Mexican Cemita Rolls

Cemitas are rolls used for the torta (sandwich) with the same name. They originated as a street food in the historical city of Puebla, Mexico. 

The term "cemita" can refer to both the bread and the sandwich. 

Cemitas de Puebla are usually filled with avocado, salsa roja, papalo (a local herb), onions, panela cheese, and pounded and pan-fried beef or pork. 

It's a taco on a bun! While most people here in Southern California are more familiar with tortas made with crusty bolillos (the Mexican version of a French baguette) cemita trucks are springing up everywhere these days. 

Even my local supermarket's bakery now carries these cemita rolls. 

You can also find lots of hole-in-the-wall restaurants selling comidas poblano, including authentic cemitas. 

Ingredient Notes:

The traditional recipe calls for using lard, which gives the rolls an amazing aroma (faintly reminiscent of.... bacon. Bacon!). 

If you cannot find good lard, (my favorite is Fatworks Leaf Lard), you can also use butter, shortening, or even heavy cream.

These brioche-like buns are soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. 

In fact, I have some pork marinating, some panela cheese chilling, and some avocados ripening so I can make another cemita de Puebla. 

These rolls would also be fabulous for burgers or deli-style sandwiches too. 

Tip for Making these Buns:

This recipe calls for fermenting the dough at 65 degrees F. To improvise an ice box, I placed ice packs in my microwave for the first rise, and added cups of ice in the microwave for the second rise. You could also use a picnic cooler or a wine refrigerator.

Authentic Mexican Recipes

• Chicken Tinga Tacos from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Hatch Chile Enchiladas from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Impossible Tamale Pie from The Spiffy Cookie
• Mango Habanero Salsa from Magical Ingredients
• Mexican Cemita Rolls from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pambazos Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime
• Sopaipillas from That Recipe

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Updated April, 2023. 

Mexican Cemita Rolls

Yield: 8 rolls

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 45 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 6 HourTotal time: 7 H & 5 M

Cemitas are rolls used for the torta (sandwich) with the same name. They originated as a street food in the historical city of Puebla, Mexico.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces water at 100 degrees F
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lard, butter, or shortening
• 567 grams (20 ounces by volume) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
• 1 large egg
• Sesame seeds for topping

Instructions

1. Place the water, yeast, salt, sugar, lard, and 312 grams/11 ounces of the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg and mix with the whisk attachment for 5 minutes on medium.
2. Switch to the dough hook and add 6 more ounces of the flour. Mix on low for 5 minutes.
3. Continuing to mix on low, add more flour by tablespoon, until you have a soft dough that is tacky but not sticky. I used almost all of the remaining flour. Mix for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a cool spot (65 degrees F) for about 3 to 4 hours, or until doubled.
5. Deflated the dough, recover the container with plastic wrap, and let it rise again in a cool spot for about 3 hours, until doubled.
6. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and form the pieces into small balls. Place them onto an oiled or parchment lined baking sheet and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let sit for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, press the balls down gently with your fingers to flatten to a one inch thickness. Cover the rolls again with the plastic wrap. Let rise for an additional 30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a baking stone placed on the center rack. If you do not have a stone, a baking sheet is fine (no need to preheat the baking sheet).
9. Spray the rolls with water and sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
10. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

297.44

Fat (grams)

4.07 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.93 g

Carbs (grams)

56.02 g

Fiber (grams)

2.51 g

Net carbs

53.49 g

Sugar (grams)

1.19 g

Protein (grams)

8.23 g

Cholesterol (grams)

0 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2015/05/mexican-cemita-rolls-twelveloaves.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

cemitas, buns

bread

Mexican

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