Bake The Perfect Bread for Tortas at Home

Though I’d eaten hundreds of bolillos through the years, none had really caught my attention until I was shopping through the market in Uruapan, Michoacan, getting everything I needed for a cooking class the following day, and my nose led me to a simple set up an aisle away. The fellow behind the flat, woven-reed basket, in scruffy clothes dusted with flour, had a pile of golden, crusty, intensely aromatic bolillos, still warm from the oven. I bought one, tore off a bite and continued walking. About three chews in, I stopped. This was the most richly flavored, wonderfully chewy bolillo I’d ever encountered-something like a sour-dough demi-baguette from a fancy bakery. It was crusty, without simply shattering as many commercially made bolillos are, and the crumb offered tanginess and a little heft, nothing like the flavorless, cottony insides of so many of these ubiquitous Mexican rolls. That’s when I fell in love with bolillos. That’s what led me to open Xoco-and later, the collection of restaurants known as Tortazo-that celebrate Mexican tortas.
Here's the recipe!👇
www.rickbayless.com/recipe/bo...
If you have any bread-baking experience, you’ll understand the method right away. I encourage you to let the dough rise overnight-just as the Uruapan baker explained to me he had-to develop a rich flavor (with the addition of a little sourdough starter, it’s even better). And, for the best volume, bake in a humid environment: that baker’s oven was made of moisture-holding earth and heated by wood; we suggest America’s Test Kitchen approach of spraying the bolillos with water and covering them with an upside-down aluminum roasting pan to trap moisture during the first few minutes in the oven.
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00:00 Rick's Intro to Bollilos
00:52 Making the Dough Batter
04:17 A Note on Active Yeast
05:06 Resting the Dough
06:33 Cutting the Dough
08:31 Finalizing the Shape
09:45 Slashing the Bolillos
11:19 Removing the Roasting Pan

[@JancyAmour]

❤❤❤ Rick thank you. You thought me how to cook when I was a young bride. Love watching you on PBS and so happy I found you here 🎉

[@Bojoschannel]

Once i tried to make bolillos from a written recipe from a cookbook i use a lot hoping for a crusty, airy, baguette like piece of bread like the ones you find in the south since most supermarkets here in northern Mexico and even bakeries make it too soft and dense, sometimes even sweet. So i baked them and after hours of much work, wait and hope all i got was a bland, boring and soft birote that could've come out of any supermarket... It was a sad day. Will definitely try this recipe!

[@sr2291]

What I do with store-bought light bread like French bread and bolillos is bake them at 350 for 5 to10 minutes to darken and make a hard crust and then cut the French bread in pieces and freeze both in bags in the freezer. Then I can microwave for a few seconds to defrost.

[@luiscreates]

Arguably the best cooking teacher - honored that he's chosen Mexican food as his preferred cuisine 🙏

[@johannaliceaga5936]

I use to love watching your show on PBS when I was little, my parents immigrated from Mexico and when I was younger there was a lot more racism towards Mexicans where I live so it was so cool for me as a kid to see this American man on TV be so passionate and in love with Mexico and its cuisine! Thank you😊

[@rogeroga]

I do my own bolillos because in the US you can't find honest good bolillos like you can find in the western part of Mexico: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Colima, etc. Originally, and in some place is still called "Pan Frances", because the good and real "bolillo" was influenced by French bakers that came to Mexico, either because the French invasion or the Maximiliano kingdom. A good bolillo has a good crust, and has been fermented for at least 6 hours or more, water steam was used in the baking process.

[@Sabrina-01]

I was 17 when i started watching this man . Im 45 now . ❤

[@reneemoreno8030]

I was 17 and he was an apprentice to Diane Kennedy...I'm 69 now, and made a living cooking throughout the US. I started when I was 4, and grew up with Julia Childs and Graham Kerr and Jacques Pepin. Old school. 🙏✌️

[@karmellaudetur4291]

Excellent class, I make them like you except that I add a "sobrecito" of "Sal de Uvas" you know the make, and they come perfect as they are made in México same for the " teleras" only a different folding the dough process, also I add it to the " Pan de Cuaresma" or Lenten Bread traditionally Spanish ( from España) this last one is enjoyed during the Lenten season, the texture of the bread is authentic like yours, but I suggest if you want to give it a go, use the Sal de Uvas, a known well secret among panaderos in México. Gives it the perfect crisp outside and the perfect "migajón" inside. Thank you for sharing your version of the recipe, delicious!!🥰😇Blessings!!

[@kristinb5121]

I always learn so much from your cooking segments. Thank you!

[@seanpalmer8472]

I'm one of those sourdough bakers you mentioned, and I appreciate when recipes have a sourdough option, both for levaning and to use up discard. I'm always looking for new ways to use my starter. Cold fermentation is a great tool that a lot of yeast-only bakers don't often take advantage of. The flavor improvement is great, but it's invaluable for busy sourdough home bakers as it allows for much greater timing flexibility in an otherwise lengthy, involved process.

[@bngr_bngr]

Did you use the sourdough starter or discard? Did you use the same amount?

[@lukemaker4671]

This feels like when my grandpa taught me his bread recipe. Thank you. I wish I could live that day again E: ripped me outta nostalgia with the "nice looks"😂😂😂

[@mrtime49]

My first batch came out really nice. Such a simple recipe. I think the rolling and shaping takes practice.

[@calben007]

I got covid for my second time yesterday and decided to finally make these to turn into tortas ahogadas. I was hungry so I didn't follow Rick's recommendation for the longer cold ferment and kind of regretted it. Also much like me at the moment, my rolls were a little disheveled, so I'll need to work on that. But the sandwich, oh good Lord, the crusty bread softening in the spicy tomato broth with Rick's reverse-style carnitas and pickled onions with the black-bean "mayo", this is why we cook.

[@khmom68]

¡Gracias chef! Lo admiro desde hace más de 25 años. ❤

[@cyndidaves5313]

Hi, thank you for your amazing cooking recipes. I will try this.

[@51rwyatt]

Been waiting for this video for a while, ever since I tried the tortas at L'Esquina de Chilaquile in MXC. Gracias!

[@chefevielee]

I love that this is a dough that goes into the refrigerator. I have a thyroid problem and need to eat More like sourdough types of breads. So far I have a foccacia that I keep in the fridge overnight, and english muffin, and now I just found a brioche tangxung hamburger bun/ hot dog bun. So I am very interested in this recipe.

[@RobertGallegos]

Perfect!

[@barbaramiller349]

Looking forward to trying to bake these. I love bollios. 💕

[@triggerpoint1]

I can't wait to try this recipe!

[@1FontMesa]

Rick, I did the math on your weights in this recipe, 420 grams of flour times 72% equals 302 grams for the water so this would be a 72% hydration dough, for example a Roman style pizza dough is typically 75% hydration which makes it more spongy and airy. Food & Wine just put out a newsletter for making pizza dough and recommended letting the dough rest in the fridge for 48 hours or preferably up to 5 or 7 days. I wouldn't recommend more than 24 hours for this reason, Yeast produces CO2 gas which has a pH of 6.0 which is acidic, the longer you let the dough rest the more acidic it will become as the yeast produces more CO2 gas. I watched an Italian pizza chef explain this and he said to put your nose up to the dough and smell it, if you feel a small burning sensation in your nose then the dough has become too acidic and it's gone too far.

[@bettyburcham7562]

Looks easy enough. Bet it will be good. Thanks!

[@erinontheguit]

Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing. ❤

Thank you, Chef! I was looking for a recipe with a sour dough starter.!

[@keithsweat7513]

All right Rick, one of my favorite things I enjoy at many a Mexican restaurant is a spinach mushroom quesadilla... I wanna make them at home and learn more

[@ariosorio8893]

Thanks Rick ❤

[@momlifewithjessica9923]

Hi Rick 👋 This is my son's favorite Mexican bread and now I can start using your recipe for it. Thanks so much 👍

[@jamesbell5793]

Exactly correct way to weigh flour

[@ramonaosorio2591]

Good time for the day .Break fast and dinner.You always taste love and inspire you to make it good breat example of love kitchen. God bless you.

[@JUANRGB]

Can't wait to see what's coming. Pepitos, molletes, torta ahogada? 😋

[@rickbayless]

How about all of the above?

[@TwoThreadsAhead]

Those loafs look spectacular

[@RobertGallegos]

Perfect

[@altpath]

Awesome, ive always wanted to make my own birotes. Its what i miss most from mexico, walking over to the bakery and finding those piping hot birotes to have for breakfast or lunch.

[@Austin-fc5gs]

Never seen an instant read thermometer being used for bread. Super cool

[@KubotaManDan]

Missed seeing you cut them open and eating some, making us all hungry like usual.

[@ChosenParanoia]

thx!

[@bblades1228]

I was raised in El Paso, Texas. I miss the bollilos we used to get in Juarez. In the 60's, we got A dozen bolillos for $1. I haven't found a recipe to make them that were like those. Hoping this is the one!

[@ReRiderChi]

I need to get down to Frontera Grill asap, but the parking and traffic

[@chefevielee]

Costco sells a excellent high protein all purpose organic artisan flour. In fact we just got it on the east coast less than a year ago. They have been talking about this flour on the breadboards in california for like the last three or four years.

[@Abuelitahere]

🎉🎉🎉

[@TheMsMommycakes]

Have u ever made it with Sourdough starter ?

[@cachecow]

They call them "bodillos" where I live

[@ezedozitt21]

😀🍞🎉

[@Gimpy24x7]

Deja Vu

[@cat3rpill3r]

So the difference between the bolillo and the talera is fat?

[@remopiccioni9456]

My wife uses Einkorn flour. Would that work?

[@RBtestkitchen]

We haven't tested this recipe with Einkorn flour. The hydration might be too high to get a workable dough with that flour only, but a hybrid combining Einkorn with another flour might work. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out! Allison, Rick's Test Kitchen Director

[@charliesinnott9840]

I appreciate this but, what a out all o us that don't have thousands o dollars of equipment. Maybe 2 demos, one like this and one for po folk like me?

[@RBtestkitchen]

You can definitely make this dough by hand and achieve the same results! It often takes a few extra minutes of kneading, but you're looking for the same result: smooth and elastic dough that doesn't stick to the board, but pulls away and stays together. -Allison, Rick's Test Kitchen Director

[@luiszamora6304]

Hola. Exelente . .. Pero podrías ponerle subtitulos en Español. Gracias.

[@djangokill65]

Telera > Bolillo

[@rohtati1020]

Those are *2* different things!!