My friend Grace sent me this recipe to try and conchas have proven a challenge to get right. So be warned, this recipe is not easy. The original recipe comes from King Arthur flour and they have a few tips on there if you want to take a look. I tried the recommendations they had for the dough and didn’t find them super helpful. The stickiness of the dough made working with it very difficult. I found the best solution for this to be to use oil instead of flour when working with the dough. Cover your work surface and hands with a little bit of vegetable oil and you’ll find working with the dough much easier. Additionally, the dough won’t get tough from all the flour you would have to add otherwise in order to work with it. On to the rest of the notes.
Concha Recipe Notes
Combine all of the dry ingredients and mix. Then add the wet ingredients and knead in your stand mixer for 5 to ten minutes. The dough should have good gluten development and pass the windowpane test. Its going to be super sticky though. When making this recipe, its important to note that the proofing times can vary widely. I generally err on the side of caution when proofing dough. I also take a photo of the dough at the start of proofing to more easily gauge whether the dough has doubled in size or not. Once the dough is covered and proofing, make the topping. Mix the ingredients together and then add the flour in two parts. Set aside for use later or divide into ten equal pieces if you want to save time in the next step.
Concha Shaping Notes
Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer to a lightly oiled work surface. You can use flour if you prefer but because of the stickiness of the dough, I would recommend oil to make working with the dough easier. Divide the dough into ten equal pieces and roll each into a ball and place on a lined baking tray. I found that the rolls spread a bit during their second proof and baking so be sure to give plenty of space between them. Next, brush the tops of the rolls with the egg white. Divide the topping into ten equal parts and roll each piece into a ball. Place the ball between two pieces of wax paper and roll into a disc using a rolling pin. Place the disc on top of the roll and repeat with the rest of the topping. Let the rolls proof uncovered for 45 minutes or until nice and puffy.
Baking Notes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place a rack in the center. Before putting in the oven, use a bread lame or sharp knife to cut designs into the toppings of the conchas. Be careful not to cut into the dough when making your designs. Bake for 18-24 minutes or until the topping is nice and golden brown. Leave the conchas in the pan until cool enough to handle. Enjoy warm! Leftovers can be stored at room temp for 3 days. After that they start to get a touch stale and the topping starts crumbling off the top a bit more than usual.
Cinnamon Conchas
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
- Wax paper
- Bread lame sharp paring knife works as well
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients
- 7 grams Dry Yeast
- 450 grams AP flour
- 8 grams Salt
- 99 grams White Sugar
- 170 grams water, room temp
- 43 grams Unsalted Butter, softened 3 tbsp
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Large Egg Yolk white reserved
- 9 grams vanilla extract
Concha Topping Ingredients
- 99 grams White Sugar
- 1 gram Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 71 grams Unsalted Butter, softened 5 tbsp
- 80 grams AP flour
Instructions
Dough Instructions
- Mix the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer and incorporate.
- Add the butter, water, vanilla extract, and eggs and mix with the dough hook attachment. The dough will come together but be very sticky and not clear the side of the bowl like a traditional brioche dough will.
- Cover the dough and set aside to proof until doubled in size, roughly 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Topping Instructions
- While the dough is proofing, mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl until smooth.
- Stir in half of the flour and mix until smooth. Repeat with the other half of the flour. Cover and set aside
Concha Assembly Instructions
- Transfer the proofed dough to an greased work surface and divide into ten equal pieces, around 89 grams each.
- Roll each piece into a ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Divide the topping into ten equal pieces, around 24 grams each and roll into a ball.
- Place the ball between two pieces of wax paper and roll out into a circle 3" or 4" in diameter, enough to cover the ball of dough. Repeat for the rest.
- Lightly beat the egg white and brush the tops of the rolls with the egg white and then add the circle of topping.
- Let the rolls proof a second time until puffy, around 45 minutes.
Baking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place a rack in the center of the oven.
- Prior to baking, use the bread lame or a sharp knife to cut designs into the topping on each roll. Do not cut into the dough.
- Bake for 18 to 24 minutes, until golden brown. Let the rolls cool in the pan until cool enough to handle.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temp in an airtight container for 3 days.
