Mexican Bolillos, Crusty oval rolls

Mexican Bolillos, Crusty oval rolls

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
  • Yield: 10rolls

    • About This Recipe

    “Bolillos next to the Tortilla is a staple to Mexico. Nearly every villiage has a Bakery and every bakery makes Bolillos, Fabulous for breakfast with a little butter and fresh fruit. Bolillos go stale quickly and are at their best right from the oven . Great for any meal where you want a crisp roll”

    Ingredients

  • 1packageactive dry yeast
  • 1 1/3 cupswater
  • 1tablespoonhoney
  • 1tablespoon lard or 1tablespoonshortening, melted and cooled
  • 1 1/2 teaspoonssalt
  • 3 1/4-4cupsflour
  • 1/4 cupcold water
  • 1teaspooncornstarch

    • Directions

  • Sprinkle yeast over the warm water in a large mixing bowl; stir and let stand 5 minutes.
  • When the yeast is working a bit stir the honey, lard and salt into the yeast mixture.
  • Add 2 1/2 cups flour.
  • Mix at low speed and then beat at medium speed until the dough is very elastic, about 5 minutes.
  • Gradually stir in as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough.
  • Knead on floured surface until dough is smooth in texture and very elastic, 15-20 minutes (use a dough hook on your mixer and knead for about 10-15 minutes).
  • Place dough in a greased bowl, turn the dough so all surfaces have a sheen of oil.
  • Cover and let rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour (I turn on the light in the oven and place the dough in there to rise, do NOT heat the oven!).
  • Punch the dough down and knead briefly on a floured surface.
  • Divide dough into 10 pieces and roll into balls.
  • Work with the palms of your hands and start at the center of each ball to roll out into ovals.
  • Each piece should be about 5 1/2″ long and 2″ in the middle, tapering to each end.
  • Place rolls on a greased baking sheet, cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile heat oven to 375F degrees.
  • Mix cornstarch and cold water, heat stirring constantly to boiling, boil until thickened and clear about 2 minutes.
  • Brush each roll with the cornstarch mixture.
  • Slash each roll down the middle stopping about 1/2″ from each end and cutting about 1/2″ deep.
  • Bake until the rolls are brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and cool on racks.
  • Serve warm & fresh from the oven.

    • Reviews

  • “I suggest specifying unbleached flour, the rolls turned out great, put steam in the oven by ice cubes in the broiler pan, in the bottom; adds to the crispness of the roll.”

  • “Great!!!I’m not a good one with dough, but they turned out fine.I followed the rise time, but I think I should have let the dough rise more.Will try again.It’s hard to find true bolillos here.”

  • “Yum! Thanks so much for the recipe Bergy! I’ve been feeling all mexico-y lately, eating fresh corn tortillas and pineapple, and all that was missing was the bolillos… these have the perfect flavour and texture, just like the real thing :)I was a bit worried about the dough, as it took forever to rise, but all was well in the end. Also, I could only get 8 small rolls out of it – I will definately double the recipe next time. The dough was a pleasure to work with, and the rolls were a pleasure to eat. Thankyou!!!”

  • “I made no changes to this recipe and they turned out delicious. The dough was so soft and the house smelled incredible while these baked! They bolillos were still soft a few days later, definitely a new favorite recipe!”

  • “Another fine Bergy recipe made with tremendous success and rave reviews. I used a KitchenAid stand up mixer to prep the dough and my husband declared my version of bolillos is better than the ones I usually purchase down the road at the Mexican bakery. Served with my posted molletes recipe and you can be sure I will make another batch soon! Thank you!”

  • “I want to know if it’s bread flour or AP flour that’s being used and how many ounces of Active Dry Yeast I need. Someone please help :)”

  • “I’m very impressed with myself thanks to this recipe!These remind me of Portugese buns we sometimes buy.The directions in this recipe are great, very easy to follow and I appreciate the stand mixer specifics being included, because that’s what I used.I didn’t find either rise doubled in size, but they rose some and the end result is great.They really are crispy, great finish with the cornstarch mixture.Children had these with soup tonight and I swear they didn’t speak for a good 15 minutes, they loved ’em!Forgot to mention, I used coconut oil instead of hydrogenated shortening – seemed to work just as well.”

  • “Great recipe.We had the bolillos with Menudo this morning.”

  • “I did a slower rise at room temp on a cool day/Skipped the cornstarch glaze and just sprayed rolls and oven walls with water at the start and midway through.Crisp crust, good flavor, just what I was looking for for French dip sandwiches for dinner.”

  • “Crispy on the outside – tender on the inside – couldn’t wait so we’re heating them hot! Outstanding! Thanks for a great recipe – if they make it to cool, these will be awesome for sandwiches. They are simply wonderful hot though! Thanks for another great recipe Bergy – will be using often!”

  • “Oh Yum!I made a batch to go with my French-Dip-crock pot recipe and it was a huge hit.Easy to make as I used my Kitchen Aid to do the majority of the work.The rolls were crisp on the outside with a great chew on the inside-My Husband said it is going to be a “great Fondue bread” for his “cheesy stuff” (tech term).Easy recipe, easy instructions, great rolls with tons of future applications!Thanks for Posting,Di ;-)”

  • “These were good.I let one part rise as stated and the other rise about thirty minutes more.The one with more time were better and fluffier.I didn’t cook the second batch as much since the first batch came out hard.I will try adding a bit of sugar next time for my likes.Oh and these were eight small bolillos for me.Next time I will make the bigger.”

  • “Thank U Bergy for this recipe..I like using bolillos for au jus beef sandwiches as well as some other sandwich recipes I have. Buying them at 1.19 for 3…I can now make my own for just pennies..Nice crunchy crust with soft inside..I need to work at the shaping alittle though..Thanks again!!”

  • “Wonderful!Crusty on the outside, tender on the inside.Thanks for posting!”

  • “Thank-you for this wonderful recipe.We just moved from McAllen, Tx, and have been missing the wonderful pastries.These are wonderful with a cup of tea.I’m also using them to make some milanesa tortas.My three year old and one year old are munching on them while I type this up.I just got them out of the oven.They are wonderful.”

  • “Excellent.I eat bakery bolillos and these better than most of them and as good as any of them.A very typical and authentic recipe with the hard crust and soft “stretchy” interior that really defines a bolillo for me.The only changes I made was to make a sponge of the yeast, water, sugar, and 2T flour and let that set for 40 minutes beforeadding the rest of the flour.I also added 1T anise seeds to the dough to make it more like a sweet bread.Wonderful toasted with butter or just plain.”

  • “Thanks! I also tried your recipe and the rolls turned out very great. I didn’t use the cornstarch mixture to glaze them, I just put water to steam in the oven and they really were crispy . I also tried with whole-wheat flour: great!!Thanks again”

  • “These were really nice but I couldn’t get them to look authentic like the picture!I’ll have to try again, but all the texture of a regular bolillo was there.Once I get this recipe down correctly I’ll be making this regularly.Thanks!”

  • “Awesome, very authentic Mexican “Tortas” recipe!These are definately worth the time to make- great for making Tortas de Milanesa!Thank you very much for the recipe!!”

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