have one? Use a cast-iron or nonstick pan, she advises.) Eat them with your meal. Or, slice and stuff them with a little butter and cheese—their internal steam will heat the queso to melty perfección.

The corn arepas might get all the attention, says Liliana. But these wheat ones should not be missed. “I love them so much,” says Liliana. ”Fill them or eat them like bread with whatever you like or have available in your pantry. Just try them. I know you will love them.”

For more of Liliana’s authentic Venezuelan family recipes, try her life-changing bienmesabe cake, asado negro main dish for celebrations, handmade toasted corn flour arepas, reina pepiada and carne mechada arepa fillings, must-have-at-a-party tequeños, and her mother’s go-to ensalada rusa potato salad. All are 100% delicioso. And be sure to check out Liliana on her YouTube channel Mi Show de Cocina, where she is working her way through her favorite Venezuelan dishes like these arepas Andinas.

Ready to Make Venezuela’s Wheat Arepas Andinas?

Arepas Andinas, Venezuela’s Other Daily Bread

Recipe by Liliana Hernández

4.5 from 2 votes

Cuisine: Venezuelan

Servings

8 to 10

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 Tbsp sugar

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature

• 1 egg, room temperature

• 1 1/4 cup milk, room temperature

• 2 to 3 Tbsp oil for lightly coating the cast-iron pan, budare or griddle

Directions

• Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
• In a separate measuring cup or small bowl, add the egg into the milk. Whisk together.
• Make an indentation the size of your fist in the center of the dry ingredients bowl.
• Pour the milk-egg mixture into this indentation. WIth your hands, a fork or spatula, work the flour into the center until it is fully absorbed into the liquid.
• Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture. Knead the dough for several minutes until you can shape it into a ball. It will feel spongy and sticky, a bit like pizza dough.
• Keep working the dough for 2 to 3 more minutes until it is almost not sticking to your hands. Shape it into a ball, and let it rest in the bowl fir 15 minutes, covered with a kitchen cloth or plastic wrap. This allows the gluten in the flour to break down.
• When it is ready, knead the flour for about 2 minutes and you will see how smooth it feels. Work it into a ball.
• Sprinkle flour on your kitchen table or working area. Place the dough on the floured surface. Slightly flatten the ball of dough and sprinkle a little bit of flour on top.
• Using a floured baking pin, gently roll the dough from the center out in all directions—sprinkling flour on the pin or dough, as needed. Your dough will spread into a larger circle (about as big as a medium pizza) that is between 1/3- and 1/2-inch thick.
• Using a round cookie cutter, large cup or a small plate, mark and cut circles into your flour, each about 4 to 5 inches wide. Dip the rim in flour when you make each circle, so that the dough doesn’t stick to it.
• Preheat a cast-iron pan, traditional Venezuela budare, comal or griddle. Coat it with a little bit of oil.
• Lay the flour arepas on the hot surface, toasting each about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until it turns golden in speckled areas. Serve hot with your meal or filled with butter and cheese.

Notes

• Liliana likes to use a 4 1/2-inch round cookie cutter to shape and slice her arepa rounds.

Top photo: Andrey Leotev