Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and dough conditioner. Mix in the sugar and salt. Set it aside.

Mix the yeast and sugar into the warm milk. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

When ready, to the bowl of the stand mixer, add half of the dry ingredients. Pour in the yeast/milk mixture, 2 eggs lightly beaten, butter and vanilla. With the paddle attachment. mix at medium speed for 5 minutes. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix at medium for 5 more minutes. Mix in 1/8 of the room temperature milk. Mix for 10-15 minutes or until the dough becomes more elastic. Stop and scrape down the sides halfway through using a silicone spatula. When dough is ready, it should still feel tacky but shouldn’t stick to your fingers. If the dough feels too dry, you could mix in a little more of the remaining milk. Avoid mixing in more flour or the bread could be dense.

When ready, rub some cooking oil on your hands. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Cover and let dough proof in a warm spot for 1 ½ hours- 2 hours or until it doubles in size.

While dough is proofing, prepare the topping.

Mix the butter, shortening and sugar together until well incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and 1 c of ap flour. If it feels too sticky, mix in a little more of the remaining flour. Lastly, mix in the food coloring until you reach the desired color. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

Once the dough has doubled in size, with more oil on your hands, transfer the dough to a flat work surface. Punch down and divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Roll each ball into a disc shape and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Space out evenly. Rub some shortening on your fingers and gently apply it to the tops of dough, applying gentle pressure.

The candy paste is good for 8 conchas, but I only made 6 larger conchas. Shape 6 balls about the size of a ping pong ball. One by one place the candy paste ball in between plastic and press to flatten using a tortilla press of the bottom of a plate. It should be no bigger than 2 ½-2 ¾ inches across. Cover dough balls with flattened candy paste topping. Cup your hand down onto unbaked concha to make sure topping sticks on the sides as well.

Score to desired design, making sure you don’t cut into the dough. Cover once again and let conchas proof for 40 more minutes. When ready, bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 21-24 minutes or until internal temperature of the bread reads 190-200 degrees F. Let conchas cool before transferring storage bags or large storage container.