Conchas (Elena Reygadas's bakery method)

Make the dough one day before baking the conchas.

Divide into 80 g pieces and pre-shape.

Brush the tops with beaten egg mixed with a little milk.

Make the topping from vanilla beans, butter, sugar, icing sugar and vegetable shortening; for the cocoa version add cocoa powder to the same base.

Flatten a piece of topping like a tortilla and lay it on the dough so it covers most of it, even a little more.

Press the shell pattern into the topping with the concha cutter (a straight cutter on the other side gives a cross-hatch).

Rest about 15 minutes, until about double in size.

Sprinkle with plenty of sugar and bake at 180 for 12 minutes (Rick glosses it as 'like 375 or so in Fahrenheit').