Mexican Bolillos Crusty Rolls Food

MEXICAN BOLILLOS, CRUSTY OVAL ROLLS

Steps:

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

MEXICAN BOLILLOS: CRUSTY ROLLS

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• Remove dough from the bowl and place on your working surface to form a ball. It should look soft but still a little rough.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

MEXICAN BOLILLOS (BREAD ROLLS) RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of flour,yeast, sugar, and salt, add warm water. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the flour as you can. 2.Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface. Cover and let rise, in a warm space, for one hour. 3. Punch down after 1 hour.Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, shape into oval shapes, pulling and twisting slightly. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to make a cut about 1/4 inch deep along the center of each roll. In a small bowl, combine the egg white and water. Brush the tops and sides of the rolls. Cover with wax paper or a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes. 4. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Here is another great tips I learned for baking breads. Place a baking dish on the bottom rack of oven while it is preheating. Right before baking the bread, fill hot baking dish with 1 cup of room temperature water. This will create steam and also result in a crisp exterior on the bread. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for another 10 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Rolls can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer bag.

AUTHENTIC BOLILLOS (MEXICAN BREAD ROLLS FOR TORTAS)

Steps:

• Combine the water, salt, sugar, yeast and 2 cups of the flour to your Kitchenaid mixing bowl.
• Set mixer speed to 4 and mix well. Add in the flour about a half a cup at a time, mix for a minute or so and add more flour until the dough comes together and doesn't stick to the bowl.
• The dough should form a ball on the dough hook. It may become sticky after a few minutes of kneading so keep the flour handy to add more if necessary.
• Knead for 8-10 minutes. The final dough should be firm and elastic and a little sticky to the touch.
• Form the dough into a ball and place the dough in a greased bowl.
• Cover the dough with a towel or cloth and leave in a warm place for about an hour.
• Remove dough from bowl onto a smooth counter that has a little flour on top to keep the dough from sticking to the counter.
• Divide dough into 10 equal balls. For oval shaped rolls, roll the balls between your palms for about 5 seconds to make a cylindrical shape, tapering slightly at the ends.
• Cover and let rise again for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush each dough ball with egg whites.
• Using a bread knife, make a cut down the length of the roll about 1/4 inch deep. Bake for about 30 minutes, let cool and enjoy.
• They may also be wrapped well and frozen for later use.