Bolillos Bread Recipe (Mexican Rolls) (2024)

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Bolillos are traditional Mexican rolls with a soft and pillowy crumb and a rustic crust. This type of bread is a staple in the Mexican gastronomy and used to make some of the most icon dishes in the country.

So, let me show you how to make bolillos at home with this easy recipe.

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As a Mexican, there’s nothing more comforting for me than taking a freshly baked bolillo, tear it with my hands and spread it with butter or cajeta, or also dip it into a café con leche in the morning.

What are bolillos?

Bolillos are also know as pan francés or pan blanco. They are a type of white bread from Mexico with a long, rhomboid shape and a savory taste. Those Mexican rolls were introduced in Mexico during the French intervention in the XIX century.

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Bolillo bread are widely consumed in Mexico and used to make many traditional dishes, such as capirotada (bread budding that is consumed during the Lent season), tortas (sandwiches), bread pudding, and molletes, just to name a few.

In Mexico City (and pretty much in the whole State of Mexico), you’ll find a popular dish called guajolota. This dish consist in a bolillo bread stuffed with a tamal. Something you should really try if you happen to visit the place.

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The ingredients needed

FLOUR: You’ll need a strong flour, the type that’s used to make bread or pizza. Check the package label, flour should have at least 11% of protein.
YEAST: A package of active dry yeast is 7g, just about 2 1/4 teaspoons.
SALT & SUGAR: The first to give a savoury touch, the second to help the dough to rise quickly.
OIL: The traditional recipe calls for pork lard, use that if you have it (melted), otherwise just use any vegetable oil, such as olive, canola, corn, etc.
WATER: Lukewarm water is the recommended in this bolillo recipe. It means the water should be neither hot nor cold.

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Gather all your ingredients before starting. Also, prepare your oven, the baking sheets, and everything you’ll need to make this Mexican rolls recipe.

Bolillo Recipe – Step by Step

Start by placing the flour, yeast and sugar on a medium-size bowl. Mix to combine. Dissolve salt in the water, add to the flour and then add also the oil. Next, using a fork, start combining the ingredients.

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Now, knead the dough just enough to combine well all ingredients and achieve a lumpy and rough dough (about 1 minute). Cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes. This resting time will help the flour to start developing the gluten, making the dough a lot more easy to knead.

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After the resting time passed, transfer the dough to a slightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes or until you’ll have a smooth dough.

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Make a ball with the dough. Slightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside.

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Cover the bowl with cling film or a damp kitchen towel (to prevent it from drying) and place it in a warm place away from drafts. If your kitchen is too cold, turn on the lights in your oven and place the bowl inside (don’t turn your oven on!).
Allow the dough to proof until doubled in size (about 1 hour and 30 min).

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Remove the dough from the bowl, place it in a lightly floured surface and gently push your fist in to deflate it. Quickly knead it into a ball again and divide it into 6 equal pieces. If you have a kitchen scale, use it. My pieces weighed about 135g each.

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Now, roll each piece into a ball, cover them with cling film and let them to rest for 10 minutes to allow the dough to relax a bit.

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Slightly flour a surface and shape the bolillos. First, flatten a piece with the palm of your hands and fingers, making some sort of pancake.

How To Bake

Preheat your oven to 450°C (230°C). At the start, place a baking dish or container with about 4 cups of water in the lower rack of the oven. The water will help to create the perfect humidity for baking your bread, so don’t skip this method.

Right before you pop your bolillos in the oven and using a very sharp knife, make a longwise cut to each roll and spray some water on top, to achieve a shiny and crusty texture.

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Bake for about 20 minutes, or until you’ll see bolillos are golden brown. Remove from the oven and place them in a cooling rack.

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Store & Reheat

If you’re not consuming all your bolillos the day you make it, allow them to cool down completely and then place them in a plastic airtight container or bag to keep them soft. They will lost their crunchiness but you can spray water on them and reheat them in the oven for 5 minutes at 350°F (175°C). Or you can also toast them in a cast iron skillet or comal at medium heat.

Tips & Tricks

If it is your first time making bread, I strongly suggest to reading King Arthur’s post about how to yeast bake each season. Weather is a key for proofing doughs and you should learn a bit about this to avoid failure.
Use oven mitts when placing the bolillos or removing from the oven to avoid burns.
My oven has a “vapor option”, check yours if it have it too and use that instead of placing the container with water.

Bolillos

author Maricruz Avalos Flores

Bolillos are Mexican dinner rolls with a soft crumb and a rustic crust. This type of bread is used in many Mexican recipes. Learn how to make them easily.

prep 15 minutes minutes

cook 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients
Cups (US) – Metric

▢ 3 ½ cups bread flour (about 500g)
▢ 2 tsp active dry yeast
▢ 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
▢ 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water (about 300 ml)
▢ 1 ½ tsp salt
▢ 1 tsp sugar

Extras

▢ flour for the surface
▢ oil for bowl

Instructions

Place the flour, yeast and sugar on a medium-size bowl. Mix to combine.
Dissolve salt in the water, add to the flour and then add also the oil. Use a fork to combine the ingredients.
Knead the dough just enough to combine well all ingredients and achieve a lumpy and rough dough (about 1 minute).
Cover and leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a slightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until you’ll achieve a smooth dough.
Make a ball, slightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside.
Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in a warm place away from drafts.
Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour and 30 min).
Remove the dough from the bowl, place it in a lightly floured surface and gently push your fist in to deflate it.
Quickly knead it into a ball again and divide it into 6 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball, cover them with cling film and let them to rest for 10 minutes.
Slightly flour a working surface. Take a piece of dough and flatten it with the palm of your hands and fingers, making some sort of pancake.
Now, fold the pice into an half-moon, pressing the borders lightly with your fingers.
Next, roll forth and back while pressing the outer edges with your hands, to form the pointed ends of the bolillo shape.
Place the bolillo on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Repeat with each piece of dough, leaving about 1-inch space between each of them.
Loosely cover with cling film and allow to rest until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Bake

Preheat your oven to 450°C (230°C) placing a baking dish or container with about 4 cups of water in the lower rack (read notes).
Right before baking and using a very sharp knife, make a longwise cut to each roll and spray some water on top, to achieve a shiny and crusty texture.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until you’ll see bolillos are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and place them in a cooling rack.

Notes

Use oven mitts when placing the bolillos or removing them from the oven to prevent burns.
The water will help to create the perfect humidity for baking your bread, so don’t skip this method for baking.
My oven has a “vapor (steam) option”, check yours if it have it too and use that instead of placing the container with water.

Nutrition Information

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