Pan y ReposteríaMedium

Conchas (Mexican Sweet Bread)

Name: Conchas (Mexican Sweet Bread)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 58 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 500 g Plain flour; 120 g Sugar; 80 g Butter suavizada; 3 Eggs; 7 g Levadura seca; 120 ml Milk tibia; 1 tsp Esencia de Vanilla; 0.5 tsp Salt; 80 g Lard vegetal para la costra; 120 g Icing sugar para la costra; 120 g Flour para la costra

58 min (40 prep + 18 cook) Medium 12 servings Nacional

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 20 Mar 2026 · Updated: 29 Mar 2026

Iconic Mexican sweet bread with a crunchy sugar shell shaped like a seashell. The quintessential bakery bread of Mexico.

About this recipe

Conchas are Mexico's most popular sweet bread, featuring a soft brioche-like base covered with a crunchy shell of shortening, sugar and flour scored in a seashell pattern.

History & Origin

Conchas are undoubtedly the most emblematic and consumed sweet bread in Mexico, instantly recognisable by their decorative crust that simulates the lines of a seashell. Their origin dates back to the 19th century, when Mexican bakery experienced its golden age fusing French techniques with local ingredients. During the Porfiriato (1876-1911), Mexico invited French bakers to modernise the bakery industry. Mexican bakers adapted their techniques to create something entirely new. The concha is a perfect example of this fusion. The decoration of the crust is done with a special mould that presses the concentric lines. The two classic versions are vanilla (white or pink crust) and chocolate (brown crust), though today there are many variants. In Mexico, the concha is much more than a bread: it is a ritual. It is eaten in the morning with milky coffee, in the afternoon as a snack, or at night with warm milk. The act of going to the bakery to choose your sweet bread with metal tongs is a cultural experience every Mexican knows.

Estimated cost

£4.20

Total cost

£0.35

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

310

Calories

Protein

46g

Carbohydrates

12g

Fat

Fibre

180mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Dissolve the levadura in the milk warm with a tablespoon of sugar. Leave to rest 10 minutes until espume.
2
Mix the flour, the sugar and the salt. Add the eggs, the vanilla and the mixture of levadura. Knead 10 minutes until you get a dough elástica. Fold in the butter little by little.
💡 La dough should be soft, elástica and despegarse of the hands. Knead with paciencia.
3
Shape a ball, cubre with a trapo damp and deja leudar 1 hour in a lugar cálido until duplique its size.
4
Para the costra: mixture the lard vegetal with the sugar glass and the flour until formar a pasta smooth. Divide into 12 bolitas.
5
Putcha the dough and divide in 12 portions equal. Shape into small balls lisas and place in a baking tray engrasada.
6
Aplana each bolita of costra between dos plastic and place it on each pan. With a mould of conchas or a knife, marca the patrón of líneas of concha.
7
Leave leudar 30 minutes more. Bake at 180°C for 15-18 minutes until the costra it is firme and the pan golden.