Mexican Sweet Bread ( Conchas )

Never had these bread before , but i was in the mood of baking , looking through my books , i’ve done quite a bit for bread , and this time i need something different , something new , ones i haven’t tried yet . Although my husband insisted that he’s missing my parker house rolls , but i decided , trying to bake something new . I came across to Mexican Sweet Bread , i didn’t see these bread a lot back in Indiana , but i’ve seen these bread in most grocery stores down here in Texas .

These breads actually isn’t hard to make , i just used mixer to mix the first half of the flour to hold up its shape and kneaded it manually . Didn’t take long to make , except for waiting them to rise , which is always the case in most bread recipes anyway . They’re incredibly soft , and the topping gives the sweet crunchy taste that the bread needed . It is also fun making this , because you can decorate to your preference .

You need :

2 1/2 tsp. of dry yeast

1/2 cup of warm water

1/2 cup of evaporated milk

3/8 cup of sugar

pinch of salt

1 egg

1/3 cup of butter

3-4 cups of flour

These are the ingredients for the bread . Mix the yeast and water , stir well , let it sit for 5 minutes. Then add the evaporated milk , sugar , melted butter , and egg and pinch of salt . Use handheld mixer , mix this together then add about 2 cups of the flour , mix well . Add little at a time more flour until the dough isn’t too sticky , around the bowl , but you don’t want to add all the flour because it might be too much and your bread will be dry . Once it’s elastic enough , take it out from the bowl , adding more flour as needed on the counter , and knead the dough for 8 minutes . Then put it in a greased large bowl , and cover with plastic . in a warm place . It should double in size .

For the topping :

1/2 cup of butter , softened

2/3 cup of sugar

1 cup of flour

2 tsp. vanilla

In a medium bowl , beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy , and then add flour little at a time . The mixture should become pasty , set aside .

After 1 hour , the bread dough should rise , and take it out from the bowl , and let it rest for 5 minutes before handling them . Then cut into 20 equal size balls , and place them in the parchment paper lined cookie sheet , and then divide the topping into 20 small balls , and flatten it out and place them on top of each ball , then flat the bread and topping lightly with your palm . Then using knife , cut the decorations on it . Do the same with the rest ,  Bake at 375 F , about 15 minutes or so .