Bolillos
The bolillo is one of Mexico's most popular rolls: oval, with pointed ends and a deep lengthwise slash, a thin crisp crust and soft white crumb. It is generally held to descend from French bread, which spread in Mexico in the 19th century, but the shape and crispness are thoroughly Mexican. Bolillos make tortas — sandwiches with beans, meat and avocado — and molletes. To get the crust to crack and crisp, you need steam in the oven.
Your own work in that: 40 min.
- Dough 15 min
- Rising 90 min
- Shaping 25 min
- Second rise 45 min
- Baking 20 min
- Cooling 30 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneKnead the dough
Mix the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt. Add the lukewarm water and knead 10 minutes. Add the lard and knead 5 minutes more until smooth and elastic.
Ingredients: 400 g strong bread flour · 260 ml lukewarm water · 4 g dried yeast · 8 g sugar · 8 g salt · 15 g lard or butter
Leave to rise
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 1.5 hours until doubled.
Ingredients: 400 g strong bread flour · 260 ml lukewarm water · 4 g dried yeast · 8 g sugar · 8 g salt · 15 g lard or butter
Divide the dough
Divide the dough into 6 pieces (about 115 g each), shape into balls, cover and leave 15 minutes.
Ingredients: 400 g strong bread flour · 260 ml lukewarm water · 4 g dried yeast · 8 g sugar · 8 g salt · 15 g lard or butter
Shape the rolls
Flatten a ball, fold it in three like a letter and seal the seam. Rolling under your palms, lengthen it to 16 cm, pressing harder at the ends so they taper.
Ingredients: 400 g strong bread flour · 260 ml lukewarm water · 4 g dried yeast · 8 g sugar · 8 g salt · 15 g lard or butter
Harder pressure at the ends — hence the shape.Second rise
Set the rolls seam down on a lined tray of about 40 × 30 cm, in three rows of two, about 4 cm apart — they grow further in the oven. Cover with a cloth and leave 45 minutes until clearly puffed.
Ingredients: 400 g strong bread flour · 260 ml lukewarm water · 4 g dried yeast · 8 g sugar · 8 g salt · 15 g lard or butter
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 220°C (top and bottom heat) and put a metal roasting tin or cast-iron pan on the floor of the oven — a glass dish can crack when the boiling water hits it. Just before the rolls go in, carefully pour the boiling water into it, standing to one side and not leaning into the oven — the steam is very hot and scalds instantly.
Ingredients: 200 ml boiling water for the steam dish
Slash and bake
Slash each roll lengthwise with a sharp knife or blade, about 1 cm deep. Bake 18–20 minutes until golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
Ingredients: 400 g strong bread flour · 260 ml lukewarm water · 4 g dried yeast · 8 g sugar · 8 g salt · 15 g lard or butter
One deep slash along the roll.Cool
Cool on a rack at least 30 minutes. The crust is at its crispest in the first few hours after baking.
Ingredients: 400 g strong bread flour · 260 ml lukewarm water · 4 g dried yeast · 8 g sugar · 8 g salt · 15 g lard or butter
A cracked, crisp crust — the point of bolillos.
Before you start
Bolillo vs telera
The telera is a flatter roll with two grooves, used for tortas in central Mexico. The dough is nearly identical; the shaping differs.
For tortas and molletes
Cut a roll open, scoop out some crumb and fill with beans, meat, avocado and pickled chillies. Molletes are halves spread with beans and baked with cheese.
Storage
Bolillos go stale quickly, like all crusty rolls. Eat them on baking day and freeze the rest, reheating 5 minutes at 200°C.
