Bolillos (pan francés) from El Aguila, Salinas

[Melanie Wong]

Today's banh mi-making project needed some good bread. A six-pack of Columbus sweet french rolls at the supermarket wouldn't do. I find the crust on La Brea's baguettes too hard for this use, and I don't like the taste of the baguettes from Safeway's in-store bakery. Not too many choices for fresh French bread in this town. Then I remembered El Aguila, the 50+ year old Mexican bakery that was the source of our French-style bread growing up. The torpedo-shaped rolls are in a basket on top of the counter and they're three for a dollar. The thin, flour-dusted pale crust crisped up nicely in the toaster oven. These were a success.

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El Aguila Bakery
42 W Market St, Salinas, CA 93901