Abuelita Conchas
Mexican Sweet Bread
Yield: 16 pieces
Cook time: 4.5 to 5 hours
(includes 4 hours proof time)
As a Cantonese Mexican American, I love both Chinese and Mexican desserts. This is a recipe for Mexican conchas — a sweet bun that resembles the soft, buttery milk breads popular throughout Asia. You can also flavor them with matcha, taro, or black sesame.
Ingredients
Dough
132 ml whole milk (127 g)
8 g active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
130 g granulated sugar, divided
112 g unsalted butter
2 eggs (room temp)
½ tsp vanilla extract
166 g bread flour
132 g all-purpose flour
4 g salt
Abuelita Topping
60 g shortening, plus extra for greasing the tops
50 g unsalted butter (softened)
100 g confectioner’s sugar
120 g all-purpose flour
40 g Abuelita brand chocolate (1 tablet finely crushed)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (preferably verum)
Substitutions
– Instead of whole milk, I’ve used half-and-half and it came out pretty much the same. Haven’t tried non-dairy options, but give it a try!
– You can use regular cinnamon if you can’t find cinnamon verum. Cinnamon verum has a slightly sweeter aroma and taste.
– You can make the topping any flavor you like (matcha, taro, black sesame). If you don’t have Abuelita chocolate tablets to crush, you can use cocoa powder instead.
– For the sesame version, sub the crushed Abuelita chocolate for equal amounts of roughly ground black sesame seeds, and no cinnamon. Everything else stays the same. We like to add a pinch of salt! — Eds.
-We had great results freezing the shaped, topped dough balls before their rise. The day we were baking, we let them come to room temperature, then let them rise until they were ready. — Eds.
Instructions
Prep the dough:
1. Warm the milk in a microwave or on the stovetop until it is warm (but not burning hot).
Whisk in the yeast and 15 grams of the sugar. Let it rest 12 to 15 minutes so it can bloom.
2. Melt the butter.
Once it has cooled, lightly beat in the eggs and vanilla.
3. Place the bread flour, all-purpose flour, salt, and remaining 115 grams of sugar in a large bowl (or stand mixer). Lightly mix until incorporated.
Make the dough:
Once the yeast mixture looks bubbly and doubled in size, you’re ready to start mixing.
1. Add the butter-egg mixture to the bowl with the flour. Lightly mix until it’s incorporated.
2. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl with the flour.
Knead the dough for 15 to 20 minutes, until it feels stretchy and somewhat resistant. It should not be overly wet or stick to the sides of the dough hook.
3. When the dough feels ready, shape it into a ball and place in a new greased bowl that is large enough to fit the dough when it has doubled in size.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and place in a warm area. I like to place it in my (off) oven on the upper rack, with a shallow baking tray filled with boiling water on the lowest rack. The steam will ensure a warm environment for the dough to double in size.
Abuelita topping:
1. In a large bowl, add the shortening, unsalted butter, confectioner’s sugar, chocolate powder, flour, and cinnamon, and mix until it can be shaped into a ball. It should be pliable and resemble the texture of clay.
2. Form 16 balls that weigh about 23 grams each and set aside. (You may have extra topping; covered in plastic wrap, it can keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks.)
Shape & bake:
1. Once the dough has doubled in size, you should be able to poke it in the middle without it rising back up. This means your dough is rested and ready for shaping.
Punch the air out and lightly knead for a few seconds.
2. Shape it back into a ball and cut it into 16 pieces that are 60 grams each.
3. Then, shape the pieces into uniform balls. Use the palm of your hand to lightly press down and rotate your hand. Use the counter or cutting board as a tool to seal the bottom of the ball. The top should look round and tight without any creases, as should the bottom of the ball.
4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place 8 balls on each (about 2 to 3 inches apart).
5. Use your hands to grease the top of each ball with shortening. This step is necessary so that the topping to adheres to the dough while baking.
6. Flatten each Abuelita topping ball into disks, using the flat side of a baking tray or a small cutting board. (You can place the ball in a piece of parchment paper folded in half or plastic wrap first, to help release the disk once flattened.)
7. Place the disk of topping on top of each ball and make sure it wraps the dough, covering the sides as well.
8. Cup your hands to secure the topping and press down on each dough ball (the dough should bounce back slightly, but end up a bit flatter.)
9. Use a concha cutter to press a pattern onto each piece of dough. Or, you can use a paring knife to score the topping into a seashell (concha) design.
10. Lightly cover the trays with plastic wrap and allow the conchas to rest for about 2 hours.
You’ll know they’re done proofing when the chocolate topping has stretched out and they are soft when poked, almost jiggly.
11. Bake the conchas in a preheated oven at 325 degrees Farenheit for 10 minutes, then turn the pan and bake for another 8 minutes.
12. Let them cool a couple minutes before serving.
13. Store in an airtight container.
These are best the day they are baked but can be reheated in the next day or two — if they last that long!
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