Recipes
Fany Gerson's Conchas
One of my favorites and a revised version of the one in my cookbook, My Sweet Mexico.
Makes approximately 16 conchas
ingredients
for the dough
- 500 grams all-purpose flour
- 90 grams sugar
- 14 grams active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 250 milliliters milk, room temperature
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 105 grams Kerrygold Unsalted Pure Irish Butter, cubed and room temperature
for the topping
- 100 grams all-purpose flour
- 100 grams icing sugar
- 100 grams Kerrygold Unsalted Pure Irish Butter cubed and room temperature
- 15 grams cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
- To make the dough in a mixer: Use a standing mixer with the hook attachment. Add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt and mix together for about a minute. With the mixer still running, add about a third of the milk just to incorporate.
- Add in the eggs one by one. Then, with the mixer still running, add the rest of the milk.
- Knead in all the flour and continue to mix until the dough is smooth and uniform. Finally, add the room-temperature butter, and mix until all the butter is incorporated into the dough. Continue mixing until the dough comes off the sides and feels smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Resist the urge to add more flour as this will make it tough. If after ten minutes the dough is still sticking, add just a bit of flour so it comes off the sides of the bowl.
- In a lightly greased a bowl, place the dough and cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or at room temperature for 45 minutes or until doubled in volume.
To make the dough by hand: Put the flour on a clean work surface or in a large bowl and form a well in the center. Pour in about ⅓ of milk and the sugar, yeast, and salt and mix to incorporate using your hand. - Add in the eggs one by one, gradually pulling in a little more flour each time. Little by little add the rest of the milk. Knead in all the flour and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and uniform. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Finally, knead in the room-temperature butter, until all the butter is incorporated into the dough.
- In a lightly greased bowl, place the dough and cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or at room temperature for 45 minutes or until doubled in volume.
- Sift the flour with the icing sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and mix with your hands until smooth. Divide the topping dough into 2 equal portions and place them in separate bowls. Add the cocoa powder to one and the vanilla extract to the other. Knead both doughs until you get two uniform doughs. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Remove the concha dough from the bowl. Working on a floured work surface, deflate the dough. Divide the dough in 16 portions and let rest for 10 minutes under a clean kitchen towel. Line a couple of baking sheets with a bit of oil or butter and place a piece of parchment paper on top so it sticks to the baking sheet. Shape the portioned dough into balls and place them on your baking sheets a few centimeters apart, allowing room for the dough balls to grow.
- Lightly press down to flatten each dough ball with the palm of your hand, then lightly grease the tops with a little bit of butter.
- Lightly flour your work surface and knead the two topping doughs to warm them up. Form into small balls about 3 centimeters/1 inch in diameter. Lightly flour your hands and flatten each topping dough ball to form a uniform disk.
- Place one of the flattened toppings on top of a greased concha dough ball, then mark the top using a concha cutter (or the tip paring knife) so that it resembles the design of a seashell—or whatever you’d like! Repeat with the remaining pieces. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest until doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Bake the concha for 12 to 15 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool before enjoying.
Make the dough
Make the Topping
Assemble the conchas
Divider
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