These Authentic Mexican Bolillo Bread Rolls are made with simple ingredients and easy to make. Enjoy them as a side dinner roll or as a Mexican torta!
Real, authentic Mexican Bolillo Bread Rolls are finally here! This recipe has been on my to-do list since I first started Isabel Eats back in 2015. I keep a huge list of all the Mexican foods I ate growing up that I want to recreate and share with all of you, and these bolillo bread rolls were one of the first things I wrote down.
What are Mexican Bolillo Rolls?
A bolillo roll is Mexico’s version of a crusty french bread that’s oblong in shape, kind of like a football, and is often used to make sandwiches called “tortas.”
I vividly remember the smell of fresh warm bread when visiting the local Mexican bakery with my parents every weekend. We used to pick up a half dozen of these bolillo rolls and other assorted sweet breads for lunch every Sunday. The smell of that Mexican bakery will stay with you forever.
I think it’s about damn time I celebrate that memory by making my own Mexican Bolillo Bread Rolls right in my own kitchen. Let’s do this.
How to make Mexican Bolillo Bread
Step 1: Make the dough by combining unbleached all-purpose flour, yeast, salt, honey, butter and water.
Step 2: Knead the dough by hand or with a stand mixer until it is soft and elastic, not sticky. Let it sit and rise until it has doubled in size.
Step 3: Roll the dough into 8 football-shaped rolls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let sit for 45 minutes.
Step 4: Cut a slit lengthwise down the middle of each roll. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
Step 5: Eat all the rolls!
Now that I’ve made and documented this recipe (finally!), I see many torta recipes coming to the blog in the future. But for now, I’ll just enjoy eating a bolillo roll smeared with butter and a hot cup of coffee.
Ways to Use Bolillo Bread
- To make molletes
- In capirotada (Mexican bread pudding)
- To make tortas (or sandwiches)
INGREDIENTS
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cups hot water, divided
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small bowl or cup, mix together 1/4 cup hot water and active dry yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, add 3 1/2 cups flour, yeast mixture, salt, honey, melted butter and remaining 1 cup of hot water.
- Knead dough using dough attachment for 4 minutes on low in a stand mixer. If the dough is too sticky, add in the remaining flour in 1 tablespoon increments until dough is dry enough that it doesn’t stick to your fingers.
- Knead for 11 more minutes on low until dough is smooth, soft and elastic. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 10-20 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. The dough will rise faster when the temperature outside is warmer. If you’re making this recipe in the wintertime, a good place to let the dough rest is on top of the fridge.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll dough into football shapes and place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Cover the 8 bolillo bread rolls and let rise for a second time for 45 minutes.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown.
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Janki says
Can you use bread flour instead of all purpose flour in this recipe?
Isabel says
Hi Janki, I’ve never tested this recipe with bread flour so I can’t say for sure. After doing a quick Google search, it seems like it should work in this recipe! Let me know if you try it.
Yvette says
Is there any adjustment for using instant yeast?
Carla Flott says
Since yeast is be sold out everywhere can I substitute my sourdough starter for it? If so how much would you suggest?
Yesica says
I’ve made this recipe a few times and just wanted to thank you! I don’t bake yeast bread often so I appreciate how simple and quick this recipe comes together. I actually only make 4 “full size” rolls from this and the family can have torta cravings throughout the week, lol. And just a quick note, I find that 3 cups of flour is the perfect amount!
Zina says
Any high altitude adjustmens? Had anyone tried?
Aurora Adams says
what if I dont have honey, can I do without?
Isabel says
Yes, you can leave it out. It won’t have quite the same flavor.
Ivonne Urbina says
Hi,
Is it unbleached all purpose flour or regular all purpose flour for the recipe.
Isabel says
I used regular all purpose flour.
Breanna says
This recipe is perfect. I have tried several recipes and this is the only one that turned out the way I really wanted it to! Has anyone doubled this recipe? I have to make a large quantity and have to make them a little bigger and I wasn’t sure if simply doubling it would work or if there are any adjustments that need to be made.
John Berry says
Hello! thank you for the delicious recipe, as I have now made 3 batches. Since I’m cooking for 1, and freezing, I converted your recipe to Baker’s Percentage.
Flour 100%
Yeast. 2%.
Salt =< 2%
Honey 6%
Butter 4%
Water 62%
The percentage of water, a little more than the standard 60 percent, produces a slightly sticky dough which is still easy to handle. The crumb is open, and sufficiently dense to look like a good roll.
Your recipe is my general purpose, flavorful torta/sandwich roll. Thank you!
Isabel says
Thank you so much for all this info, John! I’m so happy you’re making it work since you’re cooking for 1! So glad you like it.
Sara says
I’ve just made mine. Although, I made my bolillos a bit too small, they came out great. Taste great with homemade lemon jam and butter or homemade orange habanero jam. They are awesome. Great recipe. Will definitely make them again.
Isabel says
Thanks, Sara! I’m so happy they came out so good!
Kasandra says
Do you need to use parchment paper or can you use foil?
Isabel says
You can use foil. I would just grease the foil with a little oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Melissa says
Finally made these right and they tasted just like the panderos’!! The first time around I used the wrong yeast so it came out hard and didn’t rise. But I will definitely be making more!
Isabel says
Thanks, Melissa! I’m happy to hear they came out just like from the panaderia! 🙂
Georgia says
I have leftover pork rib meat that I thought would make a perfect torta. I didn’t want to go out and buy bolillos so I decided to look for a recipe and came across this one. So good and so easy! I followed the recipe exactly except I made 6 slightly larger rolls instead of 8. My 4 yr old loved “helping” shape these. So good! They were perfect for my torta. I can’t wait until my husband comes home so he can try them.
Isabel says
Yay! I’m so happy you liked them! I need to make this recipe again 🙂 I don’t make it enough.
Dan Fionte says
Thanks for posting this, you’d be hard pressed to find many authentic Mexican foods up here in New England, so you gotta make it! And although I’ve spent relatively little time in Mexico and Texas the food has had a major impact on me and I love it. I made some decent tortas de milanesa last night but to really nail it I gotta make the bolillos from scratch and so far it’s been impossible to find Ranchero Queso Fresco (my favorite sandwich and taco topping) anywhere around here, so I might just have to make my own cheese as well…
RENEE ESPINOZA says
I made these today, and followed the directions to a tee. They were beautiful and delicious.
Isabel says
Thanks, Renee 🙂 I really appreciate it!
Giselle Reed says
So I’m super excited because whenever I go to Mexico I gain about 5lbs on Bolillos alone and right now my dough is rising so if it all comes out well I’ll be able to gain 5lbs without having 5o travel to Mexico haha
Isabel says
Hahaha, I TOTALLY know how you feel! There’s just so much good food in Mexico, it’s hard not to eat it all! I’d love to know how they turned out. I’ve been thinking of retesting the recipe because I had someone say they didn’t come out like mine, so I’d love your input! Send me an email at isabeleatsblog@gmail.com and let me know 🙂
Thiya says
haha ha. Cool
Claudia says
I attempted these today. I had to add way more flour than listed to get the dough to a non-sticky stage. Then the initial rise didn’t really happen ( maybe because of the addition of so much flour). Ended up only making 4 and they were super dense. Not sure where I went wrong… any insight?
Isabel says
Oh no! The only thing I can think of is that something was wrong with the yeast. I’m going to make these again very soon and retest them. Sorry about that! I’ll update the recipe if anything changes.
Bethany says
Oh! These rolls look just perfect!
Isabel says
Thank you so much! 🙂
Makos(@thehungrybites) says
Hey Isabele!
I could eat bread rolls all day, and yours look amazing!
Love their shape by the way 🙂
Isabel says
Thanks! Yeah, the shape is super fun. That’s how they’re traditionally shaped when you buy them in a Mexican bakery and I wanted to try to recreate them 🙂
Sarah says
Can I use instant yeast instead? If so, how would I adjust the measurements? Thanks in advance!
Isabel says
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tested this recipe with instant yeast so I’m not sure. I know the rise time would need to be adjusted, but I don’t know how long since I haven’t tried it. I’ll be sure to put that on my to-do list though! When I test it, I’ll make sure to make a note in the recipe card and let you know. Thanks!
Jamie | A Sassy Spoon says
Omg! These look and sound DELISH! Gonna pin for later. 😉
Isabel says
Woo woo! Thanks, friend! 🙂