Crusty Rolls
Many years ago, long before the Internet era, my dear college friend Alma sent me an important letter. I could feel her excitement for the little surprise she was sending in that letter. It had two recipes, one for the famous sweet bread (“conchas”), and the other for the bolillos.
She described how she spent an entire Saturday at her neighborhood bakery learning how to make them and wanted to share the recipes with me, knowing how much I enjoyed cooking. At the beginning when I started to work with this recipe my bread was a mess, but throughout the years, with practice and tweaking the recipes, I finally have bread that resembles the one sold in Mexico. I still have to keep practicing with it, since it’s not that easy to make a bread exactly like those sold in bakeries in a home oven without the commercial flours and enhancers, but the texture, smell, and even the crunchy sound is there.
Enjoy!
Mexican Bolillos: Crusty Rolls
DIRECTIONS: 
- The night before baking, place yeast and water in a small bowl, mix well and add the flour. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- In a large bowl or your heavy-duty mixer, place the starter, flour, salt, yeast and melted shortening. Start kneading the dough, adding the warm water slowly right at the beginning of the kneading process.
- Remove dough from the bowl and place on your working surface to form a ball.
- Grease a large bowl with shortening, oil or PAM spray. Place the dough and turn it all over to make sure all sides are covered with a coating of the grease. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours.
- After the dough has doubled in volume, gently push your fist in to deflate it. Divide the dough into 10 pieces.
- To form the bolillos-rolls, dust your work surface with flour very lightly, flatten one piece of dough with the palm of your hand and fold 1/3 of the dough towards you and press down with your fingers, sealing it very well. Fold the dough again, repeating the sealing process until you form a roll, pinching the dough tightly. Make sure all the ends are sealed.
To shape the rolls, place your hands over the dough and press gently but firmly, cupping your fingers, rolling back and forth.
- Place each bolillo/roll seam side down on the greased baking sheet and cover with a greased plastic.
- Once the rolls have doubled in volume, and just before placing them inside the oven, make a deep cut using a sharp serrated knife or a razor blade.
- Spray the rolls with warm water, place them in a preheated oven and add 1 1/2 cup of cold water to the metallic tray you placed on the oven floor. The steam will create that beautiful thin and crunchy crust.
This bread is also known as “Pan Francés”; the French baguette recipe was transformed in Mexico and became ours as the “bolillo”. It is also known as “Birote” and “pan blanco” in some areas of the country. It is very common in my hometown to have this bread sliced.
- 3/4 cup of water (177 ml or 6 oz)
- 1/2 teaspoon instant or active yeast* (1.5 grams)
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour or Bread flour** (125 gramos or 4.25 oz)
- 3 Cup All Purpose Flour (375 grams or 13.23 oz)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon instant or active yeast (5 grams or 0.22 oz)
- 2 teaspoons of salt (11 grams or 0.40 oz)
- 1/4 cup of shortening melted and cooled. (50 grams or 1.76 oz)
- 1 cup of warm water NOT HOT(235 ml or 8 fl oz)
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FOR THE STARTER: The night before baking, place yeast and water in a small bowl, mix well and add the flour. Mix again. You don’t need to knead here. Cover with a plastic wrap and let sit on your kitchen counter top all night or at least 8 hours. Making this starter will increase the flavor of your bread. The next morning the starter will have a larger volume and will have formed lots of bubbles.
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BAKING DAY. In a large bowl or your heavy-duty mixer, place the starter, flour, salt, yeast and melted shortening. Start kneading the dough, adding the warm water slowly right at the beginning of the kneading process. IMPORTANT: If you live in a very humid place, you will need to reduce the amount of water by about 2 tablespoons less than indicated. If using a mixer, knead for 7 minutes on speed 2; if kneading by hand, knead the dough for about 15 minutes. The dough will separate from your mixing bowl like it shows in the above picture while kneading.
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Remove dough from the bowl and place on your working surface to form a ball. It should look soft but still a little rough.
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Grease a large bowl with shortening, oil or PAM spray. Place the dough and turn it all over to make sure all sides are covered with a coating of the grease. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume. If you live in a warm and humid weather this step will take less time.
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After the dough has doubled in volume, gently push your fist in to deflate it. Divide the dough into 10 pieces. (About 110 grams each). Place the pieces of dough into your slightly greased working surface and cover with a greased plastic wrap and let them rest for 15 minutes to allow the gluten to develop and help to shape your bollillos/rolls easier.
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To form the bolillos-rolls, dust your work surface with flour very lightly, flatten one piece of dough with the palm of your hand and fold 1/3 of the dough towards you and press down with your fingers, sealing it very well. Fold the dough again, repeating the sealing process until you form a roll, pinching the dough tightly. Make sure all the ends are sealed.
-
To shape the rolls, place your hands over the dough and press gently but firmly, cupping your fingers, rolling back and forth. While doing this, press the heel of your hands to leave some dough uncovered to form the traditional bolillo ears.
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Place each bolillo/roll seam side down on the greased baking sheet and cover with a greased plastic. Allow them to rise until they’ve doubled in volume. About 1 and 1/2 hour.
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At least 20 minutes before the end of the rising period, turn on your oven at 450 degrees F. Place the metallic pan for the water on the oven floor.
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Once the rolls have doubled in volume, and just before placing them inside the oven, make a deep cut using a sharp serrated knife or a razor blade, holding your hand at a 45-degree angle.
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Spray the rolls with warm water, place them in a preheated oven and add 1 1/2 cup of cold water to the metallic tray you placed on the oven floor. The steam will create that beautiful thin and crunchy crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until they are golden, remove form the oven, and let them cool on a wire rack.
• *If using active yeast, dissolve first with the water, mix well and let it proof for 5 minutes.
• **Bread flour will render a finer texture.
• You will need a large baking sheet, a metallic pan to place in the oven with water, a spray water bottle, and plastic wrap.
• I use a Baguette Pan for my bolillos, but a baking sheet or cookie sheet does the same job.
• Baking with yeast requires time to let the dough rise. Plan your day ahead of time to get the best results.
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Please leave all your questions in the comments section, I will be happy to answer them.
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Gracias por compartir la receta, le mando un cordial saludo desde la Florida !
manteca se refiere a mantequilla o a manteca vegetal ?
Hola Jocabet,
A manteca Vegetal.
Saludos!
Mely excelente tutorial! Muchas gracias! Se que te has metido hasta donde están los panaderos haciendo pan, con tal de mejorar tus bolillos!
Besos
Have you ever tried freezing the dough before baking, or parbaking the bread and then freezing? I love freshly baked bread, but there's no way we could eat all of this before it got stale. Thanks!
Hello Karyn,
Yes, after the first rising sometimes I freeze the dough. Or just bake the rolls for 15 minutes and the cool before freezing.
Wooo Mely que buena entrada, un pan imprecindible en la mesa mexicana, me encantan.
wow, love it. I am not that much into baking but would love to try. So nice of your friend to share her experiance with you
Mely, te quedaron indénticos!!! :O … la manteca es la INCA?
Los quiero hacer 🙂
Saludos
PILY
Si Pily, es la manteca vegetal. Puede ser INCA o de otras marcas.
Que te queden muy ricos!
Mely
Muy bien Mely! Yo tengo una receta de bolillos que me regale una señora have años pero nunca Los he preparado. Ahora con la tuya y las explicaciones tan Clara's a ver is me animo.
Saudos.
Mely,
Me encanto que compartieras la receta y las instruciones estan excelentes. Tambien podrias compartir con nosotros la receta de las conchas.
Hola Ligia,
Gracias por tu comentario. Con respecto a la receta de las conchas, ya estoy trabajando en ella. La tengo en borrador y solo me falta volverlas a hacer para tomar las fotos. El único problema con las conchas es que me las quiero comer todas!
Mely
Nicely done, I can't wait to try these!
Recien llegada al blog me encanto la receta del bolillito… Pues en este pais es dificil conseguir buen bolillo, he tratado de conseguir la Manteca vegetal pero no la encuentro en los super Mexicanos en q area esta o alguna tienda en especial? Lastima en Mexico en todos lados la soñaba ji ji!
Hola Doris,
La manteca vegetal la encuentras en la sección de los aceites o en la de las harinas. La marca Crisco es la mas famosa, ya sea en barras como la mantequilla en contenedores pequeños o en botes.
Saludos!
Mely
Hola Mely,
Ya los hice 3 veces y queri compartir contigo que como no tenia manteca vegetal a la mano y tenia manteca de cerdo los hice con la d e puerco y quedaron bien, no se distingue el sabor de la manteca. Y hoy los hice con mantequilla, estoy esperando a que terminen los 15 min antes.de.darle forma. Ah!!! La unica vez no me gustaron lo hice con una harina miltigrano (de la india, un mezcla de maiz, trigo, garbanzo y otros granos) necesite casi 2 tazas de agua porque esa harina absorbe mucha agua y quedaron secos y fuera del.dia que salieron el horno, pues nadie se los comio asi qu los hice budin y asi se acabaron. 🙂
Si no quedan buenos con mantequilla te aviso.
Gracias por tus recetas!!!!
Elena
Hola Maria Elena,
Gracias por compartir tu experiencia con la receta. Puedes usar margarina, mantequilla y hasta aceite vegetal o de oliva.
Cuando uso manteca el pan es mas suave y eso le gusta mucho a mi familia, sobretodo si después queremos hacer tortas. La misma textura la obtienes usando margarina. Con la mantequilla la corteza del pan queda mas crujiente y le da sabor al pan. Con el aceite la masa cambia un poco la texture, se poco un poco dura. Visitan el Instagram de mexicoinmykitchen para que puedas ver la ultima foto de los bolillos, eso los hice con aceite de oliva, la masa se pone algo dura para trabajar pero los bolillos como quiera quedan hermosos.
Cuando hago integrales solo le pongo 25% de harina integral y 75% de harina normal (all purpose)
Saludos y feliz horneada!
Mine are in the oven as I type. I found that I needed more water than your recipe called for but this may have been because I weighed the ingredients. So far they smell great, look perfect and I doubt that they'll disappoint. They are to be used for the Tortas Ahogatas I am making for friends. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Hello Rick,
Actually, when making bread, I prefer to weight the ingredients but since not everyone has a kitchen scale, I decided to post thsi recipe using cups instead of grams.
I hope you tell us your experience with the recipe.
Happy baking!
Mely
After cutting the slit, my bolillos deflated. After baking they remained flat. What did I do wrong?
Hello les,
Probably, you let them rest for too long. The dough takes less time to rise during the hot summer days. If let for too long the dough becomes to airy and can easily deflate when you make the cut.
That is something that you learn with practice and you get to know the dough. Is this your first time making them?
Please don't give up.
Yes, this is my first time. I won't give up I am going to try again, thank you for replying.
Thank you for this recipe! I tried it out, and a few of my bolillos did deflate while making the cut, like the person above, but they still taste just as if they came from the panaderia. My grandmother and grandmother will be proud.
Hello Michael,
That happened to me a few times while getting the feeling of the dough. Once you keep practicing you learn to know when the dough is ready for the oven.
Thank you for testing the recipe.
Please, Mely, can you give me the measurements in grams instead of cups? I can't wait to try your recipe!
Also, Mely, can I use bread flour instead of ap flour?
Thanks!
Helo Margaret916,
I'll post the measurements in grams this week. And, yes! you can use bread flour, as a matter of fact that is the flour used at the bakeries, but not everyone has access to bread flour in their area.
Enjoy!
Hi, thanks a million for the recipe, I just bought my heavy duty mixer and being from Guadalajara, the first thing I want to do is birote, and I am a little confused as to which type of bread your recipe is about, because they're is the bolillo that you can find all around the country or there is the birote that you can only find in Guadalajara and is the one used for the typical tortas ahogadas, and that is the recipe I would love to have. Thank you!
Hello Paulina,
This recipe is for the most common bread called: pan francés or bolillo in México. Birote made in Guadalajara, according to bread makers outside Jalisco, it is not easy to recreate. It seems that humidity and other local conditions are key to the end result of birotes. Anyway, this is a rather simple recipe for a good substitute. Have fun baking!
The traditional birote of Jalisco is a sourdough, not a commercial yeast bread.
you didnt say what temperature to set the oven to before you bake them??
Hello Britanny,
Check step 9. Happy baking!
If I were to bake them half way and then freeze them, would I need the water in a pan at the bottom of the oven for both baking cycles? And would you recommend thawing them completely before baking after freezing or put them in the oven frozen?? Thank you!
Hello Andrea,
You don't need the water for the second baking. I like to defrost my bread, but I know some people just pop them in the oven and bake. When you prebake them until they are almost done, they had raised all they needed, the second part is just to give them a crispy and golden crust.
Happy baking!
Dear Mely:
God bless you, I am so excited to try these, as I have had access to good chorizo for several years, even Oaxacan cheese, but the one thing eluding me was a good recipe for bolillo! My wife is a terrific baker of over 15 years experience, and has even baked my native pandesal from Manila, but I used to spend my summers in Mexico City in the 70s, and grew up on bolillo at my aunt's house in Tlalpan.
I am overjoyed to try this, I can't express how hungry the pictures are making me. Thank you so much for sharing your culture, and your passion for food and cooking. All the best to you and yours in 2017… muchismas gracias!!!
Hello Bobby,
Thank you for the beast wishes. All the best to you too!
Me gusto mucho la historia y en mi país Guatemala a este tipo de pan le decimos pirujos. Me voy a animar a prepararlos . Si lo logró mi esposo se moriria de la felicidad .Gracias por compartir
I usually don't put this type of bread into a plastic bag. It makes the crust soft too soon. This is because the bread steams into the bag and makes for high humidity. Don't you notice that most French breads sold in the store are in paper bags with one end open? Well, that's why. I would experiment a little using olive oil instead of shortening and a little lecithin. I know, you're trying to be authentic, but maybe if they had those ingredients back home, they would have made the bread different. A proposito, porque todos responden en espanol quando este pagina del web es en ingles?
Thank you fro your comment and your tips about the bread. I guess people feel more confident writing in spanish. 😉
Hola disculpe como puedo agarrar esta receta en español?, si la hay, gracias!
Hello,
Presiona en el enlace.
https://www.mexicoenmicocina.com/pan-frances-o-bolillos/
Hello Mely,
The bread looks great. Do you think I can use oil instead of shortening?
Thank you for the recipe. Your tamales recipe is fabulous!
Hello Anh,
Yes, you can use oil either olive oil or vegetable oil. The reason why I add the shortening is to obtain a softer crumb since regular homestyle ovens bake the bread different than the ones at the bakeries.
I have sourdough starter. Would your starter equal about a cup of starter?
Hello Berta,
It will about 1 – 1/3 cup of sourdough starter.
These are fantastic! I’ve cooked several of your recipes and they’ve all been phenomenal but this bolillo was what really motivated me to write a comment. Thank you so much for sharing and inspiring a love of cooking that I never knew I had in me!
Hello Barbara,
Thank you for visiting the blog. These Mexican bolillos are so good! I hope you try the recipe.
I made them today actually! Combined with fresh refried beans my family and I had tortas de frijoles for lunch. Delicious!
Thanks again!
Hello Barbara,
Great combination! What a better pair than warm bolillos with refried beans.
I have tried several recipes for bollilos and this is by far the best! My father and I both fell in love with the bread when we visited Mexico last year. I try to make this regularly for him now as it is his favorite bread of all.
Hello Patricia,
Thank you for trying the recipe. So glad to know you like it. Happy baking!
Hi,
Any way you can post the weights as well. I find it a lot more accurate to get repeatable results. I cannot wait to try these (and them make tortas).
Hello Troy,
I just added the weights. I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Please, what is the weight of the flour? Cups just don’t work for me.
Hello Gina,
I had updated the recipe adding the amount also in grams and ounces. Happy baking!
You may not know this, but the changes don’t appear when you print the recipe!
Thanks for a nice recipe, I am making it now as I write this. I’m sure they will remind me of Mexico, especially the first time I tasted a bolillo there – it was in a sidewalk café in the Zona Rosa and I was hooked on the bread and on the country. I ended up staying 20 years!
Regarding my previous comment, I should have specified that though the weights appear on the recipe summary, when you click on Print you get a printout that doesn’t have them. You need to do the printing to see that.
Hello Gina,
Thank you for letting me know. I tried the print option and it works fine, it includes the weight measurement this time. Please let me know if you still have problems. Thank you!