Bollo Preñao recipe, the most famous chorizo bread rolls in Asturias

Bollo preñao, or ‘bollu preñau’ for Asturians, is one of the most popular recipes in this part of northern Spain. It is a bread roll stuffed with chorizo and is very easy to make; as all you have to do is prepare the bread dough. Traditionally, the chorizo was cooked in cider before being baked in the bread, but nowadays this is not necessary because of the quality and smoky touch characteristic of Asturian chorizos.

On the other hand, bollo preñao is associated with spring and summer, when open-air festivities take place. Some of the festivities in which it is a must are the Martes de Campo in Oviedo, the Las Comadres festivities or the Fiesta del Bollu in Arriondas. In addition, tradition says that it should be accompanied by a good glass of cider, so here is the recipe for bollo preñao to recreate this special Asturian tradition.

Ingredients for the bollo preñao recipe (6 units):

  • 350 g of strong wheat flour
  • 190 ml of lukewarm water
  • 20 g of fresh baker’s yeast or 6 g dry yeast
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 4 Asturian chorizo sausages

How to make the bollo preñao:

  1. Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl to mix well. Add the yeast, mix again and add the warm water and oil. Mix with your hands until a compact dough is formed.
  2. Sprinkle some flour on your countertop and knead with your hands for 8 minutes. Then roll the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly floured bowl to prevent it from sticking. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rest for about 60 minutes at room temperature.
  3. In the meantime, cut the chorizo in half, remove the skin and set aside.
  4. When the time has passed, sprinkle a little more flour on the countertop and place the dough back on top. Knead it gently for a few seconds and shape it into an elongated (cylinder) shape and cut it into 6 equal pieces; each will be a bollo preñao.
  5. Roll out each piece of dough with your hands into a rectangle and place a piece of chorizo in the centre. Wrap the dough around it and shape it into a roll, closing it tightly. Repeat this step with the rest of the dough.
  6. When each bollo preñao is well formed, leave to rest for 30 minutes before putting them in the oven. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 250°C with a metal baking tin filled with water at the bottom.
  7. With a knife, make a shallow cut in each bollo preñao to make it look more like a bun. Lower the oven temperature to 225ºC and place your buns on the tray. Bake for 20 minutes. Depending on the size of your tray, you can put all the buns in at once or bake them in batches.
  8. When you take all your buns out of the oven, leave them to cool on a wire rack and then serve them to enjoy this Asturian recipe.

 


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