Maque-Style Mexican Bisquetes
- MakesMakes eight or nine 3-inch biscuits
- Cook Time2 hours
- Active time plus cooling45 minutes active, plus cooling
- 5
Maque is a bakery/café with multiple locations in Mexico City. During a visit to the Condesa shop, we became particularly enamored of their bisquets. Mexican bisquets are common, but Maque’s stand out as unique. The deeply golden oversized buns featured a crumb that is light and airy, yet rich and substantial—a perfect marriage of French brioche and American biscuit, with slightly more sweetness. Maque’s recipe is proprietary, so drawing on our baking experience and working from memory, we eventually devised a recipe that we think is a good approximation. The dough requires bread flour for strength and both yeast and baking powder for leavening. You will need a 2¾- to 3-inch round biscuit cutter to stamp out the dough rounds, along with a 1- to 1¼-inch cutter (or an inverted jigger) to score the circle in the center, a hallmark of all Mexican bisquets. Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days; to reheat, wrap the biscuits in foil and place in a 350°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes.
Don’t knead the dough vigorously, as if it is bread dough. Handle it more gently to avoid too much gluten development, which will make the biscuits tough, but it can withstand a slightly firmer hand than pie dough. The butter-rich dough is sticky, so make sure to flour the cutters before each use.
Step 1
In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the 6 tablespoons milk. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined. Measure 2 tablespoons beaten egg into a small bowl, whisk in the remaining 1 teaspoon milk; cover and set aside to use as the egg wash.
Step 2
Whisk the milk-yeast mixture until the yeast almost fully dissolves. Add the remaining beaten eggs and whisk until well combined. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt on low until combined, 15 to 20 seconds. Stop the mixer and scatter in the butter. Mix on medium-low until the butter is in bits no larger than about ¼ inch, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low, gradually add the egg-milk mixture; this should take about 30 seconds. Increase to medium-low and mix just until a wet, shaggy dough forms and there are no dry, floury bits, 1 to 1½ minutes.
Step 3
Detach the bowl and paddle attachment from the mixer. Scrape the dough off the attachment and into the bowl. Using a plastic scraper or silicone spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and gather the dough in the center. Cover and refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with kitchen parchment.
Step 4
Generously flour the counter and turn the chilled dough out onto it. Using floured hands, gently knead until smooth and uniform; dust the dough, the counter and your hands with flour as needed. Pat the dough into a rough 6-inch square; dust the counter under the dough to make sure it is not sticking. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to be 8-by-14 inches with a short end nearest you. Occasionally check if the dough is sticking; if it is, dust the counter. Using a pastry brush, dust off flour from the surface of the dough. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Rotate it one-quarter turn so a short end is again nearest you, then roll the dough into a 5-by-11-inch rectangle about ¾ inch thick.
Step 5
Using a 2¾- to 3-inch round cutter dipped in flour, stamp out as many rounds as possible from the dough, staggering the cuts to maximize the number of biscuits; you will likely get 5 or so. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet, inverting them if the bottom is smoother than the top. Gather the scraps, gently knead until cohesive, roll into a ¾-inch-thick rectangle and stamp out additional rounds. Gather and roll the scraps a final time, then stamp out additional rounds. If needed, reposition the rounds so they are evenly spaced.
Step 6
Using a 1- to 1¼-inch round cutter dipped in flour, score a circle in each round; do not cut all the way through the dough. Cover the baking sheet with a kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature 1 hour. About 40 minutes into rising, heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle position.
Step 7
Brush the surface and sides of each round with the egg wash. Bake until deep golden brown on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer directly to the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.