How to Make Bolillos
They are best eaten right away.
Bolillos tend to be bought at least twice a day in Mexico City. They taste so good right out of the oven and every bakery keeps baking them all day long.
Only a couple hours later they become stale because they don’t contain any emulsifiers or other ingredients to make bread last. This is quick to prepare clean ingredient bread. Airy with a crunchy crust and a soft center.
If however, you can’t finish them in one sitting you don’t have to throw them out of course. You can still eat them the next day. I recommend storing them (completely cooled) in a plastic bag on the kitchen counter.
To make them crunchier and less stale brush or spray them with water and put them in the oven for 3 minutes at 400F.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Add dry ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk on low until well combined.
-
Add 110℉ hot water. The temperature is crucial! Add colder water and your dough won’t rise, add hotter water and you will kill the yeast. Use a meat thermometor to be certain of the temperature.
-
Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and knead the dough for at least 20 minutes on low. Longer is even better. You want a very elastic dough (see video).
-
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise to double its size. Depending on the room temperature this will take anywhere between 25-50 minutes.
-
Once the dough doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and place on a clean floured working surface, sprinkle flour on top as well and then fold from the bottom up and over and from the top up and over, then let rest for 10 minutes, fold again, and let rest another 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
-
In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
Now cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into “bolillo form”. (See video). Then place on the lined baking sheet.
-
Once all bolillos are formed,make about a 1/2″ deep incision in the middle with a sharp knife and spray or brush all bolillos with water.
-
Cover the bolillos with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise a second time until doubled in size.
-
Preheat oven to 450 F (230C) at least 20 minutes before the rolls have to go in the oven. Leave a baking sheet in the oven under the middle rack to fill with water later to create steam.
-
Remove the kitchen towel, spray the bolillos again with a little bit of water, add 1 cup of water to your baking sheet already in the oven, and put the bolillos on the rack on top in the oven for approximately 15 minutes.
-
Let cool for at least 10 minutes and enjoy warm.
