Mexican Bolillos, Crusty oval rolls

Bergy's Note:

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

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 10 rolls

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon lard or 1 tablespoon shortening, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 1/4-4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Sprinkle yeast over the warm water in a large mixing bowl; stir and let stand 5 minutes.
2. When the yeast is working a bit stir the honey, lard and salt into the yeast mixture.
3. Add 2 1/2 cups flour.
4. Mix at low speed and then beat at medium speed until the dough is very elastic, about 5 minutes.
5. Gradually stir in as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough.
6. 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).
7. Place dough in a greased bowl, turn the dough so all surfaces have a sheen of oil.
8. 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!).
9. Punch the dough down and knead briefly on a floured surface.
10. Divide dough into 10 pieces and roll into balls.
11. Work with the palms of your hands and start at the center of each ball to roll out into ovals.
12. Each piece should be about 5 1/2" long and 2" in the middle, tapering to each end.
13. Place rolls on a greased baking sheet, cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 25 minutes.
14. Meanwhile heat oven to 375F degrees.
15. Mix cornstarch and cold water, heat stirring constantly to boiling, boil until thickened and clear about 2 minutes.
16. Brush each roll with the cornstarch mixture.
17. Slash each roll down the middle stopping about 1/2" from each end and cutting about 1/2" deep.
18. Bake until the rolls are brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and cool on racks.
19. Serve warm & fresh from the oven.

Reviews

[Don Schueler]

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.

[chattycathy642]

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.

[pollen]

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!!!