New Mexican · bread

Sopaipillas

Sopaipillas reads sweetness 7.9, richness 7.2 and floral 5.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a New Mexican bread, about 56 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 7.9 · Richness 7.2 · Floral 5.9 · Salinity 3.6 · Umami 1.5 · Nutty 0.7

What's in it (8)

Time & effort: about 56 min (26 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 328.5 kcal, 4.1 g protein, 15.4 g fat, 44.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

  1. A sopaipilla is a hollow fried pillow of bread and it is the New Mexican table bread — it arrives with the meal, not after it, and its job is to be torn open and have honey poured inside, or to be used as a scoop for beans and chile. In the south of the state they are sometimes split and stuffed with carne adovada and smothered in chile, which makes them a main course. They are not the sweet, cinnamon-sugared dessert sopaipillas sold elsewhere.
  2. The hollow is the whole technique and it depends on three things: a dough rested until it is relaxed, rolled thin and evenly, and fat hot enough that the outside sets before the inside can escape. Get one wrong and you get flat fried bread.
  3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Rub the lard in with your fingertips until it disappears into the flour and the mixture looks like coarse meal.
  4. Pour in the warm water and bring the dough together, then knead it on a lightly floured board 3 minutes, just until smooth. It should be soft, softer than a bread dough. Over-kneading makes it elastic and it will fight you at the rolling stage.
  5. Cover with a cloth and rest 30 minutes at room temperature. This is the step people skip and it is why their sopaipillas do not puff.
  6. Divide the dough in two and roll each half out to an even 4 mm — thinner than you would think, and evenly, because a thick patch will not lift. Cut into 10 cm squares or triangles. Do not re-roll the scraps into a second batch; the toughened dough will not puff.
  7. Heat the lard in a deep heavy pot to 190 C (375 F). Slide in two or three pieces at a time, and as soon as they surface push them gently under the surface with a slotted spoon for a few seconds — that is what forces the steam inside to inflate them. They should balloon within 20 seconds. Fry about 1 minute a side, until pale gold; deep brown means the oil is too cool and they have soaked fat.
  8. Drain briefly on a rack and serve hot in a napkin-lined basket with the honey.
  9. Substitutions: peanut oil can stand in for the lard.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Keep reading: what sweetness, richness, floral mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.