Bolillo Bajio

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
• •Bench scraper
• •Baking stone or heavy sheet pan
• •Sharp lame or clean razor blade
• •Metal pan for oven moisture
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the pata

   Tear the masa vieja into small pieces and place it in a large mixing bowl with 250 grams of the lukewarm water. Press it between your fingers until it loosens into cloudy pieces. It does not need to dissolve completely. This old dough carries flavor and strength. Pata is masa madre, living dough, not chemical leavener.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Add the bread flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Mix with your hand until no dry flour remains. If the dough feels stiff and shaggy after two minutes, add the remaining 50 grams water a spoonful at a time. Bajio bolillo dough should be firm enough to hold shape, not loose like sweet bread dough.

   Different flours drink water differently. Start with less water. Add only what the dough needs. The cook decides, not the printed page.
3. 3

   Knead with manteca

   Add the softened manteca de cerdo and knead for 10 to 12 minutes by hand, or 7 minutes on medium-low in a stand mixer. The dough will smear at first, then tighten and turn smooth. When you press it with a knuckle, it should spring back slowly. La manteca es el sabor, but here it also keeps the crumb tender under that crisp crust.

4. 4

   First rise

   Lightly oil the bowl, return the dough to it, cover, and let it rise at room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. In a warm kitchen it moves faster. In a cold kitchen it takes its time. Do not force it with a hot oven. Slow fermentation gives the roll its wheat flavor.

5. 5

   Divide and rest

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table. Divide into 10 pieces of about 93 grams each. Shape each piece into a loose ball, cover with a cloth, and rest for 15 minutes. This short rest relaxes the gluten so the bolillos can be rolled tight without tearing.

6. 6

   Shape the bolillos

   Flatten one dough ball into a small oval. Fold the top third down, press the seam with the heel of your hand, then fold again and roll into a short torpedo with tapered ends. The center should be plump, the ends pointed but not skinny. Place seam side down on a parchment-lined sheet pan dusted lightly with flour. Repeat with the rest.

7. 7

   Proof the rolls

   Cover the shaped bolillos with a clean cloth and let them proof 45 to 60 minutes, until puffy but still springy. Touch one gently. If the indentation fills back halfway, it is ready. If it collapses, you waited too long and the oven will not give you that proud split.

8. 8

   Heat the oven

   Place a baking stone or heavy sheet pan on the middle rack and a metal pan on the lower rack. Heat the oven to 475F for at least 30 minutes. The panaderia oven gives fierce heat from clay and brick. Your home oven needs time to build that stored heat.

9. 9

   Slash and bake

   Using a sharp lame or razor, cut one deep lengthwise slash down the center of each bolillo, holding the blade at a slight angle. Slide the tray onto the hot stone or heated pan. Pour 1 cup hot water into the lower metal pan and close the oven immediately. Bake 10 minutes at 475F, then lower to 425F and bake 10 to 12 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden and crisp when tapped.

10. 10

    Cool properly

    Move the bolillos to a rack and let them cool at least 20 minutes before cutting. The crust will sing and crackle as it settles. Cut too early and the crumb turns gummy. Use them the same day for tortas, or reheat briefly the next day directly on the oven rack.

Chef Tips

• •Masa vieja is a piece of yesterday's plain bread dough saved before baking. If you do not have it, mix 60 grams bread flour, 40 grams water, a pinch of yeast, and a pinch of salt the night before. Let it sit covered at room temperature. That is a compromise, but a respectable one.
• •Do not replace the manteca de cerdo with butter. Butter brings milk sweetness and softens the crust too much. For this secular panaderia register, manteca is the right fat.
• •Bolillo is not telera. Bolillo gets one cut, a firmer body, and a crisper crust. Telera is softer and flatter, with three grooves. Use the right bread for the right filling.
• •For guacamayas leonesas, split the bolillo and fill it with chicharron duro, avocado, lime, and pico de gallo with chile de arbol if that is how your market stall makes it. The bread has to be crisp enough to fight back.
• •For pambazo queretano, make the guajillo adobo separately with toasted chile guajillo, garlic, oregano, salt, and a little vinegar. Dip the split bolillo, griddle-fry it in manteca or oil, then fill it. That is guajolote, not a Mexico City pambazo.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the masa vieja the night before if you do not keep old dough. It needs 8 to 12 hours at room temperature to develop flavor.
• •Shape the bolillos, refrigerate them covered overnight after 20 minutes of room-temperature proofing, then bake straight from the refrigerator the next morning. Add 2 to 3 minutes to the bake.
• •Baked bolillos keep one day at room temperature in a paper bag. Recrisp them in a 375F oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Plastic bags soften the crust, so use them only if you plan to make pambazos.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g)