For Fluffy, Sweet Bread With a Cookie Crunch, Make Conchas (2024)

FAQs

Why are my conchas not fluffy? ›

If you want light and airy conchas, you can't rush the rising process. Make sure the dough about doubles in size during the first rise and then again once you've shaped the dough. I made this and let the dough rise about 2 hours the first time and 1.5 hours after the conchas were formed in a warm place.

Picón. The 'picón' is originally from Jalisco state and the favorite of many Jalisco citizens. This sweet bread has several appearances that vary depending on the area in which it is prepared. In many places, is similar to the 'concha' but less sweet and less common.

Conchas Ingredients

For the bread: warm water, yeast, all-purpose flour, evaporated milk, white sugar, melted butter, an egg, salt, and ground cinnamon. For the topping: white sugar, softened butter, all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract.

All conchas are made from an enriched, yeasted dough similar to brioche or challah. Traditionally, the bread roll itself is not flavored, but the cookie dough topping is classically flavored either with vanilla or chocolate. The cookie dough can be colored or flavored with anything.

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

Perfect Your Yeast Levels

The texture of the bread is mainly dependent on how much gas is in the dough. Carbon dioxide is responsible for all the bubbles that make holes in bread, making it lighter and fluffier.

Conchas are also known as Pan Dulce and Sweet Bread. This Mexican breakfast item is made of a fluffy, butter brioche-like dough topped with a streusel topping that is scored.

But I'm here to say that not all conchas are dry and overly sweet, and at their best they're truly beautiful. A collection of stunning conchas and related pan dulce. I'm happy to be a part of a generation of bakers reviving and reclaiming this beloved pan dulce.

Among all the different kinds of traditional Mexican Pan Dulce (“sweet bread”), Conchas are without a doubt the most popular and recognizable. Conchas are a soft and sweet Mexican bread with a sugar paste topping that resembles the surface of a seashell.

Add another 1 cup of flour to the mixture and knead until just combined, then continue kneading for another 5 minutes. The dough should be elastic and slightly sticky but easy to handle. If the dough is very sticky, knead in more flour.

Why isn't my concha dough rising? ›

Dough that has expired yeast, too much salt, all-purpose or cake flour, or antifungal spices like cinnamon might have trouble rising.

Mexicans traditionally eat Concha for breakfast or dinner, accompanied by hot chocolate or Champurrado. The latter is a warm, thick, chocolate-based Mexican drink made with corn- or maize flour and occasionally also containing anise seed or vanilla beans.

Translation of concha – Portuguese–English dictionary

seashell [noun] the (empty) shell of a sea creature.

(Check dough using the windowpane test [see Note] between additions of flour. Too much flour will make it harder to shape and will create a denser final crumb).

A concha's crust is typically composed of some kind of fat, sugar, and a little flour, traditionally made in one of three colors: white (vanilla), brown (chocolate), or pink. (Pink conchas are sometimes flavored with strawberry, but more often than not, they are simply dyed with food coloring.)

If too much flour is added, the conchas can become dense and dry as they bake. Weigh your ingredients: If you plan to make conchas regularly, I highly suggest investing in a kitchen scale. It makes all the difference, and you'll yield consistently soft and tender conchas.

The warm, humid temperatures help the dough rise beautifully. But in the winter, it can be hard to get the lift you need in a colder home. That's because doughs proof best in warmer temps—around 80º is just right for yeast. If your kitchen is too cold, the yeast doesn't have the right atmosphere to help the dough rise.

If your dinner rolls aren't fluffy it could be because of one of two reasons. Either, you added too much flour or you possibly used all bread flour. Alternately, not giving your dinner rolls enough time to proof and get puffy before baking could yield dense rolls.

It's important to not add too much additional flour to your dough when mixing, no matter if mixing by hand or machine. You can add up to 1 tablespoon of flour, but I highly advise not adding any more than that as the extra flour can easily dry out your conchas.