Prepare concha topping by blending together flour, powdered sugar, and shortening until a soft dough forms—it should resemble cookie dough. Set aside.
To form concha dough, in a spiral mixer, combine all dry ingredients and blend for 30 seconds on your mixer’s first speed. Next, add shortening, water, and eggs, and continue to mix for 4 minutes. Increase speed to your mixer’s second speed and mix until dough is almost fully developed. Maintain dough temperature at 75°F (24°C). Bulk rest dough for 15 minutes before dividing into 2.3 oz (65 g) portions and form into balls.
Next take a small amount of the “cookie dough” and flatten into a disc that is slightly larger than the dough ball. Place the disc over the dough ball and gently pat the two together. The dough balls will have slightly flattened during this process. Repeat until all dough balls have a disc of “cookie dough” on top. Now using a knife or concha stamp, gently cut or press into each. As the concha proofs, the cuts will expand revealing the concha pattern.
Allow dough to proof for +/- 90 minutes in a proofer set to 90% humidity 90°F (32°C) until cuts expand revealing the Concha pattern and dough is the desired size. Place into a pre-heated 350°F (177°C) oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Conchas are ready when lightly golden and topping is crumbly.
The above is a suggestion only.
Please note that other Saf-Instant, Red Star or Saf-Pro Ingredients products may be substituted in this formula. Additionally, this formula may also be modified for par-baked or frozen dough solutions. For assistance, please contact our world-class technical team at the Baking Center by calling (414) 615-4094 or sending an email to bakingcenter@lsaf.com.
