How to make
These extraordinary bread rolls from sunny Spain are typical of the province of Jaen in the Andalusia region.
Ever since I tried the Spanish bread rolls, I've been in love with their soft texture and crispy crust and I can't even find a word for the taste - they just have to be tried.
The characteristic of Ochios bread rolls is that they are prepared with a lot of olive oil, they have a slight smell of anise and they can be both sweet and salty. Also depending on the area, they are prepared in different forms.
I present them to you in the savory version and their traditional round shape.
In case you want to make them sweet, just exclude the salt in the dough or reduce it to 1 pinch, and add two spoons of sugar. Also, with the sweet rolls, we exclude paprika and sprinkle with sugar.
Here is the recipe for these charming bread rolls:
Water and olive oil are mixed and heated to 100°F (37°C). The yeast is crushed and dissolved in them.
Mix well and sift the flour and salt into the liquid mixture (or add sugar if making sweet Ochios).
Add a spoonful of aromatic anise seeds and knead the bread dough.
The special thing about the dough is that it is greasy and will hardly stick to you, but it is still required to be kneaded for at least 15 minutes and sprinkled with a little flour if necessary.
Even if you use a food processor to process the dough, do not shorten the time too much.
From the finished dough, make 12 balls and arrange them in a tray covered with baking paper, leaving a space between each one so that they do not stick together when they rise.
Spread them with olive oil, cover them with a towel and leave them to rise for 1 hour in a warm place. It is best that the cloth does not touch the dough.
Spread the risen Ochios again with olive oil, as the previous one will have already been absorbed (they are olive oil bread rolls, so they justify their name).
Sprinkle with coarse flaky salt and paprika (or sugar, respectively for sweets).
Put them in an oven heated to 390°F (200°C) and immediately reduce the heat to 360°F (180°C).
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
During the last 5 minutes, you can put a layer of aluminum foil on top so that the paprika does not burn.
Eat these wonderful bread rolls warm or cold. Use them for sandwiches or delicious breakfast and if you've made sweet Ochios, they'd pair perfectly with chocolate spread, butter or jam.
Try the Andalusian Ochios Olive Oil Bread Rolls and share what you think.
