Authentic Mexican Conchas Recipe

Step 1

Start by combining 1 tbsp of flour and and 1 tbsp of sugar with the warm milk and the yeast. Mix well and let rest for 10 minutes.

Step 2

In a large bowl with a stand mixer, add the rest of the flour, the cinnamon, and the sugar and the yeast mixture from above and mix well.

Step 3

Add the eggs one at a time and continue mixing.

Step 4

Add the butter, vanilla extract and anise extract and mix well until everything is integrated.

Step 5

Remove from the stand mixer and knead the dough for 15-20 minutes. It will be sticky at first, but it will become less sticky as you continue to knead. You will know it is ready when it is soft and smooth and no longer sticky.

Step 6

Make the dough into a large ball and put in a large bowl that is coated with vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 40 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

Step 7

Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and separate into 8 balls, each of about 3 inches in diameter. Flatten each ball slightly and leave space between each on the baking sheet. Coat with some additional vegetable oil or melted butter before adding the the topping from the instructions below.

Step 8

Divide the powdered sugar, butter, and flour in half.

Step 9

Combined the first half of each of the above ingredients with the vanilla extract and mix well. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic. Set aside.

Step 10

Do the same with the other half, but add the cocoa powder instead of the vanilla. Form a ball, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Step 11

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit

Step 12

Divide the topping balls that you formed in the previous section into 4 even amounts for each type (vanilla and cocoa flavored), and flatten. I used a tortilla press, but you can also just use a rolling pin or your hands.

Step 13

Add one of the flattened pieces of topping to each concha. You can cut thin, shallow lines in the pattern of your choice, or you can cook it without making the cuts.

Step 14

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the bread is cooked through.