Fugazzeta
An Argentine-style onion-topped yeast bread with mozzarella and Emmental sealed inside.
Criollitos de grasa
Criollitos · Argentine criollitos
Small Argentine laminated bread bites made with wheat dough, yeast and beef fat or pork lard; this version follows a 40-piece home recipe.
Small laminated criollitos
Criollitos are small, savoury laminated breads associated across Argentina and especially with Córdoba. This entry follows Damián Serrano's measured home recipe for about 40 small squares, made with yeast dough and a beef-fat or pork-lard paste. A professional Cordobés formula uses different quantities, branded bakery products and a sheeter; those instructions remain a separate formula rather than being blended into this home batch.
The dough gets an initial rest before the fat paste is folded in. Chilling between repeated folds helps keep the layers distinct. The source cuts small squares, gives them a final rise, then bakes them at 200°C until golden. A Córdoba origin story reported by Vía Córdoba is expressly a legend told by a bakers' association representative, not a proven date or birthplace.
History
Criollitos are described as especially popular in Córdoba and widespread across Argentina. A Vía Córdoba report attributes a late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century origin story to a provincial bakers' association representative, but presents the leftover-dough account as a family legend rather than verified history. The recipe here follows a modern small-square home method; it is not used to generalize the many regional criollo forms.
Ingredients
Yield 40 small criollitos, approximately 2 × 2 cm · Scaling: source batch only
All-purpose wheat flourFor the dough.
500 g
All-purpose wheat flourFor the fat paste.
20 g
Baker's yeastFresh; the source's alternative is 5 g dry yeast.
15 g
20 g
15 g
240 mL
Beef fat or pork lardSoftened to room temperature; for the dough. Use one of the two fats.
50 g
Beef fat or pork lardFor the fat paste used to laminate the dough. Use the same fat chosen for the dough.
125 g
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Do not taste the uncooked dough; raw flour can carry harmful bacteria.
Hazard sourceDo not taste the raw dough; keep flour and dough separate from ready-to-eat food, and wash hands, tools and surfaces after handling.
Control sourceBake the pieces before serving.
Control sourceContains wheat (gluten).
- Put 500 g flour in a large bowl and make a well. Add the yeast, sugar, salt and 240 ml water. Mix, drawing flour into the liquid until a dough forms; if needed, add a little more water one tablespoon at a time, as the source directs.
- Work in 50 g softened beef fat or pork lard. Knead until the dough is elastic and even, then cover with a damp cloth and rest for about 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 5 mm thick. Mix the remaining 125 g fat with 20 g flour. Spread half of this paste over the middle third of the dough and fold the uncovered thirds over it like a letter.
- Roll the dough gently into a rectangle again. Spread the remaining fat paste over the middle third and fold in thirds once more. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out, bring the short edges toward the centre for a double fold, fold it over itself and chill for another 30 minutes. Repeat that double fold and chill again.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle a little larger than 20 × 8 cm and about 1 cm thick. Prick the surface with a fork without piercing through, trim the edges, then cut into squares about 2 × 2 cm. Arrange them with space between on a baking tray.
- Cover and leave at room temperature for about 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 200°C.
- Bake at 200°C for 15–20 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Conditions
Yield40 small criollitos, approximately 2 × 2 cm
Active time30 min
Fermentation0.75 h
Temperature200°C
Temperature controlMulti-stage
Places
Argentina
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe cited home recipe identifies its criollitos as Argentine; it says the food is especially established in Córdoba.
Córdoba
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceBonviveur describes criollitos as especially established in Córdoba; Vía Córdoba reports on them with a representative of the provincial bakers' association, and Marino publishes a separate professional recipe explicitly titled criollito cordobés. No precise birthplace is claimed.
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Sources
Bon ViveurMethod · Ingredients · Geography · Cultural context
Criollitos, los irresistibles bocaditos hojaldrados argentinosComplete 40-piece home formula with flour, fresh or dry yeast, sugar, salt, water and beef fat or pork lard.
Initial rest, two laminating fat applications, repeated folds and chilled rests, 2 × 2 cm square shaping, 45-minute final rise, 200°C bake and cooling.
Describes criollitos as Argentine, especially established in Córdoba, commonly eaten with mate, and shaped as small squares or rectangles.
If needed for the dough to come together, add a little more water one tablespoon at a time.
Cited in: Small laminated criollitos
Marino SRLRegional method · Geography
Criollito cordobesA separate professional criollito cordobés formula uses beef fat, six initial sheeter passes, five simple folds, 5 cm square cuts, proof to double volume and 200°C for 25 minutes.
The source uses named bakery products and professional equipment; this recipe record follows the separate Bon Viveur home formula instead of combining them.
Cited in: Small laminated criollitos
Vía CórdobaGeography · Cultural context · History
Un accidente en la cocina: el origen del criollito, uno de los panificados más pedidos en CórdobaA provincial bakers' association representative describes criollos/criollitos as a major Córdoba bakery item and recounts a family legend about leftover dough, fat and salt; the article does not present the legend as proven history.
Cited in: Small laminated criollitos
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour may carry harmful bacteria; do not taste raw dough, keep it away from ready-to-eat food, and clean hands and surfaces after handling.