These Bolillos Are the Real Deal

Most Mexican bakeries and many Latino markets sell the rolls called bolillos . Thick in the middle and tapered at the ends, they are shaped like the bolillos of Mexico, but in taste and texture they are closer to ordinary French dinner rolls.

In Mexico, bolillos are soft and full-bodied, dense but tender and feathery. That’s how they are at La Mascota Bakery on Whittier Boulevard just east of downtown Los Angeles. La Mascota’s bolillos have yet another asset uncommon here: a beautiful, golden brown crust.

Bolillos, four for $1 at La Mascota Bakery, 2715 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 263-5513.