Sourdough Conchas (Mexican Pan Dulce)

In a clean jar, stir the levain ingredients together until the flour is hydrated.
Cover and set in a warm location (between 75-80ºF) for 4-5 hours until doubled and bubbly.
Alternatively, skip making a levain and use 150 grams of active sourdough starter.
50 g Sourdough Starter, 50 g Bread Flour, 50 g Water
If you're using the orange zest, zest it into a small bowl with the granulated sugar and rub the sugar together until it's fragrant and like wet sand.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment on medium-low speed (or in a large bowl if mixing by hand), mix the flour, salt, sugar, eggs, whole milk, vanilla extract, and all of the levain until the flour is incorporated, a couple of minutes. Cover and let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes to fully hydrate.
Continue mixing on medium speed for a few minutes. Then, while mixing, slowly add 1 TBS of softened butter at a time until each piece is fully incorporated, about 30 seconds in between each piece.
Mix for about 10 minutes or until the dough is tacky but strong and passes the windowpane test (see post above for images). Add small amounts of flour during mixing if the dough isn't coming together.
62 g Granulated Sugar, Orange Zest, 570 g Bread Flour, 11 g Sea Salt, 3 Eggs, 125 g Whole Milk, Levain, 113 g Unsalted Butter, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Transfer the concha dough to a large mixing bowl, cover, and place in a warm location for bulk fermentation. At 75-80ºF, the dough will take about 5 hours to proof. At the end of bulk fermentation, the dough should double in size, feel full of air, and domed.
Place into the refrigerator for the overnight proof and up to 2 days.
Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
On baking day, punch down the dough and weigh the dough. Divide the number by 14 and use a bench scraper to weigh out 14 equal-sized portions (mine are typically about 85g each).
Use the palm of your hand and the friction of a clean work surface to roll the portions into balls (only lightly flour if your dough is sticky). Evenly space the balls on the baking sheets with a few inches in between each other so they have space to grow.
Make the Topping:
Add the flour, sifted powdered sugar, and softened butter to a medium mixing bowl and use your hands (or a stand mixer or electric hand mixer) to bring it together into a Play-Doh-like consistency (soft, pliable, and smooth).
To flavor or color the dough, simply divide the dough add a couple of drops of food coloring and knead the dough or mix in your flavorings. For chocolate, matcha, or other flavored conchas, I add between 1-2 TBS of flavoring.
Finally, divide the toppings into 14 pieces (about 25g each), roll into balls, and flatten them by pressing down with your bench scraper into 4-inch thin rounds between two pieces of parchment paper (or in a tortilla press).
120 g All-purpose flour, 113 g Powdered Sugar, 113 g Unsalted Butter, 1 pinch Kosher Salt, Flavoring or Coloring
Drape the concha topping rounds on top of each ball.
Then, use a bread lame, sharp knife, or concha cutter to lightly score designs into the toppings.
Cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap or sheet covers.
Proof in a warm location for 4-5 hours until they double in size, are full of air, and wobble if you shake the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) with a rack in the middle of the oven.
Bake one sheet at a time for 18 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Cool completely before enjoying!

Sourdough Conchas (Mexican Pan Dulce)

Equipment

Ingredients

Levain

Sourdough Concha Dough

Topping

Instructions

Notes