Mexican history and bread have a very close relationship, it even transcends the culinary sphere and is part of the culture itself. This almost perfect combination has occurred through centuries, advancing along with Mexican society.
THE ORIGIN
Bread in the Mexican diet is linked to the Spanish conquest. It was the Europeans who brought the processes of transforming wheat into bread, the beginning of the bakery industry dates back to 1524.
During the conquest, the ovens of Spanish or Creole families, little by little they were becoming production companies for the consumption of the general population.
The pieces of bread that were sold en masse were found in the grocery stores, squares, and markets; At the end of the 18th century, the first European bakery and pastry masters arrived in México, mainly from France and Italy, with this establishing the first bakeries or family bread workshops, where the head of the family is the teacher and his children the wards.
Starting in the 1940s, the history of bread in México was linked to the employer organizations that emerged during the process of institutionalization of the economic, social, and political life of the country.
OUR MOST POPULAR BREAD:
Today, “Conchita” is the darling of Mexican pastries, and probably one of the most colorful pieces of bread in the world.
It is a semi-sphere-shaped bread, which has, on its entire surface, icing sugar frosting and butter that can be white or chocolate-colored.
On this layer of frosting, grooves are marked, with a special apparatus, which appears as of the lines of the seashells. A noun derived from the Greek kónkhee: shell.
Although Conchitas are traditionally vanilla or chocolate, their recent fame has led restaurants and chefs to experiment with ingredients to give them unique flavors and colors.
In recent years in the United States, la Conchita has gone from being one of the pastries available in bakeries in Mexican neighborhoods to being present in trendy restaurants and cafes.
On this blog, we bring you our Chef’s Luis Pazos best recipe to prepare Conchitas.
“CONCHITAS”
Ingredients (14-15 UNITS):
Mass for “Conchitas” (DOUGH)
- 250 g of bread flour
- 250 g of bakery flour
- 290 g of water
- 25 g of sugar
- 10 g of salt
- 25 g of powdered milk
- 3 g of freeze-dried baker’s yeast (9 g of fresh yeast)
- 50 g of softened butter
Sugar crust
- 150 g of pastry flour
- 150 g of icing sugar
- 150 g butter, softened
- 2 drops of vanilla extract
- 1 g of cocoa powder
ELABORATION:
Dough for “Conchitas”
- Weigh the ingredients on the scale and mix the baker’s flour and bread flour with the water, salt, powdered milk, and baker’s yeast in a bowl.
- We reserve the sugar and butter.
- Knead in one-minute intervals, separated by 10-minute rest, until the dough begins to be thinner and more elastic (3-4 times).
- Add sugar and soft butter and continue the kneading-resting cycles until the dough is fine and smooth.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover it, and let it ferment until double the volume.
Sugar crust
- Mix the pastry flour with the icing sugar and butter until obtaining a hom*ogeneous dough.
- Divide into two equal portions; We add the vanilla extract to one and the cocoa powder to the other.
- Wrap both in plastic while the dough has just fermented.
- Formed from the shells
- When the dough has fermented, degas by flattening it with your hand on the table.
- Divide into 60 g portions and form balls with them, which we will place on a baking sheet.
- To apply the sugar crust, we take portions of about 25-30 g, which we form between our hands in the shape of a pancake almost the diameter of the dough balls.
- Add some water, so that the coverage sticks well, apply and squash the ball with the palm of your hand so that it adheres perfectly.
- Once all the conchitas are formed, use a sharp knife to make the drawing that we want.
- Cover with plastic and leave to ferment until very fluffy.
- Heat the oven to 180ºC and bake conchitas when they are very inflated, that they feel very soft when you touch the side with a finger, about 8-10 minutes until they are lightly browned.
- Remove las Conchitas from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool.
Enjoy a delicious “Conchita” with coffee or a tasty piece of sweet bread at Aromas Cafeteria, located atEl Cid Castilla Beach Hotel,or Dolores Market at
Nothing better than bread cooked with love and dedication by our chefs at the bakery ofEl Cid Resorts.
