Chef Lupita
Banderillas de Hojaldre Capitalinas
Ciudad de Mexico's panaderia banderillas are long sticks of hojaldre pressed with sugar, baked until amber, and finished with a hard glaze for coffee at the kitchen table.
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Orejas Chilangas de Panaderia
Created by
Ciudad de Mexico's bakery orejas, folded from butter-laminated hojaldre and coarse sugar, bake into crisp caramelized ears you buy by the paper bag.
Pastries & Cookies
Mexican
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
45 min
Active Time
22 min cook•4 hr 7 min total
Yield18 to 22 orejas
Ciudad de Mexico, the central valley, the panaderia counter before eight in the morning. That is where orejas live. Not in a French salon. In a glass case beside conchas, campechanas, bigotes, and marranitos, waiting for someone to carry them home in a paper bag that smells like butter, flour, and caramelized sugar.
The ingredient that defines them is not chile. Not every Mexican dish carries chile. This is pan dulce, and the work is in the hojaldre: flour, cold butter, salt, water, and patience. You fold, chill, roll, fold again. If the butter melts into the dough, you lose the layers. If you rush the chilling, the pastry punishes you. No me vengas con atajos.
I learned the rhythm from panaderas in old Mexico City bakeries, women who could judge dough temperature with the back of a finger and cut orejas faster than my students could unfold parchment. The shape matters. Two sides folded toward the center, then folded again, then sliced. Ears. Orejas. The sugar should melt into a lacquered edge and leave the center flaky, not greasy. Asi se hace y punto.
Orejas entered Mexican panaderia culture through the French-influenced baking traditions promoted during the Porfiriato, especially between 1876 and 1911, when Mexico City adopted laminated doughs, baguettes, and European-style pastries into local bakery practice. The French palmier became the Mexican oreja once it moved from elite tables into neighborhood panaderias, where bakers made it larger, sweeter, and cheaper for daily sale. Its place beside conchas and campechanas shows how Mexico absorbs foreign technique without surrendering the bakery counter to anyone else.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
all-purpose flour
Quantity
2 1/2 cups
plus more for rolling
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
granulated sugar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for the dough
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
1 cup
cut into thin slabs
ice water
Quantity
3/4 cup, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons if needed
fresh lime juice or white vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
granulated sugar
Quantity
1 1/4 cups
for rolling and coating
ground Mexican canela (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flourplus more for rolling | 2 1/2 cups |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| granulated sugarfor the dough | 1 teaspoon |
| cold unsalted buttercut into thin slabs | 1 cup |
| ice water | 3/4 cup, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons if needed |
| fresh lime juice or white vinegar | 1 tablespoon |
| granulated sugarfor rolling and coating | 1 1/4 cups |
| ground Mexican canela (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Rolling pin
- •Two rimmed sheet pans
- •Parchment paper
- •Sharp chef's knife
- •Cooling rack
Instructions
- 1
Mix the dough
Whisk the flour, salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a large bowl. Add the cold butter slabs and toss until each piece is coated. Mix the ice water with the lime juice, then drizzle it over the flour. Stir with your hand until a rough dough forms. You should still see flat pieces of butter. That is not a mistake. Those pieces become layers.
- 2
Shape and chill
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table and press it into a rough rectangle. Do not knead it like bolillo dough. Press, gather, and square the edges. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 45 minutes, until the butter is firm again but the dough is still rollable.
- 3
Make the first fold
Roll the chilled dough into a rectangle about 18 by 8 inches. Fold the top third down and the bottom third up, like a business letter. Turn the dough so the folded edge sits on your left, like a book spine. This turn is how panaderas build the layers without talking about science. They know the dough by hand.
- 4
Repeat the turns
Roll and fold the dough three more times, chilling for 30 minutes whenever the butter starts to soften or smear. Four turns total will give you enough layers for a proper oreja. If your kitchen is hot, chill more often. The calendar does not matter. The dough temperature matters.
If butter breaks through the surface, dust that spot lightly with flour, fold, and chill. If you keep rolling warm dough, you will make a sweet cracker, not hojaldre. - 5
Sugar the table
Mix the 1 1/4 cups sugar with the canela if using. Scatter a generous layer of sugar over the table instead of flour. Roll the pastry into a rectangle about 20 by 12 inches, adding more sugar underneath and on top as you roll. The sugar is not decoration. It bakes into the caramelized shell.
- 6
Fold the ears
With a long side facing you, fold the left and right long edges toward the center so they meet. Fold those same sides toward the center again. Then fold one half over the other, like closing a book. You should have a long narrow log with two spirals inside. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes so the slices cut clean.
- 7
Slice the orejas
Heat the oven to 400F. Line two sheet pans with parchment. Slice the chilled log into 1/2-inch pieces with a sharp knife. Lay them cut side up, 3 inches apart. Press each one lightly with your palm to open the ears. Sprinkle with more sugar. They spread. Give them room or they will bake into one sheet.
- 8
Bake until caramelized
Bake for 10 minutes, then flip each oreja with a spatula. Bake 8 to 12 minutes more, until both sides are deep golden and the edges look lacquered with caramel. Watch the last few minutes. Sugar goes from gold to burned fast, and burned sugar tastes like punishment.
- 9
Cool and serve
Transfer the orejas to a rack and let them cool completely. They crisp as they cool, so do not judge them hot. Serve with cafe de olla, hot chocolate, or plain milk for children after school. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Chef Tips
- •Butter gives the best flavor for a home kitchen. Many panaderias use margarine or shortening because it is cheaper and handles heat better. That is bakery economics, not better taste.
- •Use regular granulated sugar, not powdered sugar. The grain helps open the folds and caramelizes against the pan.
- •Do not add vanilla to the dough. Orejas are about flour, butter, sugar, and caramel. If you want perfume, make another pan dulce.
- •If your kitchen is very warm, roll the dough on a chilled sheet pan or chill the rolling pin. Hojaldre respects cold hands and cold tables.
Advance Preparation
- •The laminated dough can be made one day ahead and refrigerated tightly wrapped.
- •The folded sugared log can be frozen for up to one month. Slice from firm, not rock-hard, and bake directly from chilled.
- •Baked orejas keep for two days in an airtight tin. Do not refrigerate them. The refrigerator steals the crispness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 43g)
Calories
205 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
125 mg
Total Carbohydrates
25 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
12 g
Protein
2 g
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