Mexican Dinner Rolls or Bolillos are the number 1 sold bread in Mexico City. They are probably the second favorite carbohydrate after tortillas for any Mexican. Delicious, freshly baked bolillos are an absolute must-try!
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 a quick to prepare clean ingredient bread. Airy with a crunchy crust and a soft center.
I called them Mexican Dinner Rolls in the hope people will find the recipe in an easier way that way. I doubt non-Mexicans will ever search for “Bolillos” on google. The rolls are not really just “dinner” rolls though. As I said, they are typically bought at least twice a day. For breakfast and again for dinner. Sometimes even for lunch.
They are the best rolls to eat with your eggs and beans for breakfast and to make “tortas” with for dinner (sandwiches filled with a million ingredients).
Making bolillos is really, really easy and first I thought I should photograph every step. However, who wants to scroll though a 1 mile long post due to 100 photos?
Then, I had the brilliant idea to film the whole process. Yay! I do have brilliant moments every once in a while, you know? So I did film the process, only now I’m struggling editing out my head of the frame. I will take a little longer than I was hoping. Please bear with me. I will insert the video shortly. Promise.
I’m already in the process of editing, just need to crop a little here and there to make it look as brilliant as the idea I initially had ;)
The lighting is a bit weird in this video but that’s because the process is longer than a photo shoot session and the light changes soooo fast in my kitchen….
Bolillos are easier to prepare in a stand mixer of course unless you want to knead by hand to cancel you gym subscription. That is always an option of course. I absolutely love my KitchenAid Stand Mixer and no, KitchenAid is not sponsoring this post.
Mexican Dinner Rolls (Bolillos)
Mexican Dinner Rolls or Bolillos are the number 1 sold bread in Mexico City. They are probably every Mexican's second favorite carbohydrate after tortillas.
Ingredients
- 500 g unbleached all-purpose white flour (3 cups + 2 Tbsp)
- 10 g dry active yeast (1.5 tsp)
- 10 g Salt (1 tsp)
- 10 g sugar (1 tsp)
- 300 ml 110F hot water (43C, 1 1/4 cup)
Instructions
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Add dry ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk on low until well combined.
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Add hot water (I use the hottest water out of my faucet, as soon as it starts getting too hot for me to keep my hand under the hot running water, that tends to be just right).
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Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and knead the dough for about 15 minutes on low.
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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.
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Once the dough doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and place on a clean floured working surface to roll out, fold, roll out, fold, roll out etc. until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
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Form a big ball and let rest for about 10 minutes.
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In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Now cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into "bolillo form". Then place on lined baking sheet.
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Once all bolillos are formed, slice about 1/2" deep in the middle with a sharp knife and spray or brush with water.
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Cover the bolillos with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise a second time for about 45 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 450 F (230C) at least 20 minutes before the rolls have to go in the oven.
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Spray the bolillos a again with a little bit of water and put in the oven for 15 minutes.
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Let cool for a couple of minutes only and enjoy warm.
Joyce Siegel says
May 25, 2019 at 8:50 amWondering if I can make the dough in the bread machine?
Joyce
Lorena says
May 27, 2019 at 11:43 amUnfortunately, I’ve never owned a bread machine myself so I don’t have any advice on it. I’m sorry :(
Nigel says
March 26, 2019 at 4:39 pmHi Lorena…made these and they were great..my wife said use that yeast in a normal loaf and what a treat…crustiest best bread I have made…I love them so versatile
Lorena says
March 27, 2019 at 11:01 amI’m so happy you liked them Nigel :D
Alejandra says
March 3, 2019 at 2:04 amThank you very much for the recipe for bolillos, I made them yesterday, the only thing is that I found my dough to be a little dry after the first raise, maybe next time I have to put more water than 1 1/4 cup??, they looked pretty good and the taste was delicious, but they didn’t raise as much as yours, I followed your recipe, I will try to make the again. Have a wonderful day!!!
Lorena says
March 3, 2019 at 9:40 amHi Alejandra, I’m so happy you liked them. Flours around the world and throughout brands are different because they are ground differently so you might need a little more or a little less water. I don’t think you need more or less than 1 Tbsp though. The most important is to get an elastic dough so make sure you are kneading long enough so it’s elastic. If you knead by hand this can take up to half an hour of constant kneading. Then the rising process is a whole other science. Your dough HAS to rise to at least double its size. If it didn’t rise as much leave it on the counter for longer. If your kitchen is cold it will take longer to rise. In a warm kitchen, it usually takes about half an hour to an hour. In a very cold kitchen, it can take much much longer. So in country where there is no heating in winter but it’s fairly cold it can take quite a while.
Cecilia says
May 26, 2019 at 5:01 pmI set my oven to warm and leave covered bowl on stove when making homemade bread. The heat helps it rise faster.😉
Lorena says
May 27, 2019 at 11:39 amthat’s brilliant!
Al says
February 18, 2019 at 6:56 pmGreat recipe, easy to make. Will be making them again and again. Great for sandwiches stuffed with pulled pork and BBQ sauce or basicly anything you can think of.
Lorena says
February 18, 2019 at 9:37 pmThank you so much for coming back and commenting and rating the recipe :)
Cassandra says
October 30, 2018 at 6:36 pmI made them on Sunday and will make them again tonight but will lower the oven temp to 375 and prime the yeast as this should make for a fluffier bolillos.
Lorena says
October 30, 2018 at 11:11 pmI’m happy you liked them and will now be able to adjust to your liking. Please post a picture and tag me on Instagram if you have it. I’d loooove to see your bolillos :)
Dave says
September 27, 2018 at 4:15 pmI am going to try them, they sound delicious. But with only two of us in the house, we would never eat them all before they dry out. Can they be frozen, then warmed up before dinner or what ever?
Lorena says
September 27, 2018 at 9:39 pmYes!!! They freeze perfectly! To defrost just brush them with a little water and stick in the oven for a couple minutes.
Steve says
February 2, 2019 at 12:01 amSame here. I make a half recipe and only rise and bake what’s needed each day. Most yeast doughs can handle this and also pick up some flavor as they age in the fridge
Lorena says
February 2, 2019 at 2:18 pmYes!!! I’ve noticed that pizza dough is the most delicious and becomes the crispiest when I let it in the fridge for 3 days.
Lynn Gardner says
July 8, 2018 at 3:53 pmI made these last night and the dough was very stiff and the rolls were very dense. I think that next time I will add less flour.
Lorena says
July 9, 2018 at 2:29 pmOh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Usually density is related to not enough rising time. Did you let the dough rest often enough and long enough at room temperature? If the room temperature is very low you have to extend rising time, too.
Willow says
January 29, 2018 at 1:13 amCalories?
Lorena says
January 29, 2018 at 11:26 pmhttp://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html
Vanessa says
December 21, 2017 at 1:14 pmHi! Can I leave the dough sitting out to rise longer than 45 minutes. I’m thinking about prepping it for lunch and baked at dinner time.
Lorena says
December 21, 2017 at 2:45 pmHi Vanessa, you can leave them out for maybe an hour but I don’t recommend letting them rise much longer. What you can always do is prepare the dough and then put in the fridge so it does NOT rise and then you take it out in time for 2 rises.
Tonie says
November 3, 2017 at 1:39 pmCan I make it by hand
Lorena says
November 5, 2017 at 10:25 amHi Tonie, yes you can. You’ll build up quite some muscle ;)
Patrícia Barbosa says
October 25, 2017 at 4:33 amThanks for recipe. Made easy and great taste.
Lorena says
October 25, 2017 at 1:42 pmThank you Patrícia :)
Sheri says
July 19, 2017 at 8:50 pmI just made these. I followed the directions & the only problem I had was baking time. I had to leave them in for almost an hour to get brown. They were a little more dense, I had hoped for more airy. Do you think that I needed to allow more time for the dough to rise. Otherwise, taste & shape were great. They were a mini bolillo in size (8 of them). Thanks for sharing. I will keep trying to get them better.
Lorena says
July 21, 2017 at 5:19 pmHi Sheri, hmm, did you wait for the dough to double in size at the first rise? And then again almost double in size when already formed? The only other thing I can think of is that maybe your flour is different and thus needs a little less water? I’m glad they tasted great at least. 1 hour in the oven doesn’t sound right at all though. Do you have an oven thermometer to verify if your oven heats up well? They need to be baked at 450F. In 1 hour at that temperature they would burn completely.
Tianna Workman says
June 1, 2017 at 1:25 pmThese are so good! They take me back to Mexico, when we bought sandwiches to go out on the fishing boat. I remember eating them thinking “this is the best bread, I wonder how they make it”. When I came across this recipe I had to try it, and it is exactly the same. I can’t get enough! I am making them again for the 5th time to take out on our fishing boat. Thank you!!!!!
Lorena says
June 1, 2017 at 7:14 pmTianna, thank you so much for coming back and commenting. It’s comments like this that keep me going and creating more and more recipes. I love to make people happy with food. You are the best!
Virginia Loeza Castro says
May 4, 2017 at 3:09 pmAs a Mexican very busy mom that loves to cook and bake! I’ve always wanted to make my own bolillos, I miss tortas so much! 😋 and I will try your recipe on the weekend, just one question, I notice that you let rise the dough only once and I’m used to see two rises when it come to bread making why is that? Does it make any difference on the crumb and crust? And besides that thumbs up for photos, great video and the beautiful way you wrote your article. I will still the phrase Mexican tummy when I refer to my kids Mexican cravings. ;)
Virginia Loeza Castro says
May 4, 2017 at 3:11 pmSteal* :p
Lorena says
May 7, 2017 at 9:20 pmHi Virgina, I’m glad you like my blog post and recipe :) Can’t wait to hear how your bolillos turned out. I did let the dough rise twice. Once as a whole and once in bolillo form. The second rise is when you’ formed your bolillos and placed on a baking sheet. You spray them with water to avoid from drying out, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise. Allowing dough to rise twice results in a finer gluten structure. The reason I let it rise the second time in the ready to be baked form is because otherwise you push all the air out when you form rolls and if you don’t let rerise they become very dense instead of “airy”
Flavia says
March 9, 2017 at 8:11 amHola! I made them last night. They taste very good. Only thing that I didn’t like was the form of my bolillos jaja… I have to practice a lot!! Thanks so much for sharing with us the recipe and the video. ;-)
From a mexican bolillos lover… they are named birotes and torcidos as well.
Lorena says
March 9, 2017 at 3:21 pmHola Flavia! I’m glad you liked them :) It took me a bit of practice, too until I got the form right. Keep practicing :)
Flavia says
March 10, 2017 at 8:15 amI made them again last night and they look much better… thanks again and have a good one ?
Lorena says
March 11, 2017 at 1:12 pmWheeeeeee!!!! :D
Patrick @ Mexican Please says
July 25, 2016 at 6:26 pmWow great post, luv the video! Pinned!
Lorena says
July 25, 2016 at 8:05 pmThank you Patrick! :D
Justin @ SaltPepperSkillet says
July 20, 2016 at 4:22 pmYour photography is so stunning! Great work!
Lorena says
July 20, 2016 at 7:11 pmThank you so much Justin :D You made my day!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
July 18, 2016 at 6:29 amThese look so delicious and easy to put together. I am looking forward to seeing the video. Good for you for learning to make videos! It’s on my to-do list but will have to tackle it when the kids are back to school in the fall.
Lorena says
July 18, 2016 at 11:45 amThank you Karen. I’m lucky I learned how to edit way back when my son was born because I started making like little video collages of this cuteness to show family. Actually kids screaming in the background while making video isn’t that much of a problem because you can simply mute out all the noise and put in some lovely music instead :P