Conchas de Vainilla y Chocolate

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with dough hook
• •Digital kitchen scale for even buns
• •Concha cutter or small sharp knife
• •Two heavy baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Clean cotton kitchen cloth

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dough

   In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the lukewarm milk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix with the dough hook on low until the flour disappears and a rough dough forms. It will look stiff at first. Let it mix two minutes before judging it. Flour takes time to drink.

2. 2

   Work in butter

   Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing on medium-low after each addition until it disappears into the dough. The dough will smear, then tighten, then become smooth and elastic. This takes 10 to 12 minutes. Do not dump all the butter in at once unless you want a greasy dough that fights you.

3. 3

   Proof the dough

   Lightly oil a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in the bowl, and cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The dough should look swollen and soft, and a floured finger pressed into it should leave a slow dent. If your kitchen is cold, wait. The panadero waits too.

4. 4

   Make sugar paste

   While the dough rises, mix the all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, and softened shortening or butter until you have a smooth, moldable paste. Divide it in half. Knead 1 teaspoon vanilla into one half. Knead the cocoa powder into the other half, adding the extra tablespoon of flour only if the paste feels sticky. The paste should roll without cracking and press flat without sticking to your fingers.

   Many Mexico City bakeries use manteca vegetal for the shell because it holds the scored pattern cleanly. Butter tastes richer but softens faster. Choose with your eyes open. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
5. 5

   Shape the buns

   Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured board and divide it into 12 equal pieces, about 80 grams each if you are weighing. Cup your hand over each piece and roll it against the board until the surface tightens into a smooth round. Place the rounds on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving space between them. A concha needs room to swell.

6. 6

   Cap with paste

   Divide each paste flavor into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten it between plastic or parchment into a thin disk slightly smaller than the dough round. Lay one disk on each bun and press gently so it adheres. Do not smash the dough. You are attaching the shell, not punishing it.

7. 7

   Score the shells

   Use a concha cutter or a small sharp knife to score curved shell lines into the paste. Cut through the paste but not deeply into the dough. The lines will open as the dough proofs and bakes. This seam is why the bread is called concha. Without the scored shell, it is just a sweet bun wearing a hat.

8. 8

   Final proof

   Cover the shaped conchas loosely and let them rise until puffy, 45 to 60 minutes. The dough should expand under the paste and the scored lines should begin to separate. Heat the oven to 350F during the last 20 minutes. Do not overproof until the paste tears badly at the edges. You want lift, not collapse.

9. 9

   Bake until set

   Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the bottoms are golden and the bread feels light when lifted. The vanilla paste should stay pale with faint golden edges. The chocolate paste should look dry and set, not wet. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a rack.

10. 10

    Serve properly

    Serve the conchas warm or at room temperature with cafe de olla, hot chocolate, or a glass of cold milk. Do not glaze them. Do not fill them with whipped cream and call that the standard. Those versions exist, yes, but the concha de panaderia needs only its crumb and its shell. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use bread flour for structure. All-purpose flour works, but the crumb will be softer and less elastic. In a Mexico City panaderia, the dough has enough strength to rise high under the shell.
• •Mexican vanilla matters here because there are no chiles, herbs, or salsas to hide behind. Buy real extract, not clear imitation vanilla that smells like candy.
• •Cocoa powder should be natural, not sweetened drinking chocolate. Chocolate paste is meant to taste like cocoa and sugar, not like powdered milk.
• •If your paste cracks badly before baking, it is too dry. Knead in 1 teaspoon softened butter or shortening. If it melts down the sides, it is too soft. Knead in 1 tablespoon flour and chill it 10 minutes.
• •Not all Mexican food is chile and lime. This is a 32-state cuisine, and the panaderia is part of it. The wheat bread of the central highlands has its own discipline.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be mixed, covered, and refrigerated overnight after the first 30 minutes of room-temperature rise. Shape it cold the next morning and give it extra time for the final proof.
• •The vanilla and chocolate sugar pastes can be made two days ahead, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated. Let them soften at room temperature before rolling.
• •Baked conchas are best the day they are made. Store leftovers in a paper bag inside a loose plastic bag for one day, then warm briefly in a low oven to revive the crumb.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)