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Conchas-Mexican Pan de Dulce
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Conchas, Pan de Huevo, Pan Dulce

Once you find a basic pan dulce dough recipe that you like, you can prepare various recipes using the same dough.
Course Bread, Dessert
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings 12 Conchas

Ingredients

Ingredients

    For Dough

    • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
    • 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
    • 1 cup warm water 110 to 115 degres F
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/4 to 1/2 cup shortening you could use butter as well
    • 4 large eggs lightly beaten
    • 1 teaspoon salt if butter is salted, do not add salt
    • 4-4 1/2 cups bread flour sifted

    For Topping

    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 1 cup flour all purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 3/4-1 cup shortening or butter at room temperature

    Instructions

    Directions

    • In a bowl, combine the yeast, honey and water. Let set for 10 minutes.
    • In the stand mixer, cream together the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup shortening. Mix in the eggs, salt and yeast/water mixture. Gradually mix in the 4 cups of flour, turning up the speed, as needed. You may have to stop and scrape the sides down with a spatula from time to time. 
    • The dough should pull away from the sides of the stand mixer when ready. If it's still too sticky, mix in a little more flour. I sometimes find it easier to transfer the dough to a flat work surface to finish kneading.
    • When ready, transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hour. It must rise in a warm place. I heat my oven to 200 degrees and keep the covered bowl near the warmth of the oven. 
    • Once it proofs, punch down and divide into 12 balls. If the dough feel sticky, dust it with a little flour to help shape the conchas. Place on greased baking sheet, press down lightly. Cover loosely with a lightweight kitchen towel and let rise for 1 more hour.
    • While the conchas rise the last hour, prepare the topping. Mix the flour and sugar first. Then work in the vanilla and shortening. If it's too dry, add a little bit more shortening. If it's too sticky work in a little more flour and sugar(equal parts). 
    • When ready, roll 2 tablespoons of topping into a ball and flatten into a round disc. You can use a tortilla press to do this step. Place over conchas and score with a knife, careful not to cut into bread. See notes below for variation on the topping.
    • Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. The bottoms of bread should be golden brown. and lightly golden on top. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container with a slice of sandwich bread. This will help them stay moist for a couple of days. Best thing to do is to enjoy them while they are fresh. 
    • PLEASE read my updated notes on the concha recipe before starting.

    Notes

     I cannot stress enough that every time I prepare this recipe, the amount of flour will vary. There have been times that I end up adding almost 5 cups of flour when I am done. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky when it is ready to proof. If you add too much flour, the bread will be more dense.  
    For Colored Topping: . Add a few drops of food coloring and mix until you get the color you like. For chocolate topping, mix in some unsweetened cocoa powder. 
    Great tip for keeping the topping from falling off! Brush the dough balls with oil or shortening before placing the sweet topping on. 
    Works better! Add the sweet topping to the dough balls as soon as you shape them, not after they proof. Score gently and you will get a more classic concha look as it proofs and grows in size. 
    Add more flavor to your conchas! Mix in some orange zest, anise seeds or fresh ground canela to the dough in the stand mixer.