Conchas
Sweet enriched rolls under a crisp sugar paste scored into a shell. Mexico's pan dulce, and the pattern is the name.
Photograph credit: Concha (pan dulce mexicano) 01 by ProtoplasmaKid · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Don't Make These Mistakes
Topping on before the second prove.
Score firmly, nearly through the paste.
Roll the discs thin or the pattern will not open.
Making Conchas
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Mix the strong flour, caster sugar, yeast and salt, then work in the warm milk and eggs to a soft dough.
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Knead 10 minutes, then work in the softened butter and knead 5 minutes more until smooth.
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Prove covered for 90 minutes, until doubled.
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Beat the topping butter with the icing sugar until pale, then work in the plain flour and vanilla to a stiff paste.
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Divide the paste in two and knead the cocoa into one half.
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Knock the dough back, divide into 8 and shape into tight balls on a lined tray.
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Divide each colour of topping into 4 and roll each piece between baking paper into a thin disc.
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Lay a disc over each ball, pressing it down the sides.
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Score a shell pattern firmly into each disc with a knife, cutting most of the way through the paste.
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Prove 50 minutes, then bake at 180°C / 355°F for 18 minutes, until the pattern has opened and the buns are golden.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Why It Works
The topping is a paste of equal parts butter, icing sugar and flour, and it must be rolled thin and laid on before the second prove, not after. It rises with the bun and the scored lines open into the shell as the dough expands underneath — put it on after proving and the pattern stays closed. Score firmly, most of the way through the paste.
After You've Cooked It
Best the day they are baked. Freeze 1 month.
What to Serve Alongside
- Café de olla
- Hot chocolate
- Dunking
Common Questions About Conchas
How long does Conchas take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours 20 minutes of proving the dough, so allow 3 hours 20 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
Conchas Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .