Making and Enjoying Mexican Conchas

Conchas

    I've been wanting to share this recipe for a while. However, I wanted to make sure that I was truly happy with the results. I am proud to say that after trying different recipes (From Chef Quiroz and other famous Mexican bakers), I am bringing to you my ultimate, my best cocha recipe. Spoiler: I do not use a concha stamp as commercial bakeries do. Instead I use an x-acto knife and I make my design this way. 

Ingredients

To Make The Dough

    4 Cups of all-purpose flour. Separate the flour into two containers with three and one cups of flour respectively
    1 Cup of lukewarm condensed milk
    1 Tablespoon of yeast
    1/2 Cup of sugar
    8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter (typically one stick of butter is 8 tbs).
    1 Tablespoon of vanilla
    3 Eggs at room temperature

To Make The Topping(s)

    1 Cup of flour
    1 Cup of powdered sugar
    8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

Directions

    1. Start your masa madre (Spanish for starter) by mixing in a clear bowl 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of lukewarm condensed milk, 1 teaspoon of sugar (taken from the 1/2 cup of sugar), and 1 tablespoon of yeast. Mix enthusiastically by hand and let it rest in a warm place for 15 to 20 minutes or until the yeast has activated. This will become apparent once the mix becomes airy and fluffy. 

Figure 1. Masa madre before the yeast becomes active

Figure 2. Masa madre after the yeast has activated.

    2. On a mixer (e.g. KitchenAid), beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla with the paddle attachment on medium high speed until all the ingredients are uniformly mixed. 

Figure 3. The butter, sugar, and vanilla are uniformly mixed. 

    3. Add the masa madre to the mixer along with the eggs and reduce the speed to low. Once all the ingredients have incorporated, remove the paddle attachment and use the hook attachment. 

Figure 4. Incorporating the eggs and masa madre into the mixture. 

    4. Add the flour, bit by bit, and continue mixing on low speed. Lastly add the salt. You may increase the speed to medium low. 

Figure 5. The mixer continues working the dough with the hook attachment. 

    5. At this point, you may choose to continue working your dough either on the mixer or by hand. Either way it will take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes; depending on your climate and the rate at which your flour and yeast are releasing gluten. I chose to continue mixing on my mixer, pardon the redundancy, for approximately 40 minutes. You may chose to work your dough by hand to avoid overworking your mixer or simply for taking pleasure in the little things in life. 

    6. You may stop working your dough once it has become easily malleable and resistant yet flexible. It does not break when stretched and it does not stick to the sides of the bowl or to your hands. This is known in Spanish as "punto de ventana"; as you are able to hold it against the light, stretch it enough to see the light through, but it won't break. 

Figure 6. Dough at punto de ventana as evidenced by not sticking to the sides of the bowl and easily being removed from the hook. 

    7. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl; preferably a clear one so you can observe how well it is raising. Cover it with a reusable plastic or a clean kitchen towel and keep it in a warm place. A warm place for you may look like a sunny window. For me, due to having a cold day, meant putting my dough in the oven on bread proof mode. This may take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. However, do not go by the time. Observe and measure the dough. It will be ready when it has roughly doubled its size. 

Figure 7. Always utilize re-usable materials in your kitchen.

Figure 8. This dough is thriving in its environment. It has doubled in size. 

    8. As we wait, we will make our toppings. In a bowl, mix 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 8 tablespoons of butter (typically equivalent to 1 stick of butter). You may mix it by hand; it's more fun this way. If you are planning to only make one flavor topping, no need to divide. But if you are planning to make two or more flavors, divide the mix into equal parts. For instance, I chose to make a (1) pistachio topping, a (2) raspberry topping, and a (3) chocolate hazelnut topping. Thus, I divided the mix into 3 roughly equal parts. 

Figure 9. Dividing the topping into approximate equal parts. 

    8.1. To make the pistachio topping, I added 1/2 a teaspoon of pistachio extract and a handful of chopped pistachios to the mix. No coloring was needed as the pistachios provided the mix with a beautiful and discrete green color. 

    8.2. To make the raspberry topping, I also added 1/2 a teaspoon of raspberry extract to the second mix as well as a handful of chopped raspberries. This mix needed an additional 2 tablespoons of flour due to the extra humidity added from the raspberries. It would have been next to impossible to work with a topping as runny and sticky. We need a topping that we are able to roll into a ball without it sticking to our hands. 

    8.3. Lastly, I made the chocolate hazelnut topping by mixing 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of hazelnut extract to the last portion of the topping mix. 

    9. Once done configuring your toppings, you may set aside and cover with a reusable plastic, a container, or with a clean kitchen towel. 

Figure 10. Three different toppings covered with a reusable plastic wrap. 

    10. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove from the container, place on your working surface, and punch it to de-gasify. If you are working on a bare kitchen counter or table you will need to flour your surface. I recommend using a non-stick silicone mat to avoid wasting flour. 

Figure 11. This dough has been enthusiastically, albeit gently, punched in the middle. 

    11. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Subsequently divide each third into 4 equal parts. 

Figure 12. Dough divided into thirds to subsequently be divided again into fourths for a total of 12 portions.

    12. Make each fraction into a ball and place them on a baking tray with parchment paper or a reusable baking sheet. I recommend only placing 4 balls, as spaced as possible from each other and from the edges of the tray, to avoid having the conchas touch each other when they will be baking in the oven. Butter the top of each ball. 

Figure 13. 12 Balls of dough equally distributed among three trays. 

    13. Take each topping at a time and divide it into 4. Take each fourth and flatten it either by using a tortilla press or by hand as if you were making corn tortillas by hand. 

Figure 14. Shaping each topping portion by hand as a corn tortilla. 

Figure 15. A tortilla flattener may deliver similar results.

    14. Place each flattened portion of the topping on the top of its corresponding ball of dough. Press down slightly. Do this with each portion of the topping on every ball of dough. 

    15. You may make your concha design either by using a concha stamp or by hand. Concha, in Spanish, means seashell, so be creative and draw with the knife however you think that a seashell should or could look like. Do not press hard as you are making the design. You want to make grooves on the topping; not stab your dough. 

Figure 16. Cracks on the topping are a natural and expected occurrence. 

    16. Let your dough rest again in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour. It will increase its volume by about fifty percent. 

Figure 17. Dough resting for a second time. This process may be extended for later use of the dough by storing it in a refrigerator.

    17. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 

    18. Bake each tray for 20 minutes. Place the conchas on a cooling tray to avoid getting condensation under the bread as it cools down. 

    19. Enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee with a loved one (doesn't have to be human, but if non-human, better to only share the moment and not the bread itself). 

Figure 18. This writer is about to enjoy the fruits of their labor with a young child. 

    20. Optional: Store in a reusable "ziplog" bag to keep it fresh for later consumption only after it has throughly cooled down. 

    21. Also optional: Please leave a comment below. Any feedback is appreciated by yours truly.