crusty rolls

Crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, these breadrolls are ideal for sandwiches or mopping up plates of delicious gravy.

Crusty Portuguese rolls (papo secos)

(500 grams) bread flour

(30 grams) butter

salt

(140 ml) lukewarm milk

(170 ml) lukewarm water

g yeast

sugar

10 minutes before you are ready to bake these rolls, place a deep baking tray filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven and set the oven to preheat to 190°C / 375°F.

Place the lukewarm milk and water into a jug and stir in the instant yeast and the sugar.

Place the bread flour, butter and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you are going to knead by hand).

Pour the milk mixture into the flour - the yeast will have already started to foam.

Turn on the stand mixer and mix for about 2 minutes on a low speed until the dough comes together and all the flour has been incorporated.   Then turn up the speed to medium and leave for another 5 minutes.

If mixing by hand - mix the liquid and flour together with a flat-bladed knife until well combined.  Then knead the dough for at least 10 minutes.  You may have to add a little extra flour if the mixture is too sticky.

Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and then form into a flat disk and place on a well-floured work surface.

Divide the dough into 12 equally-sized pieces, then roll each piece into a ball.

Flatten each ball slightly and press the side of your hand into the dough to form a deep indentation.  Bring the two sides of the dough up and then press each end together to seal (see post for an illustration on how to do this.).

Place the rolls a few centimeters apart on a lightly floured non-stick baking sheet.

Cover the tray with a clean cloth and leave for another hour to proof.  The rolls should double in size.

Brush the top of the rolls lightly with milk and place the baking tray in the pre-heated oven.  Bake for 20 minutes until the rolls are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool, uncovered.

This bread is also known as “Pan Francés”; the French baguette recipe was transformed in Mexico and became ours as the “bolillo”. It is also known as “Birote” and “pan blanco” in some areas of the country. It is very common in my hometown to have this bread sliced.

Mexican Bolillos: Crusty Rolls

water ((177 ml or 6 oz))

All Purpose Flour

shortening

FOR THE STARTER: The night before baking, place yeast and water in a small bowl, mix well and add the flour. Mix again. You don’t need to knead here. Cover with a plastic wrap and let sit on your kitchen counter top all night or at least 8 hours. Making this starter will increase the flavor of your bread. The next morning the starter will have a larger volume and will have formed lots of bubbles.

BAKING DAY. In a large bowl or your heavy-duty mixer, place the starter, flour, salt, yeast and melted shortening. Start kneading the dough, adding the warm water slowly right at the beginning of the kneading process. IMPORTANT: If you live in a very humid place, you will need to reduce the amount of water by about 2 tablespoons less than indicated.  If using a mixer, knead for 7 minutes on speed 2; if kneading by hand, knead the dough for about 15 minutes. The dough will separate from your mixing bowl like it shows in the above picture while kneading.

Remove dough from the bowl and place on your working surface to form a ball. It should look soft but still a little rough.

Grease a large bowl with shortening, oil or PAM spray. Place the dough and turn it all over to make sure all sides are covered with a coating of the grease. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.  If you live in a warm and humid weather this step will take less time.

After the dough has doubled in volume, gently push your fist in to deflate it. Divide the dough into 10 pieces. (About 110 grams each). Place the pieces of dough into your slightly greased working surface and cover with a greased plastic wrap and let them rest for 15 minutes to allow the  gluten to develop and help to shape your bollillos/rolls easier.

To form the bolillos-rolls, dust your work surface with flour very lightly,  flatten one piece of dough with the palm of your hand and fold 1/3 of the dough towards you and press down with your fingers, sealing it very well. Fold the dough again, repeating the sealing process until you form a roll, pinching the dough tightly. Make sure all the ends are sealed.

To shape the rolls, place your hands over the dough and press gently but firmly, cupping your fingers, rolling back and forth. While doing this, press the heel of your hands to leave some dough uncovered to form the traditional bolillo ears.

Place each bolillo/roll seam side down on the greased baking sheet and cover with a greased plastic. Allow them to rise until they’ve doubled in volume. About 1 and 1/2 hour.

At least 20 minutes before the end of the rising period, turn on your oven at 450 degrees F. Place the metallic pan for the water on the oven floor.

Once the rolls have doubled in volume, and just before placing them inside the oven, make a deep cut using a sharp serrated knife or a razor blade, holding your hand at a 45-degree angle.

Spray the rolls with warm water, place them in a preheated oven and add 1 1/2 cup of cold water to the metallic tray you placed on the oven floor. The steam will create that beautiful thin and crunchy crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until they are golden, remove form the oven, and let them cool on a wire rack.

These papo secos are light and airy Portuguese rolls that are the perfect vehicle for the classic bifanas--marinated pork slices--or your favorite sandwich fillings or simply a smear of butter.

Papo Secos | Portuguese Rolls

water

active dry yeast

bread flour (plus up to 3 tablespoons more, if needed)

table salt

butter

Cornmeal

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the water, yeast, and sugar on low speed until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.

Activate the yeast

Rest

Add the flour, water, and butter and stir on low until the ingredients are combined and a cohesive dough forms, 3 minutes. Cover with plastic and let sit for 30 minutes.

Mix More

Sprinkle the salt over the top of the dough and mix on low (speed 2) for 5 minutes. If the dough rides up the hook, use a spatula to scrape it down.

Knead

Bump the mixer to medium-high (speed 7) and knead for 2 minutes more. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be slightly sticky. If the dough hasn’t released from the bottom of the bowl, add some more flour—a tablespoon at a time—until it does.

If you've always found it tricky to assess when exactly dough has doubled in size, lightly butter a plastic bread proofing bucket or clear glass bowl. Use a grease pencil or piece of tape to mark the level of the dough when you start. Makes it a lot more obvious when the dough has doubled.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover it with plastic wrap, and place in a warm (68°F to 72°F | 20°C to 22°C), draft-free spot. The inside of your oven with the light turned on is ideal. Let the dough double in size, about 1 hour.

Fold

Reach down 1 side of the bowl and gently but firmly pull the dough up and fold it over itself. Don’t punch it down. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Continue turning and folding 2 more times. Cover and let rest until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Fold More

Repeat the turning and folding process, cover with plastic, and let the dough rest until doubled in size, about 30 minutes more.

Make the bread

Roll

Divide the dough into ten equal pieces, about 4 1/4 ounces (120 grams) each. Lightly flour your hands. Cup one hand over a chunk of dough and roll it on your work surface in a circle to tighten the ball. Being somewhat neurotic, I count the turns—no fewer and no more than 40 revolutions. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with a floured non-terrycloth kitchen towel or a baker’s couche. Cover them with a kitchen towel. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Transfer

Transfer the balls to your work surface. Heavily dust the towel again.

Shape

Flour your hands. Flatten a dough ball into a 6-inch (15-cm) disc. Using the side of your hand, make a deep crease (think karate chop) across the middle of the disc.

Grab both ends of the crease and gently tug them to elongate the dough into a slight oval.

Fold one half of the dough over the other along the crease. The dough will have a half-moon shape.

Twist

Twist the ends of the half-moon into fat points and, using your thumbs, flatten them a bit to seal.

Gently transfer the papo seco to the towel, seam-side down. As you shape more rolls, arrange them in a row, few inches apart. Pull the towel up between each row to create a ridge that will hold the shape of the rolls during proofing. Repeat the shaping and lining up the papo-secos, folding up the towel between rows.

Cover

Cover the rolls with a towel and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Shape the dough

Preheat

Meanwhile, position a rack in the middle of the oven and slip in a baking stone or tiles. Place an empty metal tray on any rack that won’t interfere with the rising papo secos. (Do not use a glass pan as it could shatter.) Crank the heat to 500°F (260°C). The oven and stone will need time to properly heat.

Prep Water

Have a cup of very hot tap water at the ready.

Bake

Coat a baking peel or rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Carefully turn a few of the papo secos seam-side up and arrange them on the peel.

If your baking stone can’t fit all of the rolls, bake them in batches. As the Portuguese say, Não faz mal. No problem!

Place the front edge of the peel at the back of the baking stone and quickly yank it toward you to shift the dough onto the baking stone. Repeat with the remaining papo secos. Quickly but carefully pour the hot water into the metal tray and immediately shut the oven door to trap the steam. Immediately reduce the heat to 425°F (218°C).

Cool

Bake the papo secos until they're puffed and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on a rack. To get that characteristic crusty outside, let the roll sit out several more hours prior to devouring.

Bake the papo secos

Saut&eacute;ed onion, pepper and spinach lace a sturdy frittata that&rsquo;s as good warm out of the pan as it is cold. Bacon and goat cheese enrich the mix, which can be eaten alone or put in a sandwich (see tip below). The frittata is flavorful enough to be the lone filling here, but you can also spread aioli, mayonnaise, tapenade or pesto on the bread, if you&rsquo;d like. Tender sandwich bread, such as Pullman, works best here since crusty rolls would squish the eggs.

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