Mexican Name Finder
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Bolillo

"little ball"

Also called Pan francés.

Say it

boh·LEE·yoh

Built from

Spanish bolaball+-illodiminutive

What Bolillo means

Bolillo is a Mexican bread name of Spanish origin meaning "little ball". It is built from Spanish bola (ball) and -illo (diminutive). It is pronounced boh-LEE-yoh, and it is most associated with the whole country.

The crusty white roll of the torta. In Mexican slang bolillo also means a pale-skinned person or a foreigner, so the word is a false friend worth knowing.

This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: Mexican pan dulce is named by shape, and the names are pure visual poetry: concha (shell), oreja (ear), cuernito (little horn), ojo de buey (ox eye), corbata (necktie), puerquito (little pig), bigote (moustache).

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Bolillo means little ball

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