HOW TO: Bake Iconic, Delicious Conchas
All the steps needed to enjoy traditional Mexican pan dulce.
A Popular Favorite
When it comes to pan dulce, you can rarely get enough of it. The classic Mexican sweet bread is highly revered in Mexican culture, and whether it’s night or day, pan dulce can be consumed and enjoyed by all ages.
Among all the different types of pan dulce (there are between 500 and 2,000 varieties in Mexico today), Conchas are quite popular and one of the most recognizable baked goods for their iconic crunchy, sugared topping. The sugared topping is often designed to look like a shell, leading to the name concha, meaning “shell” in Spanish. Traditionally, they are enjoyed at breakfast, served with a cup of hot chocolate. They are truly a delicious treat for anyone, anytime.
Learning to make Pan Dulce is a fun recipe to try at home. Let’s Bake!
Everything In its Place
To start, you’d like to get your mise en place together. This will include utensils and ingredients that are needed. By doing this, you are preparing your work area before you begin cooking and saving yourself time as well.
UTENSILS:
- Stand Mixer
- Mixer Bowl
- Hook Attachment
- Paddle Attachment
- Large Bowl
- Mise En Place/Small Bowls
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Silicone Spatula
- Paring Knife
- 3 1/2 Inch Round Cutter
- Baking Sheet
- Baking Paper
INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
- 3 ¾ cups FLOUR
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons SUGAR
- 2 ½ teaspoons YEAST
- ½ teaspoon SALT
- ½ cup BUTTER
- 2 eggs or 6 ½ tablespoons EGGS
- 1 teaspoon VANILLA EXTRACT
- ½ cup EVAPORATED MILK
- ½ teaspoon CINNAMON
Sugar Topping:
- ½ cup + 1 teaspoon BUTTER
- ⅞ cups POWDER SUGAR
- 1 cup FLOUR
- 2 ½ teaspoon COCOA POWDER
- 1 teaspoon CINNAMON
Notes:
- Using 2 large organic eggs will measure out to be 100 grams or ml. Different brands will vary in size, so make sure that the amount you use is 100ml.
- Using bread flour will create a softer texture if desired.
- Butter must be UN-SALTED. Extra salt will keep the yeast from doing its job, and your bread won’t rise.
- Depending on the flour, you may require more or less milk. Certain flours absorb more moisture.
- If using Active Yeast you will need to proof it. 1. Take warm milk in a bowl and sprinkle your 2 ½ teaspoons of yeast over the top with 1 teaspoon of sugar. 2. Whisk for 5 minutes until creamy-looking. 3. Place a towel over the top and let sit for 10 minutes. The proof should look bubbly when ready.
- If your kitchen is cold, the dough will take longer to rise. Do not try to proceed to the next step until the dough has doubled in size after rising.
- If baking multiple sheets in the oven, make sure to rotate each one after 10 to 12 minutes, switching the sheet on the bottom rack to the top rack and vice versa. This will help with even baking.
- Start early in the morning — you’ll give yourself time to let your dough rest.
With your mise en place all ready, we can get started with baking!
INSTRUCTIONS:
Making the Dough:
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer at medium speed.
- Add the butter and mix well (using the mixer at medium speed). Keep the mixer going, and mix in the eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly pour in the milk little by little until the dough looks cohesive.
- Keep beating the mixture for about 7 minutes at medium speed.
- Add a little more flour around the inside of the bowl (2–3 tablespoons), just enough for the dough to separate from the sides. The dough should be soft, slightly sticky, and very elastic.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it, just enough to shape it into a ball.
- Place the ball in a large greased bowl to rest. Cover it with plastic wrap or wax paper and a kitchen napkin. Let the dough rest in a warm place for about 2 hours, until it doubles in size. (I usually turn the light on in my unheated oven and place the bowl inside.)
Making the Sugared Topping:
- Place shortening in a small bowl. Soften with a spatula until very creamy.
- Once creamy, add the confectioners’ or powdered sugar.
- Add in the flour little by little. If desired, add the ground cinnamon on this step as well.
- Set this paste aside to use later. (If you are making half of the conchas with the chocolate topping, divide the paste in two and add the cocoa powder to one half, mixing until well integrated.)
Two hours later, after waiting for the dough to rise…
Adding Your Sugared Topping and Baking:
- Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, place it onto a floured surface and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 16 small balls. To shape the balls, lightly flour your hands and place each small ball on the working surface, gently press down with your hand and rotating your hand to form a ball.
- Place each concha onto greased baking sheets and continue until you have finished shaping all of the dough.
- Using your hand, grease the top of each ball with a little shortening. Do not skip this step.
- To add toppings, flour your hands and divide the topping paste into 16 balls. Use your hands to press each down to form 16 small, flat circles. Place these disks onto the balls of dough, and press them down very firmly.
- Once you have finished placing the topping on the buns, use a concha cutter or paring knife to decorate them with the traditional concha design.
- Once again, allow the conchas to rise in a warm place until they double in size. This can take 1-2 hours, depending on how large you’d like to make them or the temperature of your kitchen. Don’t let conchas rise for longer than 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, or until your conchas have a lightly golden bottom.
I hope you had just as much fun as I did making these. Enjoy your results!
Stefani Perez is a member of the Class of 2023. The culinary arts, especially pastry baking, are among her biggest passions.
