← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 450 g Strong bread flour
• 100 g Sugar
• 7 g instant yeast (1 sachet)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 120 ml warm milk
• 85 g Butter, softened
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 100 g plain flour
• 100 g Icing sugar
• 70 g Butter, softened
• ½ tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder, for chocolate conchas (optional)

Method

1. Mix the bread flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla and knead for 5 min into a sticky dough.
2. Add the soft butter a little at a time and keep kneading for 8–10 min, until the dough is smooth, glossy and stretchy. It will be soft; resist adding much flour.
3. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise for 1½ hours, until doubled.
4. For the topping, mix the flour, icing sugar, butter and vanilla into a smooth paste like soft play dough. Split it in two and knead the cocoa into one half if you like.
5. Knock back the dough, divide into 12 and roll into smooth balls. Space them on two lined trays and press each slightly flat. Roll a walnut-sized piece of topping into a thin disc between two sheets of baking paper and lay it on top of each bun.
6. Score the topping in a shell or criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife or concha cutter, without cutting into the dough. Leave to rise for 1 hour, until puffy.
7. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 18–20 min, until the bases are golden and the buns sound hollow underneath; the topping should stay pale. Cool on a rack.

Tips

• Best on the day, dunked in hot chocolate or café de olla; refresh day-old conchas in a warm oven for 3 min.
• If the topping cracks while you roll it, the paste is too dry: knead in a little more soft butter.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

King Arthur Baking Maricruz Avalos My Latina Table