Conchas are a Mexican bread, a sweet bread (Pan Dulce) that are served at panaderías. This concha bread is a soft, enriched dough that has a lovely buttery and sweet flavor.
Let’s talk about Mexican conchas which are also known as pan dulce!
Sweet Bread literally translates to pan dulce in Spanish. While concha in English translates to seashell. Makes sense given that conchas look like seashells!
When I moved back to California after I graduated college, I realized I literally knew nothing about Mexican food. I, of course, had eaten a good amount of Mexican food when I lived in the OC as a little kid. But I don’t think I understood what I was eating. I also don’t think we ate a huge variety of Mexican food. And to be honest, my mom cooked most of the meals we ate. We weren’t a super “go-out-to-eat” type of family. That woman was on a budget!
When I finally moved back to Los Angeles, after college, I started to really understand and learn the different varieties of Mexican food and it was cool. I learned the differences between food from Baja, Mexico City, Colima, the Yucatan and Oaxaca. And my actual trips to Mexico have been even more educational.
One of my favorite places I went to in Mexico City was a panadería where they served the warmest, freshest conchas with the crispiest tops.
The Anatomy of Conchas/Pan Dulce
If you’ve never had a concha/pan dulce, they consist of this: on the bottom there is a brioche-like dough that’s rolled into rounds. The top is a streusel-like shell that is mixed until it’s super smooth, and then patted into a thin round and draped over the dough. Next, a concha-shaped cutter is pressed into the top. Since I don't own one, I used a knife to score it. The slats won't be perfect but once the concha/pan dulce is baked up, you won't be able to notice. Then, the dough is baked after a quick rise.
The top is crunchy and crisp, the bottom half, fluffy and soft. They’re typically eaten at breakfast time with a mug of hot chocolate or coffee.
The Origins of Conchas and Pan Dulce
While conchas/pan dulce are for sure Mexican, their origins go back to Europe. Many panaderias were influenced by the French, who migrated there for who knows why, bringing their doughs and techniques to Mexico. Mexican chefs adapted these doughs and created many of the goods you see in panaderias today.
I love learning about history in food. It’s truly fascinating, especially in Latin America. A few weeks ago, I bought a few books (they’re on their way to me), that will teach me a thing or two about our food history.
I’ll share more info when I learn it! In the mean time, let’s make some Mexican pan dulce/conchas!
And of course, pair it with a few cups of fancy hot chocolate!
Conchas Recipe (Pan Dulce - Sweet Bread)
Ingredients
Concha Dough:
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup evaporated milk (you can also use regular whole milk)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Streusel Topping:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- Food Coloring Gel
Instructions
To Make the Concha Dough:
- To the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the hook attachment (you can also do this in a large bowl and knead it by hand!), add the warm water. Pour the active dry yeast on top and mix in into the water. Allow to stand until foamy, about 5 to 7 minutes. If it doesn’t get foamy then you’ll need to do it again.
- When the active dry yeast is foamy, pour in the vegetable oil, melted butter, granulated sugar, evaporated milk, salt, vanilla, ground cinnamon and eggs. Break up the eggs with the back of a spatula and allow the dough hook to mix it up a bit, about 30 seconds.
- Next, pour the flour in all at once and run the machine for about 5 minutes on medium speed, until the dough is soft and smooth. If you’re doing this by hand, once the dough comes together, you’ll want to dump it out onto your floured counter and knead it for about 10 minutes, until it’s nice and smooth.
- Rub a large bowl with oil or spray it with cooking spray and place the dough in the center of the bowl. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and allow it to rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
To Make the Streusel-Topping:
- In the bowl of stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment (you could also mix this by hand if you don’t have a mixer), add the butter, sugar, flour and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Divide the dough in two. To one part of the topping, add a drop of food coloring gel. To the other topping, add the cocoa powder and knead until it’s cohesive.
To Assemble the Conchas:
- Once the dough has risen, divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Or better yet, weigh them into balls of 100g. Form the balls of dough into rounds. Repeat until you’ve worked through all of the dough.
- Take about 2 tablespoons of the topping and rollout using our palms, flatting it into a thin round. Drape it over the round of dough, patting down lightly. Using a knife, cut grooves in the topping like a clam shell. You can also do other types of cuts like criss cross, circles, etc. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool. Serve with hot chocolate or coffee.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make these conchas, let me know on Instagram!
Looking for more Latin-inspired recipes? Here are some other favorites:
maggie says
I used somebody else's recipe yesterday and it wasn't good; sugar paste got all freaky and lumpy/gritty-looking after baking (don't know how her paste was "rollable" it was awfully wet, and the sugar proportion wasn't right), and the dough was a bit heavy for a sweet bun. Yours came out perfect. I made some changes: added a little almond extract and wrapped the dough around a piece of dark chocolate. Brushed the buns with cream to make the sugar paste stick on, and sprinkled sugar on top before baking. These are super nice-looking, great option for a less sweet kind of sweet.
Adrianna Adarme says
love this review! so glad they worked out 🙂
Lynn says
Thank you for posting! I tried to halve and was a lil fast and loose with my conversions..also impatient with the proofing and letting rise..but! They turned out beautiful and delicious! As a sloppy recipe follower, I think these are easy and amazing!
Next time I make them, will do it more fastidiously, and I know will rival our best panaderia!
Liziya says
I have tried this recipe twice and it was great. They come out nice and fluffy and super tasty. Thank you!
Aureliarose says
These are amazing!
Rebecca F. says
Though I have not tried this recipe, I am. I would like to make mini conchas, how long would you recommend baking for to turn this 12serving recipe into 24 mini conchas? Also if mixing by hand on step 2 do I mix slightly with a whisk or spatula/spoon?
Karen says
This is my go-to concha recipe and they come out perfect every time, but I follow the instructions to the letter. Thank you so much!
yoli says
loved this recipe but i want to know if you can tell me why they got so hard? the taste and everything else came out fine but they got really hard. not sure why,
Yoli says
Hi,
i am going to try your recipe, i've look at so many and this one looks like its simple. I will let you know how its goes.
thank you for sharing..
Cate says
Amazing
Esme says
The recipe looks amazing. I tried to make it 3 times so far but the consistency is not what the video shows. I am not sure where I went wrong!
MMM says
Giving 3 stars because I probably did something wrong although I followed each step very carefully. The dough did not rise much. It took over 3hrs before I felt comfortable shaping and putting in the oven. The topping was perfect. I baked 3 to begin with and the bottoms were burnt and the middle wasn't completely cooked. So I wasn't sure if the dough needed more time to proof or what. It took longer than expected so I put the rest of the dough in the fridge overnight because honestly, I was done trying by 8pm. I woke up and took the dough out to warm to room temp. Put it in the oven (not heated) with boiling water underneath to help. 2hrs later I shaped 4 more. Put them in with a pan of water underneath so the bottoms wouldn't burn. The bottoms didn't burn but they were dense and doughy. Because it didn't proof properly I was only able to make mini ones.
The taste was nice although it wasn't the same as what I remember growing up in the Harbor Area of LA. I threw them out and the rest of the dough. Maybe I'll try again but I'm extremely discouraged.
Adrianna Adarme says
Hmmm...it sounds like either the yeast was bad OR it wasn't put in a place that was warm. Maybe try it again and place it in a warm-ish place.
smilezply says
u said instant yeast w/ the flour . last step ... umm didn't rise
and no powdered sugar smh. I wasted 40$ on the items 4 this recipe.
Yesenia says
Delicious! They smell wonderful and taste even better. Thank you for the recipe.
Adrianna Adarme says
wonderful!!
Stephanie says
This is third concha recipe I’ve tried and it’s the best by far. They weren’t as nice and airy as a panaderia but that’s my fault. The yeast wasn’t as bubbly as it should’ve been and I used it anyway
Tmm says
You need something for the yeast to eat. Yeast won't bloom in water alone. This is why your dough is dense and did not rise. I added some sugar to my warm water, then it all worked out fine and fluffy! I hope this helps everyone.