Jalapeño Quesillo Bolillo

by becky
Created
From the cookbook Pan Y Dulce

Remove jalepeno seeds. If you can't find quesillo, cube up and lower-moisture cheese as a direct replacement. Feel free to experiment with roasting the peppers beforehand. Use these to make sandwiches, toast up with butter, or eat on their own.

Ingredients

  • Yeasted Preferment: 50g (1/3 c + 1 Tbsp) all-purpose flour
  • 50g (3 Tbsp) warm water
  • 1g (1/4 tsp) instant yeast
  • Sourdough Preferment: 30g (1/4 c) bread flour
  • 20g (2 1/2 T) whole wheat flour
  • 50g (3 Tbsp) warm water
  • 25g (3 Tbsp) mature sourdough starter
  • Dough: 410g (1 3/4 c) water
  • 50g (1/4 c) yeasted preferment
  • 258g (2 c) bread flour
  • 200 g (1 2/3 c) all purpose flour
  • 60g (1/2 c) whole wheat flour
  • 10 g (1 T) kosher salt
  • 158g (1 c) chopped jalapeños
  • 364g (2.5 c) quesillo, cubed

Directions

  1. In a tall jar or large container with a lid, mix the flour, water, and yeast with your hand or a fork. Ensure that no dry flour remains at the bottom of the jar and that there are no clumps of flour either. Cover the container and let it rest at room temperature (ideally between 70-80F) for 12 hours. It should become a creamy, bubbly, and funky mixture that expands in size.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add 325 g (1 1/3 c) of the water and both the sourdough and yeasted preferments and mix until the preferment has dissolved. Next, add the bread flour, all-purpose flour, and whole wheat flour to the bowl and give it a rough mix, until it comes together and there isn't much dry flour left at the bottom of the bowl. Let rest for 20 minutes.
  3. Spread the salt over the top of the dough, add the remaining water, and squeeze the dough until it is incorporated. Let it rest for 30 minutes after adding the salt. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl.
  4. After the dough has rested, add half of the jalapeños and quesillo chunks to the surface and fold the sides of the dough into the middle, covering the additions. Flip the dough over and add half of the remaining jalapeños and quesillo to the dough and repeat the folding to fully incorporate. (To be clear, you've added 3/4 of the total amount of jalapeño and quesillo, reserving 1/4 for a step to come during the bake.) Cover and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
  5. After the dough ferments, divide into eight 190-g pieces, and shape into ovals with pointy edges. Place the bolillos evenly spaced on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Spritz the bolillos with olive oil so they don’t dry out.
  6. Let the bolillos proof for 2 hours at room temperature. Thirty minutes before they are done proofing, preheat the oven to 500°F. Spray the top of the proofed dough with more olive oil and slash down the middle with a knife or razor blade.
  7. Lower the heat to 465°F, place the bolillos in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Halfway through the bake, top each bolillo with the remaining quesillo chunks and jalapeños. Keep an eye on the sheet pan and rotate from top to bottom in the middle of the bake to prevent the bottoms from burning.
  8. Let cool before eating so the cheese isn't piping hot.