Conchas de Chocolate (Chocolate Conchas)

Name: Conchas de Chocolate
Yield: Makes 12
Ingredients: 1 ¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.); ½ cup warm whole milk (about 110°); 3 large eggs, room temperature; 6 Tbsp. (75 g) granulated sugar; 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt; 3 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk powder; 3 cups (375 g) bread flour, plus more for surface; 10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 10 even pieces, room temperature; 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. (133 g) all-purpose flour; ⅔ cup (73 g) powdered sugar; ½ cup ghee, refined coconut oil, or vegetable shortening, melted and cooled; 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process; 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; 1 tsp. vanilla paste or extract; 1 large egg

By Rick Martinez

March 10, 2020

Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones

When Rick Martinez bites into a chocolate concha, he wants to experience the chocolate beyond its hue. That's why for this recipe, he used Dutch-process cocoa, which has a deeper, richer chocolatey flavor than the regular cocoa that’s often used. But, Rick being Rick, he went one step further for this recipe, and gave the classic Mexican sweet bread a tropical twist: If you like the sound of a choco-coconut concha, try using virgin coconut oil instead of ghee.