Conchas, which means “shells” in Spanish, have a the twisted streusel top that is supposed to look like a seashell. They are Mexico’s national sweet bread. The history of the concha dates back to the colonial era, when French, Spanish, and Italian bakers established themselves in Mexico, bringing their recipes, like brioche and baguettes, with them. Traditionally a type of pan dulce, they usually come in either chocolate or vanilla flavor. The King Arthur Baking Company recipe uses cinnamon for the topping.
The ingredients for these rolls are fairly standard. Thus, I did not take a photo. The recipe is also fairly easy. When first shaping the rolls, they seemed really large. So, instead of making ten rolls, I made eight of two different kinds, cinnamon and chocolate, for sixteen total.
While an easy recipe, I did forget to place the egg wash over the rolls before adding the topping. By the time I realized this, the rolls had already started to rise and I did not want to mess with them. I was pleasantly surprised after the rise to find that the streusel topping had created a cracked appearance, removing the need to cut lines into the topping.
The cracked surfaces baked fine as well. Even though I made them smaller than the recipe called for, they were still plenty big. I think the next time I make these I will make them even smaller.
