Ode to Mazapan

Have you ever had that moment when two of your favorite things unexpectedly merge to create something truly delightful? I was enjoying a concha with my coffee when I thought how amazing it would be if it tasted like a Mazapan. Mazapan, aka Mazapan de la rosa, is not to be confused with Marzapan. Mazapan is a sweet peanut crumble candy made in mexico. The sweet treat has been around since the 1500's but is more commonly known amongst the Mexican community from the brand named "De La Rosa" which translates directly "from the rose." Which makes sense as Guadalajara is known as the city of Roses and that is where its creators first released this treat. Jesus Michel Gonzalez and Elvira Velasco Rolon are responsible for creation of the mazapan candy we know today. They created this candy around 1942 and has been loved ever since.

The Birth of a Sweet Creation

I have to admit that although the idea came to me without seeing it created before a quick google search quickly proved that I wasnt the only person to have ever decided to combine the two. I decided that although theyre recipes are out and posted already, I wouldn't look at their recipies and try to recreate this one on my own. Although conchas are such a simple flavor, they are a labor of love. With a two hour proof time for the first proof and then a second hour proof for the second round, these are not a quick treat. However they are absolutely worth the work.

The Baking Process

This recipe starts off like any bread recipe. Measure out all of your ingredients, then in a glass bowl, add in about a tablespoon of the flour, about two tablespoons of the sugar, warm milk (110 degrees) and mix together. Once combined, add in the yeast, cover, and let rise in a warm area for 20 minutes. While that is rising, prep your work station. On a clean counter, make a mound of flower and then make an indent so it looks like a volcano. Suround the outside with the sugar and salt. Once your yeast has risen and doubled in size, add it carefully into the middle of the flour mound. Add in the room temperature eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. With your hands, mix the yeast mixture with the eggs and slowly start to incorporate the sides of the flour mound. Keep on incorporating until you have a wet dough.

Kneading dough

This labor of love requires that you knead for about 20 minutes! If you want to add it into a stand mixer make sure you mix this on the low setting for about 15 minutes. The dough should be smooth and stretchy once its done. Cover and let sit for 2 hours. I like to warm the oven to 175 degrees, turn it off and let the heat come out for about 3 minutes then place the dough in there with the door closed.

As the dough is taking its beauty rest, go ahead and start the topping. start by unrapping and crumbling the candy into a bowl, add in the flour, manteca (crisco works as well) and powdered sugar. Knead with your hands and combine until it creates a dough like consistency. My dough came in at about 1,800 grams so to make the dozen I measured out 150 gram dough balls. rolled them out and set them aside.

Once the dough is done with its first proof, punch down, and fold a few times. Weigh yoour dough and divide it by 12 to make consistent sized conchas. I placed them on a greased pan and then squished around the edges to make them look like little space ships. Then take out your tortilla press. If you dont have one, you can use anything that has a flat surface that you can apply pressure to. Get some wax paper, spray with some nonstick, then add in your topping dough ball. Press it to about a 5.5 inch circle. take off the sheet and lay on top of the buttered conchas.

Proofing dough balls

Once theyre on top, you can use a concha cutter to cut the top sugar layer or get creative and cut it with whatever fun shape you'd like. The traditional concha, which translates directly to Sea Shell, is typically cut into a sea shell shape but since I love these so much, I used a heart shape cutter. cover and let site for about an hour.

Proofed Conchas ready to bake (post-cut)

Once they've expanded bake at 325 degrees for about 16-19 minutes. They bake pretty quick so make sure you keep an eye on the edges and dont let it brown too much. They will start to smell so good it will be tempting not to take them out early. Once theyre done, take them off the pan and place onto a cooling rack. My kids ate them as soon as they were cool enough to eat! If you dont have teenagers in your house that prey on your baked good you're going to want to store these the same way you would store any bread product.

freshly baked Conchas

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Conchas de la Rosa

• 4 Cups of flower

• 3/4 Cup Sugar

• 3/4 Cup Warm Milk (110 Degrees F.)

• 12 Grams dry active yeast

• 2 eggs at room temp

• 1 egg yolk at room temp

• 2 Tablespoon vanilla

• 10 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temp.

• 3/4 Teaspoon of Salt

• 2 Tablespoons of melted butter to brush on top of dough balls

Topping

• 1 1/4 Cup flour

• 3/4 Cup Manteca (Crisco is a great alternative)

• 1 Cup powdered sugar

• 4 Mazapanes - De La Rosa

1. Measure out all of the Concha ingredients. in a glass bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the pre-measured flour, 2 tablespoons of the pre-measured out sugar, warm milk, and yeast. Mix until combined, cover, and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. On a clean dry surface, make a mound with the rest of the flour sugar and salt. Make an indentation in the middle with your hands. Pour in the yeast that has now doubled in size, in the middle along with the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla. Start to mix the wet ingredients together and slowly start working in the sides of the flour in. Slowly add in the butter as you knead. Once it is all combined, knead for 20 minutes or add into your stand mixer on low for about 15 minutes. The dough will be wet at first, but when it's done the dough will be a soft, smooth, stretchy dough. Set aside and let sit in a warm place for 2 hours.

3. In a bowl, mix all of the topping ingredients and start to knead together slowly. Make into a dough. This will make approximately 800 grams. Divide into 12-65 gram balls and set aside.

4. Once the dough has rested, punch down, fold, and weigh. My dough came out to about 1,800 grams. Divide into 12-150 gram dough balls. Roll out and place onto a greased pan. Press the outside edges so it looks like a little space spaceship. Lightly brush with some melted butter.

5. Lightly grease some parchment paper and place into your tortilla press. fold in the middle. Add your topping ball and squish down to about a 5.5 inch round. Place on top of buttered dough ball. Press with concha cutter. Repeat to all 12. Set aside for an hour.

6. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 16-19 minutes.

7. Place fresh baked bread to cool and enjoy!

Note: This blog post is a personal story reflecting on a unique baking experience combining traditional Mexican sweet bread with a beloved sweet treat.