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T Magazine|In Mexico, Nothing Says ‘Good Morning’ Like a Concha You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. The Winter Travel Issue In Mexico, Nothing Says ‘Good Morning’ Like a Concha Chefs are elevating what’s long been a basic street cart breakfast with novel flavors and updated ingredients. The concha, the pan dulce (or “sweet bread”) with a seashell-inspired design, has been a staple at cafes in Mexico City since the first half of the 20th century. At Panadería Rosetta in the Roma Norte neighborhood, the chef and owner Elena Reygadas offers the classic versions — chocolate and vanilla — as well as ones with more contemporary flavors like hoja santa and pinole.Credit...Nuria Lagarde Through the centuries, bread, both sweet and savory, has been an essential part of Mexican cuisine. In the coastal state of Veracruz, dancers use the refrain “café con pan” to teach the syncopated rhythm of the fandango, while “un pan pa’l susto” (“a piece of bread for the fright”) is a universal household remedy for everything from nightmares to earthquakes. But it’s pan dulce (or “sweet bread”) that arguably claims the most space in the national culinary imagination. In 1947, the novelist and journalist Carlos González Peña dedicated part of his memoir, “The Illuminated Niche,” to the offerings of a now-defunct Mexico City bakery called Bizcochería Ambriz. He lists the bakery’s sweet breads, named for the shapes they resemble, as if reciting a catechism: horns and hens, volcanoes and violins, brides, braids and, most emblematic of all, seashells, or conchas. A World of Pastries How baked goods help tell the story of culture across the globe. A taste of bánh in Vietnam, conchas in Mexico, egg tarts in Hong Kong, wienerbrød in Denmark, trompe l’oeil entremets in France, kaab el ghazal in Morocco, convent sweets in Spain, baklava in Turkey and Frankenpastries in New York. Plus find recipes for home baking here. And take a closer look at the covers. Like most Mexican panes dulces, the concha — a fluffy, softball-size bun with a scalloped crust made from sugar, flour and fat (traditionally lard) — has obscure origins. Wheat first arrived in Mesoamerica with the 16th-century Spanish invaders and, while colonial authorities regulated the trade in savory white breads, pan dulce, says the food historian Cristina Barros, was produced through “feminine, home-based work,” and sold mostly at street markets. Though monasteries made sweetened biscuits called bizcochos at least as early as the 18th century, French-inspired pan dulce as we know it today was likely introduced in the mid-1800s. By the 1900s, though, it had become a mainstay of early-evening meals, particularly in the cities of central Mexico, where it was served with hot chocolate and nata (clotted cream), café con leche and, in some households, beans. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe. Related Content Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
