Mexican Conchas

Conchas – Mexican wheat bread

Conchas are a soft and sweet Mexican bread with a topping that resembles the surface of a seashell. This is where the Concha gets its name, since “Concha” means “shell” in Spanish. The classic color of the topping is white, but it can also be colored and flavored to pink, yellow, or brown (which is chocolate flavored) or any colors of your choice.

12 buns

Ingredients:

Dough

450 g special wheat flour, approx. 7, 5 dl
175 g eggs, about 3 eggs
130 g milk, 1, 3 dl
120 g sugar, about 1, 3 dl
20 g fresh yeast
5 g salt, about 1 tsp
100 g butter, room temperature

Topping

160 g wheat flour special, approx. 2, 7 dl
120 g butter
140 g icing sugar, about 2, 3 dl

Directions:

Estimated cooking time: 20 minutes cooking time, 8 hours in the fridge for rising and fermentation.

When baking 1 hour rising, 15 minutes baking.

Make the topping:

Soften the shortening with your spatula until it is very creamy, and then add the confectioner’s sugar. Finally, add in the flour little by little. Set this paste aside to use later. If you’re making half of the Conchas with the chocolate topping, then divide the paste in two and add the cocoa powder to one half, mixing it until it integrates very well. If you want to add any other colors or tastes, divide the topping accordingly and add your choices to the various doughs. Roll out the dough to 2 mm thick and stick out 12 rounds.

Make the buns

Now make the dough by mixing flour, eggs, milk, sugar, yeast and

salt in a dough machine (with dough hook) for about 10 minutes until the dough is flexible and has a good gluten structure (do a gluten test). (You can also kneed with your hands).

3. Add the butter and let it mix into the dough. The dough should be elastic and flexible. Set the dough in the fridge overnight to rise.

4. Form 12 balls of the dough. Using your hands, grease the top of each ball with a little shortening. Do not skip this step, as it will help the topping adhere to the dough. Place a round of the topping on top of each of the buns. Once you’ve finished placing the topping on the buns, use a concha cutter or a knife to decorate them with the traditional concha shape.

5. Set the oven to 200 Celsius degrees ( 325 Fahrenheit). Let the balls rise to their double size.

Bake the buns for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.