Alternative title for this post is Working Man's Bolillos. Because the working person ain't got time to sit around and watch bolillo dough rise.
I've fiddled around with traditional bolillo recipes in the past but always found the effort-to-reward ratio a bit skewed, with lengthy rise times leaving you feeling bolilloed after an all-day affair.
But recently I came across a turbo powered hamburger bun recipe on Taste of Home and I've adapted it to re-shift the bolillo effort-to-reward ratio back in my favor. In other words, you don't have to sit around and wait for the dough to rise because you are tripling the yeast amount. Yes, tripling!
Fast and Easy Bolillos
A close relative to the French baguette, the bolillo is the bread of choice for tortas (sandwiches) in Mexico and you'll find these oblong shaped delights on just about every street corner across the country. The term bolillo may sound exotic, but the ingredient list will look surprisingly familiar to you. It is bread after all, and whereas a traditional bolillo might be made using lard, we are using a basic canola oil with equally good results.
I've lowered the sugar and increased the salt to suit my palate, but the core of the Taste of Home recipe remains, including the time-saving yeast bump. Two teaspoons of yeast would be a typical amount for 3 cups of flour, and we are using a full 2 Tablespoons. Sound crazy? Don't worry, they don't taste yeasty at all and they just might convert you over to homemade bread for life.
Start by adding 2 Tablespoons of yeast to 1.25 cups of warm water. Add 3 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 cup oil. Let this mixture sit for 5 -10 minutes. (Here's an interesting tidbit on how proofing yeast became customary.)
Add 3.75 cups of flour, 1.5 teaspoons of salt, and 1 egg. Mix as much as you can with a spoon and then plop the mixture onto a work surface.
Knead until you have a smooth mound of dough. If the dough is sticking to your hands add additional flour.
Don't let it rise! Divide into 8 pieces and roll the pieces into a ball.
To create the traditional bolillo shape, flatten one of the dough balls into an oval-shaped disk, pull the top quarter towards you, and seal.
Now pull that part towards you, seal, and continue until you end up with a tube of dough.
Give it a quick roll while putting pressure on the outer edges with your hands and you'll get tapered ends that give bolillos their distinctive shape.
Let these rise for 10-30 minutes, depending on how patient you're feeling. Letting them rise a bit longer will slightly reduce the density. I lasted about 20 minutes and here's how they looked:
That's the tripled yeast in action!
Your bolillos are self-conscious and most comfortable blending in with all the other bolillos. This means a quarter-inch slit lengthwise before baking will produce the traditional bolillo look.
Bake at 425F for 8-12 minutes. This batch was in for about 11 minutes.
And note how they increased their vertical while in the oven.
Tripled yeast!
Let these cool on the counter for a few minutes and then dig in. They are good enough to be eaten on their own with some butter, and of course they are the perfect choice for some lunchtime tortas.
So good!
One other thing I looked into while making these was the cost of yeast. If, like me, you typically buy these 3-packs of yeast then it might be worth looking into a bulk buy.
Each of these individual packs will have a little over two teaspoons of yeast. To get two Tablespoons of yeast you'll need to use all three of these packs, for about $2-3.
The most popular yeast on Amazon costs $8/pound and you'll get approximately 30 Tablespoons of yeast! That is a significant savings if you make bread regularly. I don't claim to buy yeast by the pound and can't comment on the brands to seek out, but it seems kinda smart 🙂
I hope you enjoy these bolillos, let me know if you have any questions.
Buen Provecho.
Fast and Easy Bolillos
Ingredients
- 3.75 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons yeast
- 1.25 cups warm water
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Add 2 Tablespoons of yeast to 1.25 cups of warm water. Add 3 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 cup oil. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Add 3.75 cups flour, 1.5 teaspoons salt, and 1 egg. Mix as much as you can with a spoon and then plop onto a work surface. Knead with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. Add additional flour if it's sticking to your hands.
- Divide into eight equal parts. Roll into balls.
- Flatten into oval shaped disks. Pull 1/4 of the disk towards you and seal. Now pull that part towards you and seal again. Continue until you have a tube of dough. Give a quick roll while putting pressure on the ends to get the traditional bolillo shape.
- Cover and let rise for 10-30 minutes. (I waited 20 minutes). You can optionally add a lengthwise 1/4 inch deep slit on the bolillos just before baking.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes at 425F. (This batch baked for 11 minutes).
- Let cool on counter and serve immediately.
Notes
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Naomi
I love this recipe! Crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside. My kids love these, and always ask me to make more, right after they come out of the oven. These don’t last long at all in my house. 😁 BBQ pork sandwiches tonight for dinner, with sautéed peppers and onions! Mmmm! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Patrick
Ahh great to know, thanks much Naomi!
Cristina
Patrick ,
They are the best !!! My husband loved them and he is from Mexico City.
I made them yesterday and they did not last the whole 24 hrs. !!!
As we live far away from the city, so I can't rely on fresh bread all the time so
I have to bake it myself.
Let me tell you that I made the dough in the bread machine and work perfectly because
of the exact heat that the yeast needs.
I made few changes to adapt the recipe, which I used :
Bread Flour
Vegetable Oil
Yeast for Bread Machine
After 1 1/2 hour the dough was done and I follow your instructions.
Baked them in about 12 min. over some cornmeal in a bread/pizza stone.
Perfect !!!
Yes! you can use them as tortas, sandwich, divided in half and toasted if
you want spread butter or what is sinful Dulce de Leche!!!
I promised him I will make more tomorrow!!!
Thank you !!!
Patrick
Thanks Cristina, I'm so glad they were a hit! And thanks for mentioning your adjustments, very helpful for other peeps. Cheers.
Tom
This is a GREAT recipe...fast, easy and foolproof.... love it! The taste of Mexico in my kitchen
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.
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Patrick
Thanks Tom!
Larry
My wife is from Guadalajara and wanted some bolillos to dunk in her Mexican chocolate. She enjoyed these very much. I tried the pan of water and did not get a crisp exterior. Next time I will use a squirt bottle to spray them with water while baking. Living in south Texas, there is no shortage of places to buy bolillos. However, made from scratch is always better than store bought. Thanks for the recipe.
Patrick
Thanks much for your feedback Larry. Cheers.
Sara
First time trying to make them yesterday and boy were they yummy and now today made a new batch requested by the family, I will never have to go to the store to buy them again, these are way more yummier 💙💙💙💙💙. Thank you soooooooo much.
Patrick
Ahh good to know, thanks much for your note Sara!
Johnny
Great simple quick recipe. Takes me back to Mexico. Will attempt using Bacon Lard, salivating!
Patrick
Oh nice, would like to try that as well 🙂
Kimberly
When I made these. They came out like a biscuit. I don’t know what I did wrong.
Patrick
Hey thanks for your note Kimberly -- sorry to hear this! Hmmm sounds like they might need to rise a bit more after rolling them out. In the above pics I let them sit for 20 minutes and they expanded quite a bit, were you getting similar rising action?
Frances
Just made these and they were delish!
This is a fast and easy recipe
Sherry
All I can say is wow! Whipped these babies up after work tonight so we could have BBQ beef sandwiches, and they turned out amazing! Thank you for such a great recipe. I let them rise for 30 min, and they are enormous! Also, I baked them on a silpat and had no problem with over browning. I find that in addition to preventing sticking, the silpat tends to insulate a little and make things nice and even - hope that helps.
Patrick
Awesome Sherry thanks for your notes! And thanks for mentioning the silpat, good to know!
Dano
Is it possible to use lard instead of oil and what would be the conversion
Patrick
Hey Dano! I've never tried these bolillos with lard but it does sound kind of tempting. I would probably use a little less than the 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) that I used in the original recipe, with 2-3 tablespoons of lard being a good starting point for an experimental batch and going from there. Hope that helps a bit. Cheers!