The bolillo is a popular bread made in Mexico and eaten plain or stuffed. It was introduced into Mexico by the French and is similar to the French Baguette. In Mexico it has been claimed that the bolillo comes only second to the corn tortilla.
Bolillo’s can be served as bread, made stuffed, as in this recipe, made into sandwiches, tortes, or served open faced as in mollettes.
These are easy to make. The dough is a fairly standard dough. Letting it raise overnight adds flavor and saves time. You can make the dough, place it covered in the refrigerator, and bake them the next day.
In the picture below you can see the small rolling pin, which works great for dumplings like these. Take a golf sized piece of dough, them roll it out with the small rolling pin, and using a 3-4 inch cookie cutter. Roll the dough to between ~1/8 inch thick. Fill the dough and moisten one side, fold over the dough and seal the dumpling. Let these rise and them bake them. They are delicious.
Don’t buy into the desire to add other spices or ingredients. When you eat the final product it tastes wonderful.
Bolillos Stuffed Mexican Bread
Ingredients
Filling
- 8 ounces Cream cheese
- ¼ cup Cheddar cheese (mild or sharp, I prefer sharp)
- ¼ cup Chopped jalepenos (fermented or store bought)
- ½ tsp Cumin ground
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- ¼ tsp Sea salt
- ¼ tsp Ground White Pepper
Dough
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup water
- 1 TBPS Honey
- 2¼ tsp Active dry yeast
- 3 ¾ cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ tsp Sea salt
Assembly and baking
- ½ cup sliced green olives
- 1 egg white
- 1 TBPS milk
Instructions
Filling
- In a small bowl place the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, cumin, ground garlic, pepper and salt. Mix well and set aside.
Dough
- In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup add the honey, milk and water. Mix well. Bring the liquid mixture to around 90 degrees and add the yeast.
- In a stand mixer bowl add the flour and salt, and mix well.
- Using a dough hook pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix well until a dough ball forms.
- Remove the dough ball and knead for about 5 minutes.
- LIghtly oil a large enough bowl as well as the dough ball and place in the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the the refrigerator. Let it raise over night.
Assembly
- Mix the egg white and milk, whisk well. Set aside.
- Place the dough ball on a floured flat board and punch down.
- Roll out the dough into rolls. Using a dough scrapper cut of pieces about golf ball size. Roll into a ball, and flatten.
- Using the small rolling pin rolls out to roughly ⅛ inch thick. Using cookie cutter cut circles about 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
- Place about 1 TBPS of the filling off center into the circle. Add 3-4 slices of the green olives.
- Moisten the edges of the dough circle and fold over into a half moon shape.
- Place the filled dumplings onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Let the dumplings raise for about 20 mionutes.
- Brush the egg/water mixture onto the top of the dumplings.
- Bake the dumplings at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes, then brush them with the egg wash again. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
These dumplings are smaller and great for appetizers. They can be made larger, filled with beef, chicken and other fillings and used as a main course.
