At Panaderia La Central we love conchas! They are sweet, they are delicious, and they are the perfect sweet treat to start your day.

While we make plenty of conchas to go around at our bakery in Avondale, we wanted to take the time to explore the history of the concha, one of our favorite sweet treats.

The Spanish Influence

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To trace back the delicious pan dulce, we need to go back hundreds of years after the Spanish first colonized Mexico. During the time of colonization, the Spanish brought over their architecture, language, religion, and of course, cuisine. It was during that time that the Spanish introduced wheat. The reason why wheat was brought over from Spain was that the Catholic Church only recognized wheat as the appropriate grain to create the Eucharist wafer.

While grain was a necessity to the Spanish, the indigenous tribes cared little for the new concoction. However, legend has it that the first Mexican sweet bread was introduced when a viceroy dipped his wafer in hot chocolate.

The French Influence

The history of the concha continues in the 17th century. During this time, French immigrants began traveling to Mexico, bringing with them the traditions of French baking. Through the intermingling of Mexican ingredients and the techniques brought over by the French, true Mexican panaderias popped up all over Mexico.

While we can't exactly place when and where the traditional concha sweet bread was first made, we can trace back out heritage to the amazing ingredients of Mexico, the influence of Spanish wheat, and of course, the techniques brought over by French immigrants.

A concha is a traditional sweet Mexican bread rolled in crumble cookie dough. The dough is made from wheat, water (sometimes milk), butter, sugar, yeast, salt, and eggs. The topping is typically made from flour, sugar, and of course our favorite, butter.

Conchas In The U.S.

The Mexican-American conchas that are created today can take on many flavors, from cinnamon to pecan. Mexican bakeries all over the U.S. have experimented with conchas, even with The James Beard Foundation creating a concha burger.

Regardless of how you enjoy your concha, either dipped in a hot chocolate or with a savory beef patty in between, the key to an incredible concha is quality ingredients.

At Panaderia La Central, we pride ourselves on utilizing only the best ingredients for all of our Mexican sweetbreads. Our bakery in Avondale is located, 725 N Central Ave Avondale, Arizona.

EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF THE CONCHA

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